Singapore Symphony to Mark Country’s Bicentennial At Victoria Concert Hall

Singapore’s bicentennial in 2019 will see festivities kick off from January. For the nation-wide commemoration, the Victoria Concert Hall will present a special programme by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and other performers.

Victoria Concert Hall

Tipped as the next country-wide celebratory event — after Singapore’s Golden Jubilee (SG50) in 2015, the honouring of the country’s bicentennial traces its past to the founding by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 and beyond.

At the historic Victoria Concert Hall, visitors can look forward to a unique series of concerts.

Thomas Trotter (Photo credit: Adrian Burrows)

The first concert is a pipe organ performance on 15 Feb by organ virtuoso Thomas Trotter, featuring works by British greats harking back two centuries — from William Thomas Best, to Gustav Holst and Edward Elgar.

The following three concerts will shed light on The Age of Discovery that led to European exploration around the world till the end of the 18th century.

SSO CEO Chng Hak-Peng said, “The Age of Discovery was a period that accompanied the world’s transition to modernity and in many ways drove Singapore’s own journey.”

“Our selection aims to be as exploratory as the period, with works that run the gamut in expressions from radiant joy to meditative serenity.”

On 22 and 23 Feb, Mozart’s trailblazing Piano Concerto No. 20 will be performed by rising Korean-German pianist Christopher Park — “a pianist like a thunderbolt” — in a programme conducted by the distinguished veteran Bruno Weil.

Xavier de Maistre (Photo credit: SSO)

On 1 and 2 Mar, French harpist Xavier de Maistre will present one of the most beautiful concertos in the harp repertory, the scintillating Harp Concerto by “The French Mozart”, François-Adrien Boieldieu. This will be followed by the SSO playing the best of the Classical era, Schubert’s Third Symphony and Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony led by conductor Alexander Liebreich.

Sabine Meyer (Photo credit: SSO)

On 22 and 23 Mar, celebrated clarinettist Sabine Meyer makes her Singapore debut with the radiant joy and meditative serenity of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Directed by SSO Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Litton, this concert also features the world premiere of Singapore-based composer Robert Casteels’ Ouverture Spirituelle, commissioned by the SSO.

More Singapore bicentennial concerts will be announced in the SSO 2019/20 season beginning in July 2019.

SSO bicentennial concerts at Victoria Concert Hall

“Since 1819”

Thomas Trotter – Arrival, 1819
15 Feb 2019

“The Age of Discovery”

Christopher Park Plays Mozart
22, 23 Feb 2019

Master Of The Harp
1, 2 Mar 2019

Sabine Meyer · Mozart Clarinet Concerto
22, 23 Mar 2019

Click here to visit Singapore Symphonia Co Ltd’s website.