SINGAPORE FEATURES IN GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE (OCTOBER 2023 ISSUE)

Several years ago, I was called out by a fellow music reviewer for self-congratulation while covering the classical music scene in Singapore. All I did was remark on how the scene had significantly progressed over the many years I had been attending concerts. It was about how the Singapore Symphony Orchestra had improved beyond anybody's wildest imaginations, and how the classical musical fraternity here had reinvented itself to curate programmes, produce concerts and made recordings that would not have been possible a mere one or two decades ago. 

The latest issue of the authoritative British Gramophone magazine (October 2023 edition) provides further proof of this progress, by publishing two laudatory reviews of recent recordings by the Singapore Symphony and Singapore Chinese Orchestras. There is also a full-page advertisement of the SSO's recently released Chandos recording of music by film composer Bernard Herrmann. This ad, paid by the prestigious independent Chandos label, is a reflection of orchestra's ambition of becoming a positive force in the world of classical music. Just two years ago, the SSO was nominated by the magazine and received a creditable third place in the Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award.  

Here are shots of the reviews of SSO playing the music of Danish composer Paul von Klenau (on Dacapo), and SCO playing the Butterfly Lovers Concerto with Joshua Bell (Sony Classical). These recommendations ought to get anybody who cares about classical music in Singapore excited.

The SSO review by Andrew Mellor
(Click to enlarge)

The SCO review by Guy Rickards
(Click to enlarge)
Can't see clearly? Just buy the magazine!

As for the naysayers who decry that Singapore is still some provincial backwater, I say, "We are not there yet. While we may not get there in this lifetime, it is the journey we travel that really matters". 

Music in Singapore matters, and our dedicated professional musicians from Paul Abisheganaden, Goh Soon Tioe, Choo Hoey, Lim Yau, Shui Lan and Chan Tze Law to the likes of Chloe Chua, Alan Choo, Abigail Sin, Li Churen, Joshua Tan and Toby Tan, to groups like SSO / SCO / OMM / Red Dot Baroque / re:Sound / Ding Yi Music Company, all make this journey an enriching and rewarding one.