Bennett; Duke: Violin Concertos Chloë Hanslip, Singapore Symphony Orchestra & Andrew Litton

• Robert Russell Bennett (1894 - 1981): Violin Concerto:
• 1 Bennett: Violin Concerto: I. Allegro moderato 11:26
• 2 Bennett: Violin Concerto: II. Andante moderato 06:34
• 3 Bennett: Violin Concerto: III. Vivace 01:27
• 4 Bennett: Violin Concerto: IV. Allegro non troppo vivo 04:29
• Hexapoda:
• 5 Bennett: Hexapoda: No. 1, Gut-Bucket Gus 01:54
• 6 Bennett: Hexapoda: No. 2, Jane Shakes Her Hair 01:07
• 7 Bennett: Hexapoda: No. 3, Betty and Harold Close Their Eyes 01:45
• 8 Bennett: Hexapoda: No. 4, Jim Jives 00:56
• 9 Bennett: Hexapoda: No. 5, --- Till Dawn Sunday 01:59
• Vernon Duke (1903 - 1969): Violin Concerto:
• 10 Duke: Violin Concerto: I. Allegro molto 10:23
• 11 Duke: Violin Concerto: II. Tempo di Valse 04:51
• 12 Duke: Violin Concerto: III. Tema con Variazioni e Coda - Tema 01:06
• 13 Duke: Violin Concerto: III Var. 1. Non troppo moderato 01:46
• 14 Duke: Violin Concerto: III. Var. 2. Poco lamentoso 02:40
• 15 Duke: Violin Concerto: III. Var. 3. Giocoso 02:11
• 16 Duke: Violin Concerto: III. Var. 4. Sostenuto e pesante 01:14
• 17 Duke: Violin Concerto: III. Var. 5. Andantino 02:03
• 18 Duke: Violin Concerto: III. Var. 6. & Coda - Ben ritmato 02:37
• Total Runtime 01:00:28

Info zu Bennett; Duke: Violin Concertos

Beide Violinkonzerte wurden aus demselben Grund lange vernachlässigt: Ihre Komponisten waren viel bekannter für ihre Leistungen im Musiktheater als für ihre Werke für den Konzertsaal.

Robert Russell Bennett studierte Komposition in Paris bei Nadia Boulanger und sein Werk umfasst sieben Symphonien. Er orchestrierte auch einige der bekanntesten Musicals der Broadway-Geschichte, darunter Werke von George Gershwin, Cole Porter sowie Rodgers und Hammerstein. (Richard Rodgers behauptete bescheiden, Bennetts Fähigkeiten in der Instrumentierung hätten seine Musik „besser klingen lassen, als sie war“.)

Wladimir Alexandrowitsch Dukelsky änderte seinen Namen auf Vorschlag seines Freundes Jacob Gershovitz – besser bekannt als George Gershwin – in Vernon Duke. Duke erhielt eine anspruchsvolle Ausbildung in klassischer Musik am Kiewer Konservatorium, war mit Prokofjew befreundet und komponierte Ballettmusiken für Sergej Djagilews Ballets russes in Paris sowie drei Symphonien. Bekannt ist er vor allem als Schöpfer erfolgreicher Shows wie „Cabin in the Sky“ und als Komponist zahlreicher Songs, die zu Jazzstandards wurden, darunter „April in Paris“.

Chloë Hanslip, Andrew Litton und das Singapore Symphony Orchestra spielen beide Konzerte mit Bravour, und Andrew Litton ist auch als Pianist in Bennetts „Hexapoda“ für Violine und Klavier zu hören.

Chloë Hanslip, Violine
Singapoda Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton, Dirigent, Klavier

Chloë Hanslip
made her mark as a teenager, debuting at the BBC Proms at fourteen and in the US at fifteen. She has since performed at prestigious venues around the world, including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Vienna Musikverein and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Recent highlights include concertos with London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony and Gävle Symphony, as well as a UK tour with Czech National Symphony and a Scotland tour with duo partner Danny Driver. Her latest recording features concertos by Robert Russell Bennett and Vernon Duke with Singapore Symphony and Andrew Litton, which will be released in October 2025. Upcoming highlights also include appearances at Buxton Festival and Wigmore Hall.

Hanslip’s musical curiosity covers the entire concerto repertoire from Britten and Delius to Barber and Bernstein. She has a particular passion for contemporary music, championing works by John Adams, Philip Glass, John Corigliano, Michael Nyman, Huw Watkins, Michael Berkeley, Peter Maxwell Davies and Brett Dean. She took part in the European premiere of Jake Heggie’s Intonations at the Red Violin Festival, inspired by the ‘Violins of Hope’ that were rescued from Auschwitz. Her broad range is also represented by an extensive discography, her latest releases including the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas on Rubicon Classics with Danny Driver.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Since its founding in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has been Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan city-state.

In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings. In 2021, the SSO clinched third place in the prestigious Orchestra of the Year Award by Gramophone.

In July 2022, the SSO appointed renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Music Director, the third in the orchestra’s history after Lan Shui (1997-2019) and Choo Hoey (1979-1996). Prior to this, Hans Graf served as Chief Conductor from 2020, leading the SSO in keeping music alive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works, as well as outreach and community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the Home of the SSO. The orchestra performs over 60 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. The SSO launched its digital concert hall, SSOLOUNGE, in 2021. Bridging the musical traditions of East and West, Singaporean and Asian musicians and composers are regularly showcased in the concert season.

Beyond Singapore, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. In May 2016 the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. This successful five-city tour of Germany and Prague also included the SSO’s second performance at the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2014 the SSO’s debut at the 120th BBC Proms in London received critical acclaim in the major UK newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions.

The SSO has released more than 50 recordings, with over 30 on the BIS label. The most recent critically acclaimed albums include a Rachmaninoff box set (2021), Richard Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier and Other Works” (2020), and three Debussy discs “La Mer”, “Jeux” and “Nocturnes”. A Four Seasons album and a complete Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Chloe Chua and Hans Graf will be released in the near future.

The SSO has also collaborated with such great artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Joe Hisaishi, Neeme Järvi, Okko Kamu, Hannu Lintu, Andrew Litton, Lorin Maazel, Martha Argerich, Ray Chen, Diana Damrau, Stephen Hough, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Krystian Zimerman.

The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, and the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.

The mission of the Group is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

Andrew Litton
is Music Director of the New York City Ballet and Conductor Laureate of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He was previously Music Director of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic, where he led the orchestra to international acclaim through extensive touring and recordings, including debuts at the BBC Proms, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and Carnegie Hall. For his contributions, he was awarded the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit by King Harald V.

Litton served as Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 1994, leading its first American tour and making 14 recordings, including the Grammy-winning Belshazzar’s Feast. As Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1994–2006), he led three European tours, appeared four times at Carnegie Hall, created a nationally broadcast children’s television series, produced 28 recordings, and helped grow the orchestra’s endowment from $19 million to $100 million.

He continues to guest conduct widely, with recent engagements including the Vancouver Symphony, South Netherlands Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, BBC Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Seattle Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Symphony Orchestra of India, Grant Park Music Festival, and the Dallas and Royal Swedish Orchestras. He also returns regularly to the Bergen and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras and the Singapore Symphony, where he was formerly Principal Guest Conductor.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include performances with the Colorado, Phoenix, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, a return to Galicia, and a full season at New York City Ballet. A frequent opera conductor with a strong theatrical sense, Litton has led performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Australian Opera, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. He played a key role in founding Bergen National Opera and conducted many of its acclaimed productions. As Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest for 14 years, he concluded each season with sold-out opera performances including Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, and La Traviata. In 2021, he conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

Litton’s work with New York City Ballet has earned praise from dancers, critics, and audiences, bringing fresh prominence to the company’s orchestra. He began his ballet career as an onstage pianist at Juilliard, performing with Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, and Cynthia Gregory. He made his Royal Ballet debut in December 2023 and debuted with the Bayerisches Staatsballett in 2024.

An accomplished pianist, he frequently conducts from the keyboard, most recently in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Adelaide Symphony and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in Singapore. A leading Gershwin expert, he advises the University of Michigan Gershwin Archives and has recorded the composer’s works extensively. His concert suite of Porgy and Bess is widely performed. His solo album A Tribute to Oscar Peterson reflects his lifelong love of jazz. His discography includes over 140 recordings, with honours such as the Classical Brits/BBC Critics Award for his Rachmaninoff concertos with Stephen Hough and a Grammy nomination for Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic and Patti LuPone.

A New York native, Andrew earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano and Conducting from The Juilliard School, later serving as assistant conductor at La Scala and with the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich. His honours include Norway’s Royal Order of Merit, Yale University’s Sanford Medal, the Elgar Society Medal, and an Honorary Doctorate from Bournemouth University.

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