The first quarter of 2020 is seeing Malaysian composers busy at work, with several new pieces lined up, from two new premieres for chamber orchestra and a new piano work for print.Coming up is Adeline Wong's premiere of a string orchestra version of her 2010 piece 'Empunya Yang Beroleh Sita Dewi' (He Who Possesses Goddess Sita) by the Eastman Camerata in Singapore on 28 February.
The piece was originally commissioned by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra for a chamber orchestra and wayang kulit collaboration, that relates an episode from the Ramayana. This month the work will take on new life in the form of a stand alone work for strings, performed by the alumni of the famous Eastman School of Music in the US.
Esplanade Recital Studio
Eastman Camerata
Conductor: Joshua Tan
28 Feb 2020
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Tickets: SGD25 -
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In March, Ng Chong Lim will premiere his new work for chamber orchestra 'Fireflies' with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.Fireflies is a 10-minute work inspired by the composer's time in Nepal when he was engaged in aid work for the poor. Written for strings, double oboes, bassoons, trumpets and three percussionists, the piece opens the evening concert 'Viva Beethoven', where Ng, an extraordinary concert pianist, will be on the keyboard performing Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto with the orchestra. The concert ends with the magnificent Eroica Symphony.
Dewan Filharmonik
Sat 28 Mar 2020 8:30pm
Sun 29 Mar 2020 3pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Gerard Salonga, conductor
Ng Chong Lim, piano
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Finally, this quarter also sees a new piano work from Jessica Cho for a new publication. Capricious is a short and delightgul piece in the composer's usual capricious style first seen in her Five Little Pieces for Piano, moving from lento to vivace in an action-packed miniature.
Listen to Five Little Pieces for Piano and piano works by Wong and Ng using the audio player at anthology.freehandfestival.com.
UPDATE: The MPO concert has been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. New dates will be posted when they are confirmed.
