Józef Kozłowski: Requiem Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Chorus and Youth Choir & Hans Graf

• Józef Kozłowski (1757 - 1831): Requiem in E-Flat Minor:
• 1Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: I. Requiem et Kyrie05:21
• 2Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: II. Dies irae03:17
• 3Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: III. Tuba mirum04:29
• 4Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: IV. Judex ergo04:59
• 5Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: V. Confutatis04:29
• 6Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: VI. Lacrymosa02:44
• 7Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: VII. Domine Jesu Christe05:23
• 8Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: VIII. Sanctus02:50
• 9Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: IX. Benedictus04:01
• 10Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: X. Agnus Dei05:33
• 11Kozłowski: Requiem in E-Flat Minor: XI. Quia pius es - XII. Requiem aeternam06:04
• Total Runtime49:10

Info for Józef Kozłowski: Requiem

The Singapore Symphony and its music director Hans Graf present a recording of Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, together with the Singapore Symphony Chorus & Youth Choir, as well as a quartet of outstanding soloists: Olga Peretyatko (soprano), Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano), Boris Stepanov (tenor) and Christoph Seidl (bass). The Requiem (1798) was commissioned to Kozłowski by the abdicated King Stanisław of Poland, and can be perceived as a requiem not just for the monarch, but for the entire Polish nation, absorbed by the Russian state during the 1780s. Interestingly, the work was also heard during the funeral of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, in a different version with heavier orchestration and choruses for more drama. The current recording uses a new edition created by conductor Graf himself, realizing the intimate character of the original 1798 version. Composed just 7 years after Mozart’s famous Requiem, the work is rooted in Viennese Classicism, yet also adumbrates nineteenth-century developments, with a subtle Slavonic tinge. This revival is a gem to anyone interested in music from the early Romantic era.

The Singapore Symphony returns to Pentatone after their acclaimed recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Locatelli’s Labirinto armonico starring violinist Chloe Chua (2023). Hans Graf, the Singapore Symphony Chorus & Youth Choir and the vocal quartet all make their Pentatone debut.

Olga Peretyatko, soprano
Olesya Petrova, mezzo-soprano
Boris Stepanov, tenor
Christoph Seidl, bass
Singapore Symphony Chorus
Singapore Symphony Youth Choir
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor

Hans Graf
Armed with a spirit of musical curiosity and discovery, creative programming and his commanding presence on stage, Austrian conductor Hans Graf has raised orchestras to new heights while winning audiences young and old alike. With Hans Graf, “a brave new world of music-making under inspired direction” (The Straits Times) began at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where he was appointed Chief Conductor from the 2020/21 season, and Music Director from the 2022/23 season.

Graf was formerly Music Director of the Houston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Basque National Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He frequently appears with all major orchestras in North America, including Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, and a special friendship with the Boston Symphony developed over 20 years.

In Europe, Graf has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, DSO Berlin, Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam, the Oslo, Stockholm, the Hallé, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic and Russian National, the Bavarian, Danish and Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestras, Budapest Festival Orchestra and many others. He is also a regular guest with the leading orchestras of Asia and Australia.

A frequent conductor at the Salzburg Festival since 1983, Graf has also participated in the prestigious festivals of Maggio Musicale, Bregenz, Aix-en-Provence in Europe, and in the US, the Tanglewood, Blossom, Aspen, Grant Park and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festivals.

Graf has led many performances at the Vienna State Opera and the opera houses of Munich, Berlin, Paris and Rome, among others. Recent productions include Wagner’s Parsifal in Zurich and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov in Strasbourg. In 2014 he was awarded the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis for Richard Strauss’s Die Feuersnot at the famed Vienna Volksoper, where he returned in 2021 to lead Rosenkavalier.

Hans Graf’s extensive discography is found on the EMI, Orfeo, CBC, Erato, Capriccio and JVC labels and includes all the symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, the complete orchestral works of Henri Dutilleux (recorded under the composer’s supervision), and the world-premiere recording of Zemlinsky’s Es war einmal. Graf’s semi-staged production of Berg’s Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony won the GRAMMY and ECHO Klassik awards for best opera recording.

Further albums include Hindemith’s complete works for viola and orchestra with Tabea Zimmermann/DSO Berlin (Myrios), Orff's Carmina Burana with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and with the Russian National Orchestra, Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos with Jae-Hyuck Cho and three Russian trumpet concertos with Paul Merkelo.

With the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hans Graf has completed pioneering recording projects such as the music of Paul von Klenau and Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem. A highly anticipated cycle of Mozart Violin Concertos with Chloe Chua, and Stravinsky Concertos with violinist He Ziyu and pianist Alexei Volodin have also been recorded under his baton, for release.

Born near Linz in 1949, Graf studied conducting with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Arvid Jansons. He is Professor Emeritus for Orchestral Conducting at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. For his services to music, he was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government and the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold from the Republic of Austria.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra
A full-time professional orchestra with 96 members, the SSO now makes its performing home at the Esplanade Concert Hall, and also performs regularly at the Victoria Concert Hall and at other venues. Established in 1979, the SSO performs over 50 symphonic programmes a year. Its versatile repertoire spans the all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres, with Asian and Singaporean musicians and composers featuring prominently in the concert season. The SSO has toured America, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Among the SSO’s recordings under BIS are a number of CDs which have earned international acclaim, including a Seascapes album and the first-ever cycle of Tcherepnin’s six piano concertos and four symphonies. The SSO has also recorded the music of Chen Yi, Bright Sheng and Richard Yardumian, collaborating with such great artists as Gil Shaham, Evelyn Glennie, Cho-Liang Lin, Noriko Ogawa, Sharon Bezaly, Claude Delangle, Christian Lindberg and Martin Fröst.

Booklet for Józef Kozłowski: Requiem