FAMILIAR GROUND: Singapore International Piano Festival 2009 / Review

FAMILIAR GROUND
16th Singapore International Piano Festival
Victoria Concert Hall
Thursday to Sunday (25-28 June 2009)

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 30 June 2009.

As the former Artistic Director of the annual piano festival, this reviewer enjoyed the wry in-joke of this year’s theme, a welcome return from the “unfamiliar” piano repertoire and artists of the past five festivals. A parallel may be drawn with the fortunes of the Singapore Arts Festival, as this edition posted a return to higher attendances with its roster of mostly Russian pianists playing music of the most usual suspect – Frederic Chopin.

On the first evening, the Russian-American Vladimir Feltsman (left) probed the bittersweet vistas of two less-played Op.26 Polonaises. Between violent eruptions, Chopin’s vulnerability was poignantly bared, with self-conscious attempts at lightness and jollity in the latter dance an unexpected highlight. The popular Ballade No.3 built to its heady climax, with delicious inner voices brought out along the way.

Feltsman’s evening began with a romanticised view of Bach’s Partita No.1 in B flat major, its dances tastefully ornamented but not without indulging in tantalising rubatos. Liberty from the written score distinguished one of the most interesting readings of Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition in memory.

Generous pedaling ensured that each run of the Promenade theme sounded like clangourous carillons, while the work’s weird and wonderful characters vividly leapt off the walls. Never a dull moment, the witch Baba Yaga’s bloodthirsty swoops, claw and fang-laden, led directly into The Great Gate of Kiev, which began subito piano rather than the anticipated fortissimo. With Feltsman, surprises never cease.

Equally personal and provocative was Nikolai Demidenko’s (left) account of Chopin’s 24 Préludes Op.28, painted with every possible shade of dark grey. His world-weary journey accentuated the somberness of minor keys while inflecting major keys with touches of melancholy. The mysterious A minor Prélude was unveiled as a funereal procession, while bells of doom replaced raindrops in the familiar D flat major number. When the music afforded sunshine and a smile, out came clouds and scowls.

The thaw came with Schumann. Faschingsschwank Aus Wien (Carnival Jest In Vienna) had jollity and ecstasy in equal measure while Demidenko’s variegated touch relived the humour and high spirits of Carnaval. Its 22 short character studies flitted quixotically between with bipolar extremes of Florestan (passionate) and Eusebius (withdrawn). Like Rachmaninov before him, Demidenko performed the movement nobody ever plays: the bare enigmatic notes of Sphinxes, Schumann’s only flirtation with atonality.

Surely the most refined pianist was Pascal Rogé, whose hour-long collage of Nocturnes, Préludes and Études by Fauré, Poulenc, Chopin and Debussy – played uninterrupted – stood firm in the memory. Every note and nuance was coloured with sensitivity and beauty. His Debussy was peerless, from the arch-simplicity of Girl With The Flaxen Hair to the torrential squall in What The West Wind Saw. Several Chopin Préludes were heard again, and the effect was like night and day. Where Demidenko had brooded, Rogé shone and illuminated. In Chopin’s Revolutionary Étude, he showed that Frenchmen could barnstorm with the best of Russians.

Rogé was joined by his Japanese-Indonesia wife Ami (above) in 4-hand works by Schubert and Ravel. The former’s Fantaisie in F minor was a study of balance and intimacy, most eloquently marrying Biedermeier prettiness with contrapuntal mastery. The sensuality exuded in the latter’s Rapsodie Espagnole was never in doubt, the rhythms alternating between hypnotic and exuberant. The Rogés, matched in complementary black Chinese outfits, sounded and looked a most handsome couple.

Young Sudbin is a new giant of the keyboard (Photos: Collin Tan)

Although still in his twenties, the Russian Yevgeny Sudbin (above) who closed the festival was a throw back to the great pianists of the Golden Age such as Horowitz and Friedman. His suite of four Chopin Mazurkas rejoiced in rhythmic vitality and rich bass-notes, evincing varying degrees of nostalgia and moodiness. Two Scarlatti Sonatas and Haydn’s E minor Sonata (Hob.XVI:34)also elegantly revealed tragicomedic elements that belied their staid titles.

Sudbin left his boldest stamp in music of his homeland; two Medtner Fairy Tales exuded the ironic mix of fantasy and pathos that only a Slav could express, and the relentless pulverising force of Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata left one stunned, numbed and later enlightened. Its precipitous finale began on a frantic pace, and plunged headlong without let up till its fateful end. With artists like these, the future of the “live” piano recital is never in doubt.

The Singapore International Piano festival was presented by Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd.

Singapore International Piano Festival 2009: What were those encores?

So what were those wonderful encores performed at the Singapore International Piano Festival 2009?

VLADIMIR FELTSMAN

(Thursday, 25 June)

BACH-SILOTI

Prélude in B minor

NIKOLAI DEMIDENKO

(Friday, 26 June)

CHOPIN Mazurka in A minor,

a Emile Gaillard

CHOPIN Nocturne

in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.1

CHOPIN Polonaise

in G sharp minor, Op. Posth.

