A PHILHARMONIC NEW YEAR'S EVE GALA CONCERT / The Philharmonic Orchestra / Review

 

A PHILHARMONIC NEW YEAR’S EVE 

2026 GALA CONCERT

The Philharmonic Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Wednesday (31 December 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 January 2026 with the title "This New Year's Eve gala concert created orchestral fireworks".

The year 2025 has been an unbelievably productive year for Singapore’s community, youth and student orchestras. Even without the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, one could still have witnessed concerts of works like Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony, Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra and Ottorino Respighi’s Roman Festivals. The final word came from The Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO) in its annual New Year’s Eve Concert led by resident conductor Lin Juan.

Filled with lollipops, it resembled the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day Concert or the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, but more importantly it was a showcase of the virtuosity of Singapore’s younger generation of professional and part-time musicians.

Beginning with Carl Maria von Weber’s Oberon Overture, one would be immediately impressed by the French horn solo which opened the work. The orchestra did not need too much time to warm up before delivering a performance of verve and ebullience.

Arguably better was Czech nationalist composer Bedrich Smetana’s The Moldau from Ma Vlast (My Country), a programmatic work which recounted the course of the beloved river that flows through Prague. Beginning with a trickle from solo flute, the melody which shares a common source as the Israeli national anthem (Hatikvah) soon built up to an impressive swell. Patriotic fervour setting hearts aflutter could only be the just result.

Lighter in heart were the four movements from Claude Debussy’s Petite Suite, originally a work for piano four hands, orchestrated by Henri Busser. En Bateau (Sailing) could have been a tad dreamier, but there was no mistaking the dance rhythms of the Cortege and Menuet movements, before closing with the lively and energised Ballet.

Photo: Andrew Bi Photography

After a half-hour intermission where downing of complimentary champagne was an annual ritual, more ballet music flowed. Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Pas de deux (Andante Maestoso) from ballet The Nutcracker has to be his most glorious melody, and when so sumptuously played, fully deserved the cheers that followed.

Photo: Andrew Bi Photography

Castanets, triangle and drums coloured the brief pages of Alexander Glazunov’s Spanish Dance from ballet Raymonda, a prelude to the main course of Georges Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite No.2. Arranged by Ernest Guiraud, it is less often heard than Suite No.1 but has some the incidental music’s most beautiful moments.

A rustic and drone-filled Pastorale, and ensuing Intermezzo were well-played, but there could not be more tender music than the Menuet, which showcased Teo Shao Ming’s beautiful flute solo accompanied by Nigel Foo’s harp, later to be joined by Samuel Phua’s saxophone. This set the stage for the finale, a rollicking Farandole which has become a proper Christmas favourite with its infectious foot-tapping rhythmic beat.

Those inclined to rhythmic clapping were indulged in a perennial favourite, Johann Strauss the Elder’s Radetzky March, which preceded the obligatory balloon drop, and a rush to witness the pyrotechnics over Marina Bay. This was a sure sign that 2026 promises more orchestral fireworks.