2008 Sydney Winner KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY to début in Singapore

First prize-winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition 2008 KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY makes his Singapore début at the University Cultural Centre on Sunday (28 February 2010) at 8 pm. His programme includes:

BACH Partita No.4 in D major

BEETHOVEN Sonata No.32 in C minor, Op.111

PROKOFIEV Sonata No.8 in B flat major, Op.84

and shorter works by SCRIABIN.

Here's a recap of what I wrote about him at the competition in Sydney:

ROUND ONE
The tall and gaunt Konstantin Shamray (Russia) looks like the pianist to beat... A magnificent Wagner-Liszt Isoldes Liebestod which opened dramatically and unfolded gloriously till his fatal conclusion, and the Rachmaninov Étude-tableau in E flat minor (Op.39 No.5), whose pathetic quality could hardly be bettered. Shamray is born to play Rachmaninov.

ROUND TWO

Konstantin Shamray pulled off that Russian warhorse, the Taneyev Prelude and Fugue in G sharp minor (famously recorded by Ashkenazy), with such amazing pianism that there is little more to say. The fugue is simply one of those torture devices regularly inflicted on piano students at the Moscow Conservatory. His Debussy Ondine (from Préludes Book 2) showcased wide contrasts of dynamics, and how the castanets clicked away in the Ravel Alborada del gracioso (from Miroirs), with some outrageous glissandi at the end to match.

ROUND THREE

Konstantin Shamray has a stainless steel clad technique yet is totally musical. He opened with that quirky Shostakovich Prelude & Fugue in D flat major (Op.87 No.15, which could be sung to We Wish You a Merry Christmas) and its wild, atonal fugue. A very good performance... His Mozart Sonata in F major (K.533/494) on more on the technical side, and its “music box” rondo could have a certain childlikeness. I’m just been finicky here, but I totally loved his choice of Schumann’s Fantasiestück Op.111 No.2, which has full, gorgeous sound and resounded like a well-delivered sermon followed by a benediction. With the fearsome Schumