Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino returns to Singapore on Sunday, 25 October, with Chopin Orbit, a recital that sets Chopin beside Adès, Saint-Saëns and Stravinsky. He plays the Esplanade Concert Hall at 7pm, and tickets start at S$48, or S$38.40 for students, full-time national servicemen, seniors and persons with disabilities.
The concert, presented by Credia Music & Artists, follows Sumino’s sold-out Singapore appearance in 2024.
The programme
Chopin sits at the centre. The recital includes his Piano Sonata No. 2 and the “Winter Wind” Étude, set against Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre and music from Stravinsky’s The Firebird, with a work by the British composer Thomas Adès in the mix.
Sumino also writes his own music, and the programme threads it through the evening. Lydian Harp, White Keys and Imaginary Polonaise are among his compositions, re-compositions and improvisations.
That mix is what has made his name. Sumino moves between the standard repertoire and his own arrangements, and improvises on stage, which is why a Chopin recital from him is not a straight run through the sonatas.
Who is Hayato Sumino
Sumino built a large audience online first, under the name Cateen. His channel has more than 1.56 million YouTube subscribers and over 200 million views across his platforms.
He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Japan honouree, a Steinway & Sons Artist, and an ambassador for Apple Music Classical and CASIO. He has played with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the New Japan Philharmonic under Joe Hisaishi, the composer best known for the Studio Ghibli film scores.
Also at Esplanade that weekend
Sumino’s recital closes a busy few days on the bay. Singapore singer-songwriter Feng Ze brings his Bend The Lines concert home to the same Concert Hall at 7.30pm on Friday, 23 October, its first stop outside Taiwan, with tickets from S$98 to S$258.
Over the same two nights, 23 and 24 October, the all-female OSK Nippon Revue Company, a Japanese troupe with more than 100 years of history, plays the Singtel Waterfront Theatre with tickets from S$19. Top star Kazuki Tsubasa, known in Japan for the NHK morning drama Boogie Woogie, leads the company.
Tickets and timings
Standard tickets run across five categories:
- Category 1: S$158
- Category 2: S$128
- Category 3: S$108
- Category 4: S$78
- Category 5: S$48
Concession tickets for students, full-time national servicemen, seniors and persons with disabilities are limited, from S$38.40. Esplanade&Me Black, White and Discover members get 10 per cent off Category 1 to 5 tickets until 8pm on the day of the concert, also in limited numbers.
The recital runs two hours, including a 20-minute interval. Admission is for ages seven and above.
The Esplanade Concert Hall is a short walk from Esplanade MRT station on the Circle Line, and from City Hall station through the Citylink Mall underpass.