PASCAL & AMI ROGÉ

(Saturday, 27 June)

FAURÉ

Dolly's Garden from Dolly Suite

POULENC

La Embarquement pour Cythere

NICHOLAS LOH

(Sunday, 28 June)

KAPUSTIN Étude, Op.40 No.7

"Intermezzo"

YAO XIAO YUN

(Sunday, 28 June)

CHOPIN Étude

in G sharp minor, Op.25 No.6

LU WEN-CHENG Ping Hu Qiu Yue

(Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake)

YEVGENY SUDBIN

(Sunday, 28 June)

SCRIABIN

Mazurka in G minor, Op.3 No.3

RACHMANINOV-SUDBIN

Floods of Spring

Young Virtuoso Recital: Nicholas Loh (Singapore)

YOUNG VIRTUOSO RECITAL
Sunday, 28 June 2009, 3 pm
Victoria Concert Hall

NICHOLAS LOH (Singapore)

JOHN SHARPLEY The Lone Star (Selections) PIANOFEST PREMIERE
RZEWSKI from North American Ballads SINGAPORE PREMIERE
Down By the Riverside – Winnsboro Cotton Mills Blues

KAPUSTIN Sonata No.2 SINGAPORE PREMIERE

What I thought of Nicholas Loh and what led to his selection to perform in the Young Virtuoso Recital @ Singapore International Piano Festival 2009:

“When I was auditioning young musicians for the 1999 SSO Music Marathon, a self-confident Raffles Junior College student whipped off a Debussy Étude with the most nonchalant of ease. “That was quite difficult to play, wasn’t it?” I asked and all he did was to make light of it. Some 8 years later, the music graduate from Birmingham University and regular attendee at the Piano Festival remarked that it was his ambition to perform Ukrainian jazz pianist-composer Nikolai Kapustin’s fiendishly virtuosic Second Piano Sonata in concert. Now he has to make good that wish!”

Nicholas Loh practising on the

only Fazioli grand piano in Bukit Batok.

Young Virtuoso Nicholas Loh shares his personal thoughts on the works he performs:

JOHN SHARPLEY
Piano Suite No. 3 “The Lone Star” (Selections)

I first came in contact with the music of Dr John Sharpley when I stood in as an accompanist for a rehearsal of his work Songs of a Wild Child. Although it was just one rehearsal, the little that I did seemed to resonate with a lot of what I believe music should be like: it should be recognisable, as though it has been heard before, but it should also present something new and different, something which makes the listener want to hear more.

It was a bit of good fortune when Dr Chang caught wind of one of John’s works which had a bit of a Wild West theme to it. The Third Piano Suite, aptly named The Lone Star, made use of sufficient folk and jazz elements to gel with the rest of my programme, while providing an exciting western slant. The music conjures up vivid images of a Wild West scene. It starts with a rousing Square Dance replete with open-string calls, which leads into an almost ‘pas de deux’ blues, forming and disintegrating before the very eyes. A charming song is heard in La Pastora, and this leads into the Variations on The Old Chisolm Trail, the title referring to an old cowboy song and the variations crafting images of riding the mustang, strumming a guitar in the desert night, an old honky-tonk piano churning out music in a crowded Saturday night saloon, and of the cowboy riding into the sunset. A short cadenza-like interlude leads into the final Round Dance, which displays grandeur, spirituality and austerity, the very spirit of the west conjured up on the piano if you will.

I had the chance to sit down with Dr John Sharpley one afternoon to look through his music and have a chat. It turns out that we share quite a few beliefs in music. Needless to say, getting the chance to play this music is quite an honour and a delight. After all, how often do musicians play music by living composers who share such similar thoughts about music with them?

FREDERIC RZEWSKI
Down by the Riverside
Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues
from Four North American Ballads Singapore Premiere

The story begins with a box from Amazon.com lying on my doorstep containing a box set of Rzewski playing Rzewski, purchased explicitly for his 36 variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated!. I noticed a recording of the four North American Ballads inside and the third one in particular stuck out. It was titled Down by the Riverside, and I remember playing that same tune when I was just starting to learn the piano.

I quickly slipped the CD into the player and flicked my way to the track, and for the first minute or so, I relived through those moments of my childhood with what I now recognize as a well-known Afro-American spiritual tune. Soon after, the music started to change. The music started to wander off on its own, as melodic fragments from the original song interspersed with each other. The chords started to clash, the rhythms started to get more chaotic, and even amidst moments of calm respite, the tune never settled into its original configuration. However, right at the end, the music returned to the calm of the opening with a passage of open sonority in the same key that the music started. This revealed itself to be a frame for the magnificent reprise of the original tune in the tenor line, now decorated with a polyphonic descant line with a grandeur akin to that of a cathedral filled with light. The ending was a bit of an enigma then (and even now), with the glorious build up of sound mysteriously disappearing, but for a brief spell, I revelled in its opalescent glory.

That reverie was soon disrupted by a soft pounding bassline. The music had moved on to the Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues. Unlike Down by the Riverside, I knew of no tune called Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues. The opening didn’t really help either with its mechanistic rumble. The theme from Jaws sprang to mind. The soft rumble soon grew louder and louder, the chord clusters crashing down onto the piano like the pounding of a mill. Soon after, the pounding subsided, and there was some semblance of melody (in chords) accompanied by a repeated figure in the bass. Even this melody was covered by the insistent bassline, and soon the crashing started again…all to suddenly cease, and give way to a luscious blues section which would link to the final climax of the piece, a veritable tour-de-force of polyphonic writing, before (finally) revealing the original tune of the Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues in what was possibly a set of reverse variations. A final set of pounding chord clusters served only as a reminder of the beginning as the music died away in a way similar to Down by the Riverside.

(At this point, and after a brief moment of silent reverence, I jumped back to the first two Ballads, and while an account of their listening would be out of place here, let me reassure you that they are as good as the last two in the set.)

Such an over-romanticised account would seem naïve at first, but an exercise in self-affirmation is surely not the point here, but rather, a celebration of good music enjoyed by the performer, and hopefully, the listener as well.

NIKOLAI KAPUSTIN
Piano Sonata No.2 Singapore Premiere

A chance visit to the (sadly) now-defunct Sweet Classics music shop let me in on the music of Nikolai Kapustin. Steven Osborne had just released a new CD of music by this unknown Ukrainian composer including the first two Piano Sonatas and a selection of Preludes. The titles themselves were innocuous enough, but the music wasn’t. I was blown away by the intense jazziness of it all. Like the Rzewski, I had to lay my hands on some of Kapustin’s music. For a while this seemed nearly impossible until a friend of mine let me in on some scores he had gotten from Japan, including the Op.40 Études and the Second Sonata. I set about playing through everything (with little success…Kapustin’s music does not favour sightreading to a large extent) and over time I built up a scant repertoire of his music.

While it was all good, I knew I had to eventually tackle the mammoth which was the Second Sonata, which had everything going for it. The first movement was exuberant, almost gospel-like in its melodies and textures, and it had enough cool swing and introspectiveness to counter all the fire. The scherzo movement borrows a motif taken out of the first movement and transforms it into a syncopated barrage of notes. A short swing passage in the middle provides a much needed rest before the rhythmic rush resumes its course to a humorous but explosive finish. The third movement is a touch of cool jazz, conjuring up images of smoky jazz clubs, and icy-cold martinis. All seems calm except right at the end, where the peace is shattered by an almost serial rush of notes, leading into the blistering last movement, aptly named perpetuum mobile. Strains of Prokofiev’s toccata writing, Schoenberg’s serial technique, the stride bass much favoured by novelty pianists such as Zez Confrey, and even a 12-bar blues passage are all welded together with that strong jazz element. Liszt comes to mind right at the end of the movement with a flourish of octaves and the final cascade of notes brings this ebullient, extroverted work to a finish.

I met Dr Chang a few years ago at the (also sadly) now-defunct Sing Disc shop, and confessed that I would love to perform the work, despite knowing deep down that the it was nowhere near complete. I put off learning it for a while when I had other less-musical commitments to fulfill, and wondered all too often when I would ever get to learn the music properly, much less perform it in front of a live audience.

I suppose that time is now.

Notes by Nicholas Loh

Young Virtuoso Recital: Yao Xiao Yun (China / Singapore)

YOUNG VIRTUOSO RECITAL
Sunday, 28 June 2009, 3 pm
Victoria Concert Hall

YAO XIAO YUN (China/Singapore)

BACH-HESS Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
LEONG YOON PIN 23 Settings of Yibazhima 

  PIANOFEST PREMIERE
SCRIABIN Sonata No.5, Op.53
CHOPIN Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23
CHOPIN Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.54

My thoughts on selecting Yao Xiao Yun to perform at this year's Young Virtuoso Recital @ Singapore International Piano Festival 2009:

“The international jury at the 2005 National Piano Competition had been raving about the playing of a “little Chinese girl” and I had to hear her for myself. It was in Chopin’s Third Sonata and Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata where a combination of stunning digital dexterity and poetic prowess by the diminutive Yao Xiao Yun that left me breathless with excitement. Even Lang Lang’s pyrotechnics were to pale in comparison. She deservingly won the First Prize. Then a student of Professor Yu Chun Yee at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, she now teaches at that august institution and has become a Singapore citizen.”

Xiao Yun practising at the 

NAFA School of Young Talents

where she is a teacher nurturing 

Singapore's finest young musicians.

YAO XIAO YUN provides her personal thoughts on her programme:

BACH-HESS Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring

This short masterpiece is one of my personal favourites. It is the title of the 10th movement from Bach’s cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147. Dame Myra Hess was deeply impressed by this music, and had it transcribed and published. Over the years, it has become one of the most familiar Bach transcriptions, winning the affection of pianists and listeners across the globe. I chose it as my opening piece, transporting one and all into a world of peace where there is no conflict or competition. Its every note conveys beautiful colours and the warmth of human emotions.

LEONG YOON PIN 23 Settings of Yibazhima

Every technique from the Baroque to Schoenberg’s duodecaphony may be found in the variations of this fairly brief work by Singapore’s most venerated composer (left). The music paints a lively scenario, with an unspoken emotional strength as a unique characteristic. The overall structure, melody and harmonies make this a representative work in the canon of Singaporean piano music.

SCRIABIN Sonata No.5, Op.53

This work was written in 1907, marking the end of the Russian composer’s middle compositional period and a transition into his later atonal style. The music is highly dissonant, despite nominally being written in the key of F sharp major. Sometimes known as The Poem of Ecstasy (not to be mistaken with Scriabin’s orchestral work Poeme de l’Extase), the great Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter described it as the most difficult work in the entire piano repertoire. 

This work is of a particular challenge to me because of the small size of my hands. The outrageous speeds and intense strength required were also my key adversaries in overcoming its challenges. I chose this work to display the mysterious trends and phenomenal advances that took place in the late stages of Romantic period.

CHOPIN Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23
Ballade No.4 in F Minor, Op.52

By playing two Ballades, his first and last, I wanted to reflect the distinctive styles of the young and mature Chopin. Ballade No.1 was written in the years 1831-35, and widely considered his first major creation. Chopin loved it above all, showcasing great emotions and unleashing a freedom of musical display that characterised his youth. The work begins on a sentimental note but gradually turns tragic, his feelings of sorrow reflecting the adversities of his native Poland. 

Ballade No.4 was composed in 1842, one of his most intense and technically demanding works, requiring virtuosity and exceptional pianistic skills. Audiences will warm up to Chopin’s maturity of style, which open a window into his innermost feelings. In this music, the listener can taste the angst and passion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It this were to be Chopin’s only composition for piano, he would still be hailed a genius.

Notes by Yao Xiao Yun

Rex & William Wei with Peter Vinograde Piano Recital / Review

Piano Recital
PETER VINOGRADE
with REX & WILLIAM WEI
Esplanade Recital Studio
Wednesday (24 June 2009)

With so many child prodigy musicians cropping up of late, the inevitable question posed is how old should a young talent be before he or she is subject to critical scrutiny, or inflicted on the public? Eleven seems to be the magic figure, which is the age of William Wei at his local debut in a joint recital with his elder brother Rex and teacher Peter Vinograde at the Manhattan School of Music.

Rex, three years William’s senior, opened confidently with Bach’s Toccata in E minor (BWV.914), displaying clarity of articulation with a nice palette of shadings and dynamics. This supra-student recital level continued with the Prélude from Debussy’s suite Pour Le Piano, where its sweeping glissandi and big sonorous chords impressed, before closing exuberantly with the cross-rhythms and percussive drive in Ginastera’s Tribute to Aaron Copland (from the 12 American Preludes).

William had more notes to play, as if to compensate for his youth. In a Bach Prelude & Fugue, the 1st movement of Beethoven’s D major Sonata (Op.10 No.3), Debussy’s Gardens In The Rain and Mendelssohn’s Rondo Capriccioso – all fast works - the tendency was to rush the fences, often sacrificing accuracy for velocity. In Chopin’s ruminative Étude in C sharp minor (Op.25 No.7), all the notes were there, but where were the sorrow and the tears? The feat of memorising this repertoire was certainly an admirable one. With time and further learning, he will internalise and make these works his own.

The second half belonged to Vinograde, last heard in Singapore as violinist Midori’s pianist collaborator, who in all intents and purposes represents the finished product. His view of Bach’s Toccata in D major (BWV.912) and Beethoven’s Les Adieux Sonata (Op.81a) bristled with brio, bolstered by an almost orchestral approach to sound production that vibrantly resonated within the hall. The shorter pieces by Canadian composer Michael Matthews, and further Études by Chopin (Op.25 No.1) and Rachmaninov (Op.33 No.6) also gleamed like sparkling gems.

Teacher and students were finally united in Rachmaninov’s Waltz for 6 hands, a delightful bauble of salon kitsch. The journey of a musician is a long and arduous one, and while the Wei brothers are in the anthracite stage of their musical development, the quest for diamonds is one well worth working hard for.

This concert was presented by Dong Lee Investment Pte.Ltd.

4th Singapore International Piano Pedagogical Symposium: Piano Recital by Sebastian Koch / Review

Piano Recital by
SEBASTIAN KOCH
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestral Hall
Monday (22 June 2009)

The saying, “If you can’t perform, teach” is mightily unfair, especially when one considers music teachers who are also bona fide concert artists. The first recital at the 4th Singapore International Piano Pedagogy Symposium by the Bangkok-based French pianist Sebastian Koch was a case in point. His afternoon masterclass was prefaced by an enjoyable hour-long recital of Debussy and Chopin.

Understanding the sustaining pedal reveals secrets in painting the impressionistic sound world of Debussy’s Préludes. Koch’s selection of four pieces from Book One illustrated this art eloquently. The half-lights of Terraces Of Moonlit Audiences, inspired by a Kiplingesque scene of British India, was intimate as it was mysterious, while the legend of The Engulfed Cathedral built up to a tsunami-like climax, revelling in its ancient grandeur.

While more lightness could have been hoped for in Delphic Dancers and Wind On The Plains, there was little denying his metier as a skilful musical story-teller. The three movements of Estampes - evoking clangorous Javanese gamelans in the incense-laden Pagodas, sultry Evenings in Granada, and a rain-swept Tuileries in Gardens In The Rain - had all the colour and contrasts one could hope for.

Koch’s (left) Chopin was no less absorbing, with a string of seven Études - mostly from the Op.25 set - showcasing the length and breadth of the French Pole’s virtuosity in piano writing. His studies are the ultimate marriage of musical poetry and technical execution.

Not all were finger-breaking exercises, as central to this group were two contemplative numbers – in E flat minor (Op.10 No.6) and C sharp minor (Op.25 No.7) - laying bare Chopin’s deeply felt Slavic melancholy. Koch was no slouch in the swifter pieces; the arch-lyrical Aeolian Harp and gallop rhythms of the A flat and F major Études (Nos.1 & 3) were marvellously realised. Only the wings on the G flat major Butterfly Étude sounded unduly weighted.

Big artillery closed the set. The thunderous B minor Octave Étude (No.10) fired on all salvos, yet found tenderness in its central core, and the ferocious Winter Wind (No.11) stormed with its fearsome right hand torrent of flying notes. Koch was in complete command throughout, leaving one without any doubt that despite Chopin’s sickly and effete image, fire and brimstone was always in his belly.

WHO NEEDS MUSIC CRITICS?

WHO NEEDS MUSIC CRITICS?

These are the notes for the talk which I gave today at the 4th Singapore International Piano Pedagogy Symposium (22-26 June 2009) held at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory:

Arts criticism is one of the most misunderstood and “overrated” preoccupation in the field of artistic endeavour. Critics are often either way off the mark or merely stating the obvious. So what is the true value of an arts critic, or a music critic for that matter? Is there a “right” way of writing a review? This session hopes to explode some myths and place music criticism in the context as a positive force for furthering the cause of the arts. Agree or disagree? 

1. A critic is merely a glorified journalist. 

A journalist records events and history: the facts, contexts, opinions and viewpoints. A critic goes further to provide analysis and a personal view, asks questions and possibly offers answers. More importantly, a critique is a piece of journalism and history-recording, giving readers a taste and flavour of the times.

2. Anyone can write a critique. The value of a critique is in the content and delivery of its message. 

 True, but is your recording and opinion worth the paper it is printed on? Or worth the reader’s time? A good critique is succinct, summarises the main happenings, singles out certain details of note, and provides the reader with an accurate record. Your opinion should be a sound one, historically and culturally informed, guided by an inquiring spirit and experience. A critic should get better with age. 

3. Most useful tools: a good command of the language, deep bank of background knowledge, sense of humour. 

Engage your reader immediately. Do not let him lose interest. Persuade him to follow your trend of thought and provide an interesting story and viewpoint. Keep your sentences and paragraphs concise. Use appropriate vocabulary and descriptions. Give the reader some take home information and knowledge. Witticisms and appropriate humour always helps. 

4. Always get the facts right. Conceal your own ignorance. 

If you are not sure, always check up on the facts before committing yourself. Factual errors should never go to print, as they diminish your credibility and readers’ perception of your judgment. When these errors are highlighted, do not be defensive, instead thank your “critic” for feedback and increasing your knowledge.

5. Comment on the performance and its qualities, rather than on the performer. 

Try and divorce what you already know about the performer and what actually happens on stage. Personal knowledge of the artist should not colour your opinion of the performance. If possible, try to avoid conflicts of interests. 

6. Open and close with an arresting sentence. The rest is easy. (Attributed to Bryce Morrison) 

Let your review reveal the showman in you! 

7. Develop your own personal writing style. 

There is no definitive writing style for critiques – create your own, including all the quirks, favourite stock phrases etc. Vary reviews slightly to avoid sounding like a broken record-player. Try to say something different each time. Avoid ad hominem attacks, always better to be subtle, allow readers to read between the lines.

8. Take home for the performer: positive reinforcement and constructive criticism. Everything else is rubbish. 

Want to get quoted? Be positive! Artists will only quote positive reviews. Negatives will be junked. If you need to convey negative feedback, do it constructively or approach the performer personally. Comment on obvious flaws – wrong notes, faulty intonation, stylistic lapses etc. – rather than deliver sweeping statements. Explain yourself. 

9. Always remember: No artist goes out to deliberately give a bad performance. (Attributed to Dennis Lee) 

Actually said by Artur Schnabel, a great artist who wasn’t always very accurate. All performers are human, after all. Do not compare local / provincial performers with internationally renowned ones – they operate on unequal playing fields.

10. A reviewer continues to grow. With experience comes (hopefully) wisdom. Don’t rush to write your first critique. 

Just listen and attend concerts regularly and form your thoughts and opinions. Record these in a journal or personal blog. Compare performances, about what you liked or disliked. Build a memory bank of recordings or performances. Observe trends in performances, programming patterns and growth / development of ensembles and performers. Music criticism is a long term interest / obsession. 

Volunteer for a local arts group. Write their programme notes / artist profiles / newsletters / websites / blogs / give comments on their performances. Be part of their publicity / promotional set-up. Follow their ups and downs, and always contribute positively. 

Continue to develop your skills on your chosen musical instrument. Understand what it takes to make music, solo and in ensemble. It makes you a better musician overall. Expose yourself to all artforms, and allow yourself to grow alongside the creative milieu around you. Humble yourself with music, and your reviews will reflect that. 

Is music criticism glamourous? Pros: Complimentary tickets and invitations, respect or fear (?), personal satisfaction. Cons: low remuneration, hectic deadlines and schedules, time away from family. 

A critic should operate as a responsible member of the arts community, rather than as an outsider or from the “ivory tower”. Your words should be carefully chosen and your views will help, encourage and boost artists or hinder / destroy them. Promote deserving artists and help their growing careers in whatever way possible. Take a break if jaded. Otherwise, a lifetime of musical discovery and satisfaction awaits!

The Singapore International Piano Pedagogy Symposium was organised by the Singapore Music Teachers Association.

MOZART IN THE JUNGLE / Review

MOZART IN THE JUNGLE

by Blair Tindall

Published by Atlantic Monthly Press

Available at Borders

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 26 March 2006.

This is the book that scandalised America’s classical music world and set tongues a wagging. Its tale of loss of innocence, seductions, easy sex, drug-dealing and general moral degradation in the concrete jungle of New York City is a personal memoir of Blair Tindall, an oboist who free-lanced with the best – including the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras.

But is this a true reflection of the classical music industry as a whole? Or is it a case of sour grapes from an embittered soul, one who has left the vocation and now exercising her right to the First Amendment as a journalist?

Tindall’s (left) kiss-and-tell life story begins as a music student with no real goals in life except the glamour of performing and admiration of others. She enrolled into the North Carolina School of Arts and later the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-1970s, when arts funding was at a high and professional orchestras were sprouting all over the land.

That’s where her poor decisions and troubles began. Naïve but nubile, she found her body an easy ticket to short term success where pure talent alone could not bring her. This continued after graduation, where the Hollywood casting couch approach to recruitment landed her plum jobs with the city’s top bands.

The lurid descriptions of her own shenanigans skirt close to outright pornography, and could have done with less nauseating, albeit brutally honest detail. Having intimate knowledge (biblically that is) of all the principal oboists in town has its advantages, until all of them get wise to her modus operandi. Then she becomes gainfully unemployed, eking out a living playing for pitiful pit orchestras under uninspiring time-beaters for Broadway musicals.

The backdrop is the Allendale, a decaying apartment block on 99th Street, where musical dreams are created or shattered. There a buzzing community of rising stars, has-beens and down-and-outs find mutual support and consolation. However its not all doom and gloom as Tindall finds out who her true friends are as they rally behind her one-and-only Carnegie Hall solo recital, one of the books more inspiring episodes.

Also central to this account is a sympathetic portrayal of one of her lovers, the late and renowned collaborative pianist Samuel Sanders (left), whom despite his fame partnering the likes of Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell, lived hazardously on the poverty line. The circumstances of his premature demise are heart-rending to say the least.

She has decidedly much less sympathy for Musical America’s bigwigs, including revealing the seven-figure annual paycheck of a famous conductor (one who very recently conducted the SSO) and the philandering exploits of another. More importantly, she asks pertinent questions about today’s hyperinflated classical music business.

For example, do communities deserve professional symphony orchestras when they cannot afford to support them fiscally? Why do chief executives of top professional orchestras accrue massive salaries while its musicians have difficulty keeping their heads afloat? Or what happens to music students after they graduate and find themselves jobless, without any other marketable skills?

She certainly knew, as she was one of these herself. Greed, power and corruption exist in all professions and industries, but by scrubbing off classical music’s supposedly squeaky-clean varnish, Tindall delivers a very absorbing and eye-opening read.

Postscript: Blair Tindall got "married" to Bill "The Science Guy" Nye in February 2006, but their marriage was declared invalid and the couple separated seven weeks later. Some people can never find true love. Sigh...

Tang Tee Khoon wins use of National Arts Council's 1750 Guadagnini Violin

25-year-old Singaporean violinist Tang Tee Khoon

wins exclusive use of NAC's 1750 J.B.Guadagnini violin

previously played by Siow Lee Chin.

(The Straits Times, 18 June 2009)

Well done, Tee Khoon! All the best!
(Please click to enlarge)

Musicians' Autographs: Yuri Bashmet & Vladimir Minin

Great Russian musicians Yuri Bashmet & Vladimir Minin

show much artistry and pride in their autographs.

Vladimir Minin & Yuri Bashmet (seated) with

National Arts Council bigwigs Mr & Mrs Lee Suan Hiang (CEO)

& Arts Festival director Ms Goh Ching Lee.

Yuri Bashmet looking relaxed after an

Arts Festival concert with the Moscow Soloists.

Legendary choral conductor Vladimir Minim

gives his "smoky" dessert a sniff.

NOTES ACROSS THE YEARS by Paul Abisheganaden / Review

Book Review

NOTES ACROSS THE YEARS:

ANECDOTES FROM A MUSICAL LIFE
by Paul Abisheganaden
published by Unipress,

Centre for the Arts,
National University of Singapore

A truncated version of this review first appeared in The Sunday Times on 27 November 2005.

Decades before the Singapore Symphony Orchestra or Esplanade Theatres on the Bay came into being, there existed a rich and diverse musical life in Singapore. Inspired and powered by enthusiastic amateurs, dedicated teachers and musical societies, they breathed life into a nation that was deemed a “cultural desert”.

Veteran musician-educationist and Cultural Medallion recipient Paul Abisheganaden’s (left) handsome book Notes Across The Years is a personal anecdotal account of Singapore’s musical heritage, written with the vividness of an irrepressible raconteur and a keenness for detail. Now 92 years of age, his memory of events and personalities is admirable. He gives a broad overview of Western music (both classical and popular) in Singapore from the 1910s to 1980s, and does not neglect the ethnic and indigenous musical forms that helped make our nation a melting pot of cultures.

Names like Marcello Anciano, Gordon van Hien, Goh Soon Tioe, Lau Biau Chin, Choy Him Seng, Susheela Devi, Alphonso Anthony, David Apelbaum, Donald Moore, the E.N.S.A., Chia Keng Tai and Syonan Kokkaido Orchestras may mean little to young musicians of today, but they helped shape the musical landscape of a nation, They should not be forgotten, especially because they thrived and enriched concert life at a time when Western classical music (still considered an imported artform in Singapore today) was the prerogative of the British, and locals were not deemed to be taken seriously.

Tasty little morsels abound and here’s one cautionary tale. The great Jascha Heifetz gave a recital here in the 1920s, not in Victoria Memorial Hall but at the Capitol Theatre just down the road. The reason? The presenters wanted to make a bigger profit from ticket sales at a larger capacity venue, but the music making and acoustics suffered as a result. This led Heifetz to remark that Singapore was indeed a cultural desert.This sounds all too familiar, especially when one recalls an event management agency that presented the USSR Festival Orchestra at a cavernous and near-empty Singapore Indoor Stadium as recently as 1990 to its own demise. Some people never learn.

Another interesting chapter documented by Abisheganaden was the short-lived E.N.S.A (Entertainment for National Service Associations) Orchestra, which was purportedly the first orchestra to carry the name “Singapore Symphony Orchestra”. Formed by Scottish composer and musician Erik Chisholm (left, also known affectionately as McBartok, given his musical preferences), it gave concerts of much contemporary music in the few years following World War Two. No doubt enthused, Abisheganaden nostalgically referred to that period as the “Golden Age of orchestral music” in Singapore.

If this well-documented chronicle had been published some twenty years ago, it would have been perfectly timely. However the narrative cuts off abruptly in the early 1980s and does not adequately document Singapore’s transition from musical amateurism to professionalism, culminating in the formation of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and Esplanade. The SSO and its founding Resident Conductor Choo Hoey get only a passing mention, while other pivotal players like current Resident Conductor Lim Yau and Music Director Lan Shui (who were not personally acquainted with Abisheganaden) have no place in his story. Perhaps this chapter of musical history would be better recounted by Tan Boon Teik or Professor Bernard Tan.

The latter half of the book instead becomes a history of musical education in Singapore, the Singapore Chamber Ensemble (SCE, left)) and Centre for the Arts (CFA) at the National University of Singapore, both organisations founded by Abisheganaden. Interestingly, one of these chapters documents the “discovery” of a prodigious young talent named Melvyn Tan, in what must have possibly been his very last recital in Singapore before leaving for musical studies in the United Kingdom.

But history has been fickle. The rise of musical professionalism in the 1980s saw amateur musical performances – including the once active SCE – recede into the background and become distant memories. Sadly, the SCE, Singapore Musical Society and Goh Soon Tioe String Orchestra no longer exist today, but their idealism, enterprise and adventurous spirit – embodied by Abisheganaden and other pioneers – live on in amateur and semi-professional groups like The Chamber Players, Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.

Certain musical personalities from its pages like singers Tan Peng Tuan, Yeoh Siew Lian and Robert Iau, and pianists Victor Doggett and Cheung Mun Chit have all passed on (the latter three in 2005) but the reader is not updated on them. Some of the later chapters read like a dull annual report and the lack of an index is unfortunate. These caveats are however more than made up by the historical photographs, posters and programme covers which provide a nostalgic inkling as to what Singapore musical life was like all those years ago.

Notes Across The Years, a loving reminder of Singapore musical heritage, is recommended to all who have an interest of our nation’s musical history before 1980, and especially our younger generation of music lovers.

Back cover

WHO WERE THEY?

Goh Soon Tioe (left): Veteran violin pedagogue and conductor. Mentored by Andrés Segovia. Father of violinist-conductor Vivien Goh. Teacher of Choo Hoey, Lee Pan Hon and Seow Yit Kin. Founder of the Goh Soon Tioe Orchestra and Singapore Children’s Orchestra.

Lau Biau Chin (left): One of Singapore’s earliest local concert pianists. Mother of SSO Associate Concertmaster Lynnette Seah.

Choy Him Seng: Piano technician and piano dealer. Father of veteran VCH piano technician Paul Choy.

Alphonso Anthony (left): Violin pedagogue, now resident in Adelaide, South Australia. Teacher of Lynnette Seah. Father of violinist Adele Anthony and father-in-law of Gil Shaham.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, June 2009)

TAN DUN Pipa Concerto
& works by Takemitsu & Hayashi
Wu Man, Pipa
Moscow Soloists / Yuri Bashmet
Onyx 4027

Rating *****

Globalism is said to have succeeded when a Russian ensemble plays and records Chinese and Japanese music so well. Followers of Tan Dun, surely the most “commercial” of the clique of Chinese-American composers, will certainly not want to miss his Pipa Concerto. It unfolds typically like his movie soundtracks, alternating quiet and meditative sections with exciting climaxes, all in a highly tonal and accessible Chinese idiom. Hangzhou-born virtuoso Wu Man – now the world’s most famous pipa exponent – also lends her voice in this melodramatic score, accompanied by shouts from the string players. Yuri Bashmet also solos in Hikaru Hayashi’s Viola Concerto, soulful Japanese fare flavoured with Bartok and Janacek orchestral colours. Violist turns violinist for Toru Takemitsu’s Nostalghia, a brief but beautiful piece. Takemitsu’s versatility in different styles is also amply demonstrated in a suite of film score highlights. Grab this one if you can.

