The Singapore Symphony Orchestra opens its 2026/27 season with Gil Shaham, two new works for Singapore audiences and Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Performances are on Friday and Saturday, 17 and 18 July 2026, at 7.30pm in Esplanade Concert Hall.
The concerts also mark Hannu Lintu’s inauguration as SSO Music Director. The programme runs about two hours 25 minutes including a 20-minute interval.
A World Premiere And An Asian Premiere
Singaporean composer Tan Chan Boon’s commissioned Après l’Odyssée receives its world premiere. It is followed by Mason Bates’s Nomad Concerto, written for Gil Shaham and heard here in its Asian premiere.
That sequence gives the first half a contemporary focus before the scale of Mahler after the interval. Shaham’s part is not a familiar Romantic concerto inserted into a standard programme; the collaboration is built around a recent work.
- Tan Chan Boon: Après l’Odyssée, world premiere.
- Mason Bates: Nomad Concerto, Asian premiere.
- Soloist: Gil Shaham.
Why Mahler 5 Closes The Night
Mahler’s Fifth moves from an opening funeral march through intense central movements to the luminous Adagietto and an affirmative finale. The famous Adagietto is only one chapter in a much larger arc.
The full concert is long enough that young listeners should be comfortable with an evening programme. The official recommendation is for ages seven and above.
- Dates: 17 and 18 July 2026.
- Tickets: S$28 to S$138 before fees.
- Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall.
The 18 July Autograph Session
A post-concert autograph session with Hannu Lintu and Gil Shaham is scheduled for 18 July only. Participants need an official SSO wristband collected opposite the Concert Hall Information Counter on Level 1.
Browse Little Big Red Dot’s Entertainment guides for more performance dates.
- Autograph session: 18 July only.
- Collect the required wristband before the session.
- Arrive early for concert-hall security and seating.
