Hans Graf conducts Rachmaninov, Szymanowski, and Rimsky-Korsakov — With Leticia Moreno

Two of the most evocative and poetic examples of Russian Romanticism, plus the heart-rending final major achievement by a Polish legend, feature in this wholly enchanting program by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, one of their last outings with music director Hans Graf before the end of his celebrated tenure. Graf begins the evening with Rachmaninov's symphonic poem The Rock, inspired thematically by Chekhov and musically by Tchaikovsky — and an inspiration in turn to the latter, who intended to include it on a conducting tour before his untimely death. Spanish violin virtuoso Leticia Moreno takes the stage next to perform the dazzling Violin Concerto No. 2 by Karol Szymanowski, a perpetual motion machine featuring heart-stopping climaxes, a truly epic cadenza, and moments of sublime lyricism. The closer is Rimsky-Korsakov's finest masterpiece Scheherazade, a musical retelling of the One Thousand and One Nights that takes us out on the high seas for thrilling romance and swashbuckling adventure set to some of the most beguiling melodies ever composed.