Concert review
Hannu Lintu signals changes in SSO’s sound and repertoire with inaugural concert
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Maestro Hannu Lintu marks the start of his stint as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s new music director with an inaugural concert on July 17.
PHOTO: NATHANIEL LIM
Mervin Beng
- Hannu Lintu's concert with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra signals major changes in sound and repertoire, emphasising a recognisable orchestra identity.
- The concert featured Tan Chan Boon's new commission and Gil Shaham performing Mason Bates' Nomad Concerto.
- Lintu offered a fresh, panoramic interpretation of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, highlighting the orchestra's strengths despite the concert's length and complexity.
AI generated
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Gil Shaham
Esplanade Concert Hall
July 17, 7.30pm
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s (SSO) new music director Hannu Lintu’s inaugural concert had one unmistakable message – change is coming. The hallmarks of a symphony orchestra are its sound and repertoire, and Lintu made it very clear that he will be pushing the boundaries along both dimensions, and doing so in double time.
Lintu’s journey with the SSO began with a new commission by Tan Chan Boon, Apres l’Odyssee (After The Odyssey), which is the opening movement of his Seventh Symphony. A doyen in the composer community, schooled in Paris and steeped in the Austrian tradition, the diehard Mahlerian has not only composed prolifically, but imparted his knowledge to leading young composers, among them Wang Chenwei and Jonathan Shin. To programme his work alongside Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 was an inspired decision.
