CONCERT PROGRAMME
2016/17 SEASON
The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) gave its inaugural performance at Dewan
Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP) on 17 August 1998. The MPO today comprises musicians
from 24 countries, including 7 from Malaysia, a remarkable example of harmony among
different cultures and nationalities.
A host of internationally-acclaimed musicians has worked with the MPO, including Lorin
Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Yehudi Menuhin, Joshua Bell, Harry Connick Jr., José Carreras,
Andrea Bocelli and Branford Marsalis, many of whom have praised the MPO for its fine
musical qualities and vitality.
With each new season, the MPO continues to present a varied programme of orchestral
music drawn from over three centuries, as well as the crowd-pleasing concert series.
Its versatility transcends genres, from classical masterpieces to film music, pop, jazz,
contemporary and commissioned works.
The MPO regularly performs at major cities of Malaysia. Internationally, it has showcased
its virtuosity to audiences in Singapore (1999, 2001 and 2005), Korea (2001), Australia
(2004), China (2006), Taiwan (2007), Japan (2001 and 2009) and Vietnam (2013). Its
Education and Outreach Programme, ENCOUNTER, reaches beyond the concert platform
to develop musical awareness, appreciation and skills through dedicated activities that
include instrumental lessons, workshops and school concerts. ENCOUNTER also presents
memorable events in such diverse venues as orphanages, hospitals, rehabilitation centres
and community centres.
The MPO’s commitment to furthering musical interest in the nation has been the creation
of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO). It gave its inaugural concert at
DFP on 25 August 2007, followed by a tour in Peninsular Malaysia. It has performed in
Sabah and Sarawak (2008), Singapore (2009), Brisbane, Australia (2012), Kedah (2013) and
Johore Bahru (2014).
As it celebrates its 18th anniversary in 2016, the MPO remains steadfast in its mission
to share the depth, power and beauty of great music. The MPO’s main benefactor is
PETRONAS and its patron is Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Haji Mohd Ali.
Fri 5 May 2017 at 8.30 pm
Sat 6 May 2017 at 8.30 pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Harish Shankar, conductor
Tengku Irfan, piano
PROGRAMME
KODÁLY
Háry János Suite 25 mins
BARTÓK
Piano Concerto No. 2 28 mins
INTERVAL 20 mins
RESPIGHI
The Pines of Rome 23 mins
All details are correct at time of printing. Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS reserves the right to vary without notice the artists and/or repertoire as
necessary. Copyright © 2017 by Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (Co. No. 462692-X). All rights reserved. No part of this programme may be
reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners.
HARISH SHANKAR
conductor
Hailing from Malaysia, Harish
Shankar enjoys a growing
presence on the international
stage. He is a prize winner at the
6th International Jorma Panula
Conducting Competition and
his conducting engagements
have taken him as far as South
America and Australasia.
To date, Shankar’s career
involves engagements with
the
Jena
Philharmonics,
Leipzig Symphony Orchestra,
Staatsphilharmonie Braunschweig, Orquesta Sinfónica de Trujillo, North Czech
Philharmonic, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Vaasa City Orchestra, Jyväskylä
Symphony Orchestra and Manchester Camerata. His debut with the Hallé Orchestra
received high critical acclaim. With an active voice in the media, he has been
featured in Classical Music Magazine and interviewed on BBC Radio 3.
Shankar is a pianist by training, having received initial piano lessons at the age of
six with Penny Kam. He continued his studies with Loo Bang Hean before being
accepted into the class of the noted pianist Professor Konstanze Eickhorst at the
Conservatoire of Lübeck. He went on to study conducting with Eiji Oue and was
subsequently invited to Peru to lead the orchestra of the country’s El Sistema
project. This award-winning social project aims to bring children from all walks
of life together with music. During his tenure with El Sistema Peru, he was able
to conduct a number of regular and cross-over projects with an aim to engage a
growing classical music scene in the country.
Shankar completed his Master’s degree in Conducting at the prestigious
conservatoire of Weimar, Germany, under the tutelage of Professor Gunter Kahlert.
He has also received valuable mentorship from Sir Mark Elder, Clark Rundell and
Mark Heron. Masterclasses with Paavo Järvi, Nicolás Pasquet, Leonid Grin and
Mark Stringer round up his studies. He has served as assistant conductor to a
number of renowned artists including Sir Andrew Davis, Eckehard Stier, Juanjo
Mena and Vasily Petrenko.
Currently Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Shankar
will take up the post of first Kapellmeister at the opera house in Stralsund, Germany,
next season.
Tengku Irfan
piano
Heralded in the New York Times as “eminently
cultured” and possessing “sheer incisiveness”,
18-year-old Malaysian pianist Tengku Irfan
began piano lessons at 7 and first performed with
the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO)
when he was 11. Since then, he has played
with orchestras worldwide under conductors
including Neeme Järvi, Robert Spano, Nikolai
Alexeev, Jeffrey Milarsky, Evan Rogister, Darrell
Ang, Claudio Cruz, Dariusz Mikulski and Larry
Rachleff.
A regular at the Aspen Music Festival, Irfan will be serving his fourth consecutive
season as resident pianist for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble in 2017. He
won the Aspen Music Festival 2013 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 Competition,
followed by performances of this concerto worldwide, including at the MPO’s
2013/14 season opening gala where his award-winning Sahibul Hikayat Fantasy
Overture was also premiered, and again in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as soloist
for the MPO’s 2013 Vietnam tour. Recent performances include appearances
with the Juilliard Orchestra, a recital at the la Virée Classique Festival, Singapore
Symphony Orchestra, Sao Paulo State Youth Orchestra, Estonian National
Symphony Orchestra and Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Irfan won the ASCAP Charlotte Bergen Award (for String Quartet) and two
ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (for String Quartet and Sahibul).
His orchestral piece Keraian was premiered by the New York Philharmonic with
Case Scaglione conducting. Harold Rosenbaum and the New York Virtuoso
Singers premiered Irfan’s choral piece Tragedi Dewi Suria. Kristjan Järvi and
MDR Sinfonieorchester commissioned Irfan to compose Vivacity, an orchestral
work which had its world premiere at the Leipzig Gewandhaus during the Leipzig
Bachfest 2016.
Irfan made his conducting debut with the MusicaNova Orchestra in 2015 for the
premiere of his string orchestral work Nocturne. He recently conducted the premiere
of his piece Pengembaraan Minda dan Kenyataan at the Lincoln Center, New York.
Irfan is a Juilliard double major in piano and composition under Yoheved Kaplinsky
and Robert Beaser respectively, and studies conducting with George Stelluto.
He studied composition with Ira Taxin in Juilliard Pre-College. Irfan served as a
Teaching Artist Intern for the New York Philharmonic Composer’s Bridge Program,
and is a recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School.
PROGRAMME NOTES
The keynotes for the music on this progamme are local colour and orchestral flair.
Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók, the two most important composers to come out of
Hungary, both spent years studying the folk music of their country, and this deeply
influenced the music they wrote themselves. Ottorino Respighi had a different
orientation. He had a strong interest in history, so in The Pines of Rome he conjures
up vivid images of the ancient “eternal city” of Rome. All three works feature brilliant
effects, resplendent orchestration and intoxicating rhythms.
ZOLTÁN KODÁLY (1882-1967)
Háry János Suite (1926)
I. Prelude: The Fairy Tale Begins
II. Viennese Musical Clock
III. Song
IV. The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon
V. Intermezzo
VI. Entrance of the Emperor and His Court
The Background
Zoltán Kodály remains one of the most prominent composers to have come out of
Hungary. Born just a year after his compatriot Béla Bartók, another of Hungary’s
leading composers, he held a deep interest in music of his homeland, and conducted
scholarly research into music of the Hungarian gypsies and peasants as well as that
of surrounding lands. Nearly every one of Kodály’s compositions, sacred and secular
alike, incorporates folksong and folk-dance music, either in direct quotation or as
filtered through the composer’s unique creative spirit.
Kodály is best known for his orchestral works, above all for the suite of six numbers
drawn from his three-act opera Háry János, first presented in Budapest in 1926. Háry
János (the surname comes first in Hungarian; we would call him “Mr. Háry”), sits at
a table, about to spin a yarn of his marvelous adventures. János is an old Hussar
soldier from the Austro-Hungarian regiment of the Napoleonic wars. He is, in the
words of John Burk, “the braggadocio spirit of the Magyar himself, crystallized into
mythical character”.
The Music
The “Prelude” begins with a “sneeze”, which, according to Hungarian folklore,
confirms the veracity of the speaker, though another tradition has it that the sneeze
indicates that the speaker’s statements should be taken with a grain of salt. János
is at a country inn, where he is about to recount his adventures to a crowd of gullible
comrades. As János’ imagination grows, so too do the orchestral textures and volume.
The scene shifts to the court of Vienna, where János listens in fascination to
the renowned “Viennese Musical Clock” with its miniature soldier figures which
appear and disappear. The music depicts this dazzling contraption with masterful
verisimilitude. The “Song” is an authentic Hungarian folk tune, sung in the original form
by János and his beloved Ilka, who long for their familiar countryside. When Napoleon
approaches Vienna, the fearless János goes out to meet him in “The Battle and Defeat
of Napoleon”. The “Intermezzo” introduces János’ second adventure (the suite does
not follow the chronology of the parent work). Here the cimbalom ̶ an instrument of
the Hungarian gypsies played by striking the open strings with long, thin hammers
held in the player’s hands ̶ plays a prominent role and gives an authentic Hungarian
flavour to the number, also based on a folk song. János is feted at the imperial victory
banquet, introduced by the “Entrance of the Emperor and His Court”.
BÉLA BARTÓK (1881-1945)
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1930-1931)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio – Presto – Adagio
III. Allegro molto
The Background
Bartók began work on the second of his three piano concertos in October 1930 and
completed it a year later. He was soloist in the first performance, which took place
in Frankfurt on 23 January 1933 with Hans Rosbaud conducting the Frankfurt Radio
Orchestra. The formal layout follows the “arch” structure Bartók favoured in many
of his compositions. The fast, energetic outer movements share thematic material,
while the second movement alone is an arch, with two slow, quiet passages framing
a contrasting central Presto. Both outer sections of this movement alone are arches,
with alternating passages of strings and piano. Orchestra and soloist share equally
in presentation of the musical material and in the prominence of the writing.
The Music
A rushing upward scale in the piano, a fanfare from the trumpet, and we’re off on a
non-stop, riotously exuberant conversation between piano and orchestra, much of
it percussive, pounding, earthy, almost primitive in nature but always thrilling. One
need not be a pianist to recognize the fiendish difficulty of the piano writing. Strings
were silent in the first movement, so they come to the fore for the second. The
opening passage divides the strings into seven parts, all played pianissimo, muted,
and without vibrato. Then follows the fascinating Presto section, a fantasy filled with
the spectral, quivering sounds of the night: twittering birds, buzzing insects, rustling
foliage, grunting beasts, and mysterious rumbles. The finale is positively barbaric
in its release of primal energy. Here the full orchestra is finally used. In form it is a
rondo (ABACADA), with the A passages unforgettable for their pounding timpani and
syncopated piano writing.
OTTORINO RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
The Pines of Rome (1924)
I. The Pines of the Villa Borghese (Allegretto vivace)
II. Pines near a Catacomb (Lento)
III. The Pines of the Janiculum (Lento)
IV. The Pines of the Appian Way (Tempo di marcia)
The Background
Rome, the “Eternal City,” was a “natural” for a musician of Respighi’s antiquarian
inclinations, a city steeped in history, studded with monuments and statues, richly
endowed with great art and architecture. In The Pines of Rome, Respighi does not
deliberately attempt to portray nature, but rather uses landscapes with pines in and
around Rome as points of departure to conjure up visions and reminiscences of the
great city. “The century-old trees which so characteristically dominate the Roman
landscape become witnesses to the principal events in Roman life”, wrote Respighi.
The first performance was given, appropriately enough, in Rome on 14 December
1924 with Bernardino Molinari conducting the Augusteo Orchestra.
The Music
In the published score, Respighi wrote a description of the sights and sounds evoked
by the four connected sections. Somewhat abridged, the text runs as follows:
I. The Pines of the Villa Borghese – Children are at play in the pine grove of the Villa
Borghese; they mimic marching soldiers and battles; they chatter like excited swallows
at evening, then swarm away. Triangle, bells, celesta, piano and harp contribute to
the shimmering brilliance. Suddenly the scene changes to…
II. Pines near a Catacomb – We see the shadows of the pines, which crown the
entrance of a catacomb. From the depths rises a mournful chant [low horns] which
floats through the air like a solemn hymn, then slowly and mysteriously dies away.
III. The Pines of the Janiculum – A slight tremor disturbs the night air. The full moon
reveals the profile of the pines on the Janiculum [a ridge near the Tiber River].
A nightingale is singing. The use of the recorded birdsong represents the first time
a well-known composer employed modern recording playback techniques within a
musical work.
IV. The Pines of the Appian Way – Misty dawn on the Appian Way [the ancient
highway extending 350 miles from modern Brindisi to Rome]. A magical countryside
guarded by solitary pines. The indistinct, incessant rhythm of muffled footsteps. In the
poet’s mind appears a vision of past glories: in the grandeur of the rising sun, an army
advances inexorably on the Capitoline Hill to the accompaniment of brass fanfares.
Concert Notes by Robert Markow
MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
RESIDENT
CONDUCTOR
Harish Shankar
Naohisa Furusawa
FIRST VIOLIN
Co-Concertmaster
Peter Daniš
Principal
Ming Goh
Co-Principal
Zhenzhen Liang
Runa Baagöe
Maho Daniš
Miroslav Daniš
Evgeny Kaplan
Martijn Noomen
Sherwin Thia
Marcel Andriesii
Tan Ka Ming
Petia Atanasova
*Marco Roosink
SECOND VIOLIN
Section Principal
Timothy Peters
Assistant Principal
Luisa Hyams
Catalina Alvarez
Chia-Nan Hung
Anastasia Kiseleva
Stefan Kocsis
Ling Yunzhi
Ionut Mazareanu
Yanbo Zhao
Ai Jin
Robert Kopelman
VIOLA
Co-Principal
Gábor Mokány
PICCOLO
Principal
Sonia Croucher
Fumiko Dobrinov
Ong Lin Kern
Carol Pendlebury
Sun Yuan
Thian Aiwen
Fan Ran
*Emil Csonka
*Jennifer Arnold
OBOE
Section Principals
Simon Emes
*William Oinn
Sub-Principal
Niels Dittmann
CELLO
Co-Principal
Csaba Körös
Assistant Principal
Steven Retallick
Gerald Davis
Julie Dessureault
Laurentiu Gherman
Elizabeth Tan Suyin
Sejla Simon
Mátyás Major
DOUBLE BASS
Section Principal
Wolfgang Steike
Co-Principal
Joseph Pruessner
Raffael Bietenhader
Jun-Hee Chae
Naohisa Furusawa
John Kennedy
Foo Yin Hong
Andreas Dehner
FLUTE
Section Principal
Hristo Dobrinov
Co-Principal
Yukako Yamamoto
Sub-Principal
Rachel Jenkyns
COR ANGLAIS
Principal
*Jennifer Shark
CLARINET
Section Principal
Gonzalo Esteban
Co-Principal
*David Dias da Silva
Sub-Principal
Matthew Larsen
BASS CLARINET
Principal
Chris Bosco
BASSOON
Section Principal
Alexandar Lenkov
Co-Principal
*Muzsi Levente
Sub-Principal
Orsolya Juhasz
CONTRABASSOON
Principal
Vladimir Stoyanov
HORN
Section Principals
Grzegorz Curyla
*Igor Szeligowski
Co-Principal
James Schumacher
Sub-Principal
Laurence Davies
Assistant Principal
Sim Chee Ghee
Note: Sectional string players are listed alphabetically and rotate within their sections. *Extra musician.
TRUMPET
Section Principal
*Shane Hooton
Co-Principal
William Theis
Sub-Principals
*Peter Miller
*William Evans
*Jeffrey Missal
Assistant Principal
John Bourque
TROMBONE
Section Principal
*Andre Conde
Sub-Principal
*Marques Young
BASS TROMBONE
Principal
*Genki Morikawa
TUBA
Section Principal
Brett Stemple
TIMPANI
Section Principal
Matthew Thomas
PERCUSSION
Section Principal
Matthew Prendergast
Sub-Principals
Matthew Kantorski
*Joel Biedrzycki
*Sabela Garcia
*Tan Su Yin
*Yap Siu Yan
HARP
Principal
Tan Keng Hong
PIANO
*Akiko Daniš
ORgan
*Joanna Paul
MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA
FIRST VIOLIN
Andrea Sim Yi Xian
Catherine Khaw Hui Yang
Joshua Chew Caleb
Lee Yan Xing
Low Zi Yang
Soon Wern-Shynn
SECOND VIOLIN
Elle Chang Su-Ting
Hoi Khai-Weing
Izzywan Musib
Joey Young
Lee Jin Yen
Nicole Leong Ka Yeng
CELLO
Charissa Tan Tian Ai
Charlene Lee Ann
Joshua Sim Te Sheng
Lee Pu-Yen
Nathalie Kwan Wei Ling
DOUBLE BASS
Gillian Too
Lee Kar Yan
FLUTE
Bonnie Kong Tien Li
Japheth Law Sze Cheng
Lawrence Chiu Peng
Chong
Wooi Wei Kane
OBOE
Tho Jun Meng
Tunku Amanina
CLARINET
Lee Shi Min
Lim Yong Jia
Tang Kit Ying
BASSOON
Muhammad Afiq Hussaini
FRENCH HORN
Chloe Chai Mei Qin
Eric Tiow Xian Liang
Mohd Adznan Mokhtar
TRUMPET
Liaw Wen Xiang
Note: Musicians are listed alphabetically and rotate within their sections.
TROMBONE
Faiz Zainal
Teh Yoong Wei
TIMPANI/
PERCUSSION
Adriel Wong Xian Lih
PIANO/CELESTE
Choong See May
Tengku Mohd Hadif
HARP
Kathrina Chair Ping Jieh
Madelaine Chong
Zhia Chee
Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Nor Raina Yeong Abdullah
CEO’S OFFICE
Hanis Abdul Halim
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
At Ziafrizani Chek Pa
Nurartikah Ilyas
Kartini Ratna Sari Ahmat Adam
MARKETING
Yazmin Lim Abdullah
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Munshi Ariff
Farah Diyana Ismail
Noor Sarul Intan Salim
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
Asmahan Abdullah
Jalwati Mohd Noor
Music TALENT DEVELOPMENT &
MANAGEMENT
Soraya Mansor
PLANNING, FINANCE & IT
Mohd Hakimi Mohd Rosli
Norhisham Abd Rahman
Siti Nur Illyani Ahmad Fadzillah
Nurfharah Farhana Hashimi
PROCUREMENT & CONTRACT
Logiswary Raman
Norhaszilawati Zainudin
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT &
ADMINISTRATION
Sharhida Saad
Muknoazlida Mukhadzim
Zatil Ismah Azmi
Nor Afidah Nordin
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TECHNICAL OPERATIONS
Firoz Khan
Mohd Zamir Mohd Isa
Yasheera Ishak
Shahrul Rizal M Ali
Dayan Erwan Maharal
Zolkarnain Sarman
Malaysian Philharmonic
Orchestra
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Nor Raina Yeong Abdullah
general manager
Timothy Tsukamoto
ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT
Amy Yu Mei Ling
Tham Ying Hui
ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION
Khor Chin Yang
MUSIC LIBRARY
Sharon Francis Lihan
Ong Li-Huey
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Shafrin Sabri
Shireen Jasin Mokhtar
MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH
ORCHESTRA
Ahmad Muriz Che Rose
Fadilah Kamal Francis
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