SONGS MY FATHER TAUGHT ME
Siow Lee-Chin, Violin
Albert Tiu, Piano
SLC 1118

Rating ****1/2

Despite its title being a tribute to her violinist father, Siow Lee-Chin’s début album is a musical autobiography of her journey from child prodigy to mature performer. And this may very well be a first-ever locally produced compact disc recording by a Singaporean violinist. Showpieces she learnt as a student - Wieniawski’s Polonaise in D and Paganini’s Cantabile – are de rigeuer, as is a virtuoso gypsy element – Sarasate’s Gypsy Airs, Kreisler’s La Gitana and Monti’s Csardas - which sums up her itinerant years as a “wandering” minstrel.

What distinguishes is her lovely, warm and effusive tone coaxed from the National Arts Council’s 1750 Guadagnini violin. Tear-jerkers like Heinz Provost’s Intermezzo, Amy Beach’s Romance and Manuel Ponce’s Estrellita are testament to that. I challenge the listener not to be touched. Partnered sympathetically by pianist Albert Tiu, this peach of a disc, vividly recorded at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, should be in every music-lover’s collection.

SCHOENBERG Orchestral Works
EMI Classics 3714925 (2 CDs)

Rating ****

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) was the avant-garde Viennese composer whose radical ideas on tonality and harmony revolutionised music. His rules of dodecaphony treated all notes equally, so that something “tuneless” and totally discordant could pass as music. After Wagner, Schoenberg became inevitable. The supreme irony is that Schoenberg’s early Wagner-influenced pieces have become his most performed and recorded works. Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) is his greatest hit; its poignant subject of unconditional love seems more Romantic than Expressionist. The 42-minute long symphonic poem Pelleas and Melisande is the logical extension of Tristan and Isolde, rambling but without the voices.

His first important “modern” work is Chamber Symphony No.1; its economy of themes lends it a certain cohesiveness and approachability. Schoenberg’s colourful transcription of Brahms’ First Piano Quartet, cheekily referred to as Brahms’ Fifth Symphony, is Schoenberg at his most exuberant and irreverent. These performances by British orchestras dating from 1968 to 1995 – conducted by Barbirolli, Barenboim and Rattle – provide a listener-friendly introduction to a great but controversial musical personality.

Flute Festival Singapore 2009 / Review

FLUTE FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2009
Competition Final
Young Musicans’ Society Auditorium
Sunday (14 June 2009)

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 16 June 2009.

Given the frenetic activities of the Singapore Arts Festival, one could be forgiven for missing out on Singapore’s first ever Flute Festival, organised by former SSO flautist and National Music Competition winner Goh Tiong Eng. The 4-day long event of concerts, masterclasses and demonstrations culminated with the Finals of a flute competition that featured local talents and those as far flung as Korea, Russia and South Africa.

There were six finalists each in both Junior (18 years and below) and Open (above 18) Categories and the standard of performance was uniformly high, comparable with the best at the National Piano and Violin Competitions. Only in such an event will one get to enjoy French organ virtuoso Charles-Marie Widor’s Flute Sonata in its entirety, its four movements shared by 12-year-old Hongkonger Jasmine Ng and 30-year-old South African Scott Douglas Walter.

The former was merely the second youngest performer, trumped by the nonchalant but fearless 6-year-old Korean Nikolai Song (below), who charmed his way into 2nd prize with two delightful pieces on the piccolo, Spanish Dance of Mercedes and Journey to the Sky. His innocence and confidence was simply infectious. The 3rd and 1st prizes were awarded to two Singaporeans, 18-year-old Tay Yun Song and 16-year-old Daniel Lim, with movements from sonatas by Poulenc and Hindemith respectively. The Young Artist Award fell to the graceful 13-year-old Russian Liya Vergazova who impressed in pieces by Kuhlau and Monti.

6-year-old Nikolai Song with his accompanist

and jury member Karin Undritz (seated).

The age-gap did little to separate participants in the Open Category, where 20-year-old Singaporean Huang Jia Jia netted the top prize of $2000 with a highly self-assured account of the first two movements from Mozart’s Flute Concerto No.2. His limpid and pearly tone sealed a cultured mastery of the music, which included an impeccably crafted cadenza. 19-year-old Singaporean Jeremy Lim displayed virtuosity and nuance in Theobald Boehm’s showpiece Grand Polonaise, which garnered a well-deserved 2nd prize.

The foreign entrants were led by 3rd place Walter, whose intensely musical performances were matched by those from Jakkrit Maliwan (Thailand) and Leung Yuk Man (Hong Kong); their readings of Prokofiev and Reinecke also remained long in the memory. Witnessed by a small but highly enthusiastic audience, the Flute Festival – which runs again in September next year – surely deserves a higher profile and bigger stage.

Finalists of the Open Category 

with jury member Anders Norell.