Sydney – Monday 24 June 2024. The critically-acclaimed Singapore Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director and renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf, will make its Australian debut in February 2025 with a three-city east coast tour.
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has earned an international reputation for its virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and more than 50 recordings. The SSO was awarded third place in the prestigious Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award 2021 and named one of the 23 best orchestras in the world by BBC Music Magazine in 2022.
Mr Kenneth Kwok, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Symphony Group, says the concerts will be a highlight of the 2024/2025 season, marking the Orchestra’s first international multi-city tour since 2016.
“We are thrilled to be making our Australia debut in 2025 and showcasing the incredible virtuosity of the SSO alongside award-winning 17-year-old Singaporean violin sensation Chloe Chua and Sydney-born Principal Cellist, Ng Pei-Sian,” says Kwok.
“The 2025 tour is a key component of our ongoing relationships with our Australian partners and audiences, and we look forward to sharing our wonderful orchestra with audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.”
“The orchestra and I are looking forward with great excitement to our debut tour in Australia,” says Graf. “The program epitomises our commitment to bridging the musical traditions of East and West and we are proud to present a beautiful piece from Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin along with works from European masters Brahms and Tchaikovsky.”
Along with Brahms’ final orchestral work, the 1887 Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (in A minor, Op. 102), the concerts will feature the award-winning Luciola singapura by Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin, a shimmering evocation of the Singapore firefly; and Tchaikovsky’s tremendous Fifth Symphony (E minor, Op. 64), a towering masterpiece with its heart fully on its sleeve.
Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM said, “As the symbol of modern Australia, the Sydney Opera House is a fitting first stop for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on its inaugural Australian tour. This is a long overdue visit from one of our closest neighbours, and I’m excited to hear these sublime musicians – especially the violin virtuoso Chloe Chua – in our newly transformed Concert Hall.”
MSO Managing Director Sophie Galaise said, “The MSO has had a wonderful relationship with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since we first signed an international exchange agreement in 2018. In August 2024 we will visit Singapore to perform a highly anticipated collaboration at the SSO Gala to be held at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore on 22 and 23 August. We look forward to welcoming the SSO to Australia in 2025 for their debut tour and to continue our partnership to promote people to people exchange, develop co-commissions, digital collaborations and touring opportunities.”
QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas AM said, “We consistently bring the world’s best to QPAC stages for our audiences, so we are delighted to be welcoming the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to Brisbane. With a remarkable program of music from Koh Cheng Jin, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky under the baton of Maestro Graf, we know that Queensland audiences will welcome this announcement. Our patrons are classical music devotees and great supporters of young emerging musical talent like Chloe Chua, so the combination of an international orchestra alongside an acclaimed young artist couldn’t be more perfect for QPAC.”