Chamber music is the foundation of symphonic music. With its Chamber Music @ SZS series the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra aims to inspire and illuminate the citizens of Suzhou by showing that very foundation.
In its inaugural season, the musicians of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra brought to audience for the first time, the idea that music can be so intimate, approachable, and entertaining. They crafted programs that told stories, showcased virtuosity, piqued curiosity, and enlightened minds.
"Wintertime"
2017.11.12 (SUN)
Jinji Lake Concert Hall, SSCAC 2nd Floor
For the inaugural concert of the chamber music series, SZS musicians pulled out all the stops in a concert that has French impressionism meet the "original" classical rap. The program, divided into two portions, began with a sensuous fare of Maurice Ravel's ravishing instrumentation and exotic tonalities. The harp becomes a protagonist in this mélange of sensuality and ingenuity, interacting first with a sultry clarinet in the guise of a habanera, then reinventing the piano sonatina in an arrangement for harp, flute and cello. In the second portion, the percussionists unraveled their complicated program as a geography lesson. Their journey of beats and rhythms started in their imaginary Africa and ended with the tango of Argentina. In the course of this "head trip", the percussionists "staged" a "fugue" executed completely by "speaking" – in what is known to be the first example of "rap music".
RAVEL Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera
Tomoyo Kobayashi, clarinet
Jessica Fotinos, harp
RAVEL Sonatine en trio for flute, cello and harp, arr. Carlos Salzedo
Elisabet Franch Moncunill, flute
Dmitry Silvian, violoncello
Jessica Fotinos, harp
RAVEL Introduction et Allegro pour harpe avec quatuor à cordes, flûte et clarinette
Elisabet Franch, flute
Tomoyo Kobayashi, clarinet
Jessica Fotinos, harp
Nikita Olivenich, violin
Jiaxing Li, violin
Joyce Huang, viola
Dmitry Silvian, violoncello
CIRONE 4/4 for Four
Gabriele Bartezzati, percussion
Jorge Renes López, percussion
Gerasimos Tsagkarakis, percussion
Georgi Videnov, percussion
TOCH Geographical Fugue, for speaking chorus, from Gesprochene Musik
Gabriele Bartezzati, percussion
Jorge Renes López, percussion
Gerasimos Tsagkarakis, percussion
PIAZZOLLA L' Histoire du Tango
Joanna Wu, flute
Georgi Videnov, percussion
Chamber Music @ SZSO 2017_Wintertime.mp4
“Rendez-vous with France”
2017.12.14-12.15
Jinji Lake Concert Hall, SSCAC 2nd Floor
SZS Executive Director Katherine Chu, in an entertaining format of Q and A with the audience, introduced the Jinji Lake Concert Hall, explaining the science behind its "surround-style" design and the meticulously tested acoustics hidden in the decorative elements of traditional Suzhou.
Following a brief "spiel" on the origins of chamber music, the real “rendez-vous” began as the musicians use various ensemble combinations to illustrate a pedigree line of composers: Saint-Saens, Debussy, Ibert, Takemitsu and Conyngham. They are united by one unequivocally stylish musical baptism: the French Musical School.
SAINT-SAËNS Fantasie for Violin and Harp, Op. 124
Pantxoa Urtizberea, flute
Jessica Fotinos, harp
IBERT Entr'acte, for Flute and Harp
Pantxoa Urtizberea, flute
Jessica Fotinos, harp
TAKEMITSU Toward the Sea
Joanna Wu, alto flute
Georgi Videnov, marimba
CONYNGHAM Streams, for Flute, Viola and Harp
Joanna Wu, flute
Mengwen Zhao, viola
Jessica Fotinos, harp
DEBUSSY Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp
I. Pastorale
II. Interlude
III. Finale
Joanna Wu, flute
Mengwen Zhao, viola
Jessica Fotinos, harp
“My First Xmas at SZS”
What's Christmas without carols? What's Christmas carol without the brass quintet?
On a not very cold December night in Suzhou, the brass players of the SZS went carolling with perennial favorites that recount the Christmas tale as told by different countries and cultures. True to the holiday spirit, the percussionists decked the hall (the Jinji Lake Concert Hall), not with boughs of holly, but with "avant-garde". On a dimly lit stage, they performed John Cage's "Living Room Music", using everyday household objects. To add theatricality to the scene, the percussionists brought in surprise guests like Santa, goblin and the angelic stage manager who created such spontaneous on-stage drama that could never be found in any other Christmas story.
Responding to the enormous popular demand and interest, the SZS has planned a series of 10 concerts that promise to open the eyes, perk up the ears, and put a smile on faces!
COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man, for Brass & Percussion
CAGE Living Room Music
ZIVKOVIC Trio per uno
Juan Pablo Muñoz, trumpet
Jingyuan Wang, trumpet
Antoine Tacquenier, trombone
Jamal Boukhnouch, tuba
James Chen, horn
