Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Relatively young among the world's major symphony orchestras, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra has evolved into Southeast Asia's leading orchestral ensemble. The group's repertory and its reputation are both international.
Symphony orchestras, including one called the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, have existed in Singapore since the end of World War II but were mostly amateur groups. The current Singapore Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1979, was the creation of conductor Choo Hoey, who convinced government officials that a high-quality group could be formed using partly Singaporean musicians. Of the original 35 players, eight were from Singapore; the orchestra has since grown to 90 members, mostly Singaporean. The Singapore Symphony moved into the city's historic Victoria Concert Hall in 1980, where it has continued to perform, but in 2003, many concerts moved to the new Esplanade Concert Hall on the city's waterfront. The group has also performed outdoor concerts in Singapore's famed Botanic Gardens and at the Istana, the city-state's presidential palace. Hoey stepped down in 1996 and installed his hand-picked successor, China-born and Chinese- and American-trained Lan Shui, as music director. Under Shui, the orchestra's international touring program has greatly expanded. The group performed in eight cities in England and Germany, and in 2016, it appeared at major Eastern European events: the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. In 2019, after 23 years at the helm, Shui retired, and Austria's Hans Graf, after having made several guest appearances, was set to take up the baton in the coronavirus-threatened 2020-2021 season.
The Singapore Symphony made a few recordings under Hoey, but Shui greatly expanded its recording program, forging an ongoing relationship with the BIS label and bringing the group substantial Western attention. The orchestra's recorded repertory has included mostly Western music but has also touched on Asian works, including, in 2011, an album of Chinese-American flute concertos featuring flutist Sharon Bezaly. In 2020, Shui and the Singapore Symphony issued an album of orchestral music by Richard Strauss that included the rarely heard tone poem Macbeth, Op. 23. The Singapore Symphony is associated under an Esplanade Theater rubric with the Singapore Symphony Choruses and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.
© James Manheim /TiVo
-
Herrmann: Suite from Wuthering Heights, Echoes for Strings
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Mario Venzago, Keri Fuge, Roderick Williams, Joshua Tan
Opera - Released by Chandos on 30 Jun 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons & Locatelli: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 3 No. 12 "Il labirinto armonico"
Chloe Chua, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Chan Yoong Han
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 10 Mar 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Paul von Klenau: Concertos · Symphony No. 8
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Ziyu He, Søren Rastogi, Hans Graf
Classical - Released by Dacapo Records on 12 May 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, Op.35 - Chen, He: Butterfly Lovers, Violin Concerto
Gil Shaham, Lan Shui, Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Canary Classics on 1 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy, Op. 54, Prometheus, Op. 60 & Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53
Yevgeny Sudbin, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by BIS on 2 Sep 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Jeux, Khamma & La boîte à joujoux
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by BIS on 4 Aug 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concerto "Hung Hu" & Other Popular Chinese Orchestral Music
Takako Nishizaki, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 3 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Jazz & Variety Suites
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
Classical - Released by BIS on 1 Apr 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Song of Yang Guan: Ancient & Modern Chinese Classics
Takako Nishizaki, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 3 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
When Will You Return: Chinese & Other Asian Evergreens
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 3 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BALAKIREV: Chopin Suite / Overtures
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ippolitov-Ivanov: Symphony No. 1, Op. 46, Turkish Fragments, Op. 62 & Turkish March, Op. 55
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Spectacular
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by BIS on 9 Apr 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
RESPIGHI: Concerto Gregoriano / Poema Autunnale
Takako Nishizaki, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Nocturnes, L. 91 & Other Orchestral Works
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by BIS on 7 Jun 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto, Silent Woods / Brahms: Academic Festival Overture (Live In Singapore / 2012)
Li-wei Qin, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Du Mingxin: 10 Xinjiang Dances
Takako Nishizaki, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 3 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
IPPOLITOV-IVANOV: Symphony No. 1 / Turkish Fragments
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Salut D'amour: Best-Loved Classics
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by Singapore Symphony Orchestra on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky's Ballet Music
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Classical - Released by Singapore Symphony Group on 6 Feb 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
LACHNER: Symphony No. 1 / SPOHR: Symphony No. 2
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo