FANFARE INTERVIEW WITH HANS SØRENSEN


BY ROBERT MARKOW

Hans Sørensen served as Director of Artistic Planning for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) from 2019 to 2025. He recently took up the same position with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, but shortly before leaving Singapore he was involved with the release of an SSO recording of Strauss tone poems on the OUR label. I caught up with the peripatetic Sørensen last November to talk about this release and about his experience living and working in Singapore.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Fanfare! Could we start with some basic biographical information about you – where you grew up and your musical education?
Sure! I grew up in the southern Denmark. Music ran in my family. Both my grandfathers played violin, and I learned to play too at an early age. At 14 I joined my paternal grandfather in playing folk music at local festivals, a strong tradition in Denmark. My mother introduced me to Beethoven via LPs. Later I moved to Copenhagen and studied music theory, ear training and analysis with Lars Jensen, a former student of Celibidache and Ferrara. I later on studied conducting with him and Ole Schmidt. After moving through different jobs in the music industry¬¬‒marketing, promotion at Universal Music, producing film music in Prague and lecturing on film music history‒I began working as artistic planner for the Danish National Orchestra, then for the Gothenburg Symphony, and after that the Singapore Symphony.

The OUR label was founded in 2006 primarily to record Danish music (An interview with the label’s co-director Lars Hannibal can be found in Fanfare 48:4.) How did OUR come to record standard German repertory like Don Juan and Ein Heldenleben?
I had already produced 12 recording for Pentatone, Dacapo and Chandos in Singapore over a period of six years, from initial conception to final product. But actually, this Strauss CD was Hans Graf’s idea, to offer the live concerts as a CD. Then, when I was in London for the annual 2025 IAMA conference, I asked my long-time friend Lars Hannibal, one of the two co-managing directors of OUR recordings, if he would consider releasing it on his label. After hearing it he readily agreed. Lars had worked with the SSO’s previous music director, Lan Shui, and OUR’s other co-managing director Michala Petri [of recorder fame] had earlier performed with the orchestra, so the door was wide open for this collaboration.

Why record Don Juan and Ein Heldenleben for the umpteenth time? Can the market sustain still another recording of these warhorses?
Yes, it can, when the artistic result is good enough. Every recording, especially live recordings, is a historic document of that particular orchestra and conductor. Being at the concerts and later listening to the recording, I find the result to be very close to the feeling I had at the concerts.

So these live recordings? Are they the same ones as can be found online?
Yes, they are live recordings.The video version on YouTube has a different edit than the CD version. Both the video and CD are based on live performances, but are edited and mixed differently. For a video edit, it is important to synchronize the picture you see to the music you hear. On a CD you’re not concerned with that element.

Is this OUR’s first recording with the SSO? Are more in the planning stages?
Yes, this is a first, but I’m pretty sure others will follow.

Your appointment with the SSO in early 2019 came just before the arrival of Hans Graf as its new Chief Conductor in 2020 (Graf’s title became Music Director in 2023), following the departure of Lan Shui as Music Director of 22 years. Was this a coincidence, or was this planned as part of a whole new outlook?
It was no coincidence. The SSO was planning a new overall strategy for the orchestra. Aside from the SSO, there are several other performing groups managed by the Singapore Symphony Group, including the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and Singapore Symphony Choruses. I coordinated the artistic plans for these groups as well as for VCHPresents, a chamber music series at the historic old Victoria Concert Hall.

Whose idea was it to have a Director of Artistic Planning? Was this a first for the orchestra?
Yes, it was a first, and it was part of the new strategy to have this position.

Can you describe your duties in Singapore in some detail?
I start with an empty calendar, two-to-three years ahead. Then I discuss with Hans Graf about the repertory he wants to do and the soloists he wants to have over the coming seasons, when he spends eight weeks per season in Singapore. We put the programs together and hire the soloists. After that I choose the guest conductors and soloists for the remaining weeks, normally about 25 or 26 weeks in total. The choice of guest conductors is based partly on the feedback I get from the musicians and partly on my own experience and preferences. I also plan potential recording opportunities for each season

Where do your personal tastes lie? Did these influence your repertory decisions in Singapore?
It’s a combination of many things. Each orchestra and country has a unique music history and requirements. An orchestra needs to develop and improve through the right choice of conductors and repertory. Developing an orchestra is like training a football team. It’s the same language, the same rules, whether you’re in South America or Europe. That’s why players can play in teams around the world and musicians can play in orchestras around the world. My personal taste would be relevant when it’s about creating recording opportunities. I’m basically doing what known as A&R (artist and repertory) in the record business, namely, putting together the right artists with the right repertory. A good example is the Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua. We had her as our artist-in-residence for two seasons, recording four albums plus additional videos as part of our support for a uniquely talented soloist. The choice of repertory and timing are key to developing a young talent. Another part of the job is finding unknown repertory to play and possibly record, like the Kozlowski Requiem, Russell Bennett’s Violin Concerto, Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights Suite or a Bill Evans tribute, including Claus Ogerman’s Symbiosis.

Did your repertory suggestions sometimes come into conflict with those of Hans Graf or guest conductors?
No, part of the job is avoiding that.

Do many other orchestras have a position called Director of Artistic Planning? And if so, does the nature of the job in Singapore differ from those in Europe or North America?
Most larger orchestras have that position, I would guess there are about 150 people with that title worldwide. Some orchestras have a musician-program committee, some not. But basically it’s about coordinating and planning a perfect season that will attract audiences and develop the orchestra.

What was the most difficult part of your job?
It’s a big jigsaw puzzle putting a season together. There are many stakeholders, and you have to find the right balance of artistic excellence, the state of the economy, and bringing satisfaction to all the stakeholders, including the audience.

You were barely a year into your duties in Singapore when Covid struck. How did this affect your job in particular, and how did the orchestra manage during those difficult times?
It was the same for all orchestras around the world. We had to go from planning two-to-three years ahead to planning a timeline of just a few weeks with many limitations. We were fortunate that we already had a good setup for producing online concerts.

What do you see as your greatest accomplishment in Singapore?
I contributed to increasing audience numbers by 20%, and ticket sales from pre-Covid 79% to post-Covid 93%. I succeeded in increasing all the regular subscription concerts from single performances to pairs and still maintaining healthy attendance at both performances. Our recordings have also gained a lot of attention, and the social media platforms, especially the SSO YouTube, have grown extremely fast over the past six or seven years.

How would you describe the quality of life in Singapore? Did you enjoy living there?
It was difficult at first, getting used to the year-round heat and humidity, but I eventually came to enjoy the city very much. However, after almost seven years there I began to miss the four seasons we have in Europe.

How would you describe the overall cultural environment in Singapore? There is fantastic educational and governmental support there. This is how culture in Europe used to be during the 1950s and 60s, with huge interest in the arts and great government support. I can only wish that this level of support would return to Europe. Thanks to this kind of support, we see so much talent coming from not only Singapore but Asia in general.

And how about the SSO audiences for different kinds of events?
There is considerable knowledge about both artists and the music. The average age for SSO subscription concerts is just 36, and 43% of the audience is new! The audience in Singapore is one of the youngest in the world for classical music – far younger than what we get in Europe. In Singapore we definitely see a rising demand for established international artists and a growing level of appreciation for young artists both from the region and beyond..

What, if anything, can be done to make the western world more aware of the extraordinarily high quality of Asian orchestras? The use of social media is the key for the future of any orchestra attempting to reach new audiences. Asia is generally way ahead in this respect. The organizations in Europe should really wake up and realize what is coming.

In this day and age, are recordings still important to an orchestra’s image?
Very much so, but it depends on having the right A&R strategy. The recording process is also very important for the development of the orchestra.

What about tours?
Touring has changed a lot after Covid. It’s now extremely expensive to tour, and is limited mostly to the biggest orchestras.

Have you seen any change in the SSO during your six years with the orchestra?
Yes, a lot. Besides a new Chief Conductor [Hans Graf, who later become Music Director], there’s a generational shift going on in the SSO. Younger musicians are coming in with new energy and ideas.

How does the SSO fit into the landscape of other Asian orchestras? How about the world?
In South East Asia there are not many major orchestras compared to the number of people living there. Every part of Asia is unique and not really easy to compare with others.

Where do you see the SSO going in the years ahead?
I think in the future hands of Hannu Lintu, as new Music Director starting from the 2026-27 season, it will be in good hands. Lintu is a very different type of conductor compared to Hans Graf, and so too was Graf compared to his predecessor Lan Shui. The SSO has developed in the right direction with every new music director, and I’m sure this will be the case again.

In closing, what advice can you give to your successor Christopher Cheong?
I was fortunate to be able to work with Chris for six months before I left, advising and teaching him about the position. The most important thing is programming; this is the key to success! The right programming will attract a diverse audience, and this is really what the job is all about. Getting as broad and diverse an audience into the concert hall and giving them the ultimate analogue experience still left in our digital world.