SSO’s Butterfly Lovers Concerto Mesmerises With Its Musical Enchantment

The much-anticipated Butterfly Lovers Concerto by the Selangor Symphony Orchestra (SSO) left the audience spellbound, as the 40-piece orchestra transported us to a realm of musical enchantment.

Butterfly Lovers Concerto was in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, observed on 29th September 2023, which corresponded to the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

The day before, the orchestra, also under the baton of conductor Eugene Pook, played to a similarly appreciative audience in Petaling Jaya at the auditorium of St. Joseph’s Institution International School.

Brian Larson (concert master) — Brian Larson (concertmaster)

As an Ipohite, Eugene, who is also the Music Director of SSO, ensures that the community has the opportunity to revel in high-quality symphonic music and orchestral performances by bringing such concerts to his hometown whenever possible, despite numerous challenges.

Butterfly Lovers Concerto opened with ‘The Blue Danube Waltz,’ one of Johann Strauss II’s most enduring classical compositions. It was then followed by ‘Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto’, with violin soloist Hyungi Kim, mesmerising the audience with her emotionally-filled captivating performance.

After a 15-minute intermission, the orchestra returned to the stage with ‘Sleeping Beauty Waltz’ by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Amidst thunderous applause, the next piece was the ‘Hungarian Dance No. 5’ by Johannes Brahms, with its beat contagiously keeping the audience tapping their feet.

Before we could catch our breath, ‘Song to the Moon’ from the opera ‘Rusalka’ by Antonin Dvorak was played, featuring mezzo-soprano Jiayao Sun on vocals. Singing with a depth of emotions, Jiayao was able to bring forth the heart-wrenching aria of the protagonist, water nymph Rusalka, who fell in love with a human prince.

Next up was another classic, the upbeat ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ from ‘My Fair Lady’, composed by Frederick Loewe, and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. From this, Jiayao toned it down with ‘Moon River’ by composer Henry Moncini and lyricist Johnny Mercer. Jiayao took a break as the orchestra played on with ‘Clair de Lune’, the third movement from the Suite Bergamasque, composed by Claude Debussy in 1888.

(L-R) violinist Hyungi Kim, mezzo-soprano Jiayao Sun and conductor Eugene Pook with the Selangor Symphony Orchestra

Jiayao returned to the stage to enthral with her vocals in the Mandarin piece ‘但愿⼈⻓久’ (Dan Yuan Ren Chang Jiu) by Tu Ming & Su Shi. She then stepped up her performance by collaborating with Hyungi Kim on the violin for the evergreen ‘⽉亮代表我的⼼’ (The Moon Represents My Heart) by Sun Yi & Weng Ching-hsi, backed by SSO with Eugene Pook as the conductor. It was an apt piece to wrap up the concert.

Eugene Pook receives a bouquet of roses from his friend, Michelle

However, with chants of ‘encore’, Eugene and his orchestra obliged with ‘Can Can’ from ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’ by Jacques Offenbach, to the delight of everyone.

To further support the pursuit of the arts in the city, the Ipoh Philharmonic Orchestra received a contribution of RM5,000 from YB Jenny Choy and her Office of the Deputy Speaker, Perak State Legislative Assembly. It was accepted by Eehooi Soon, the President of SSO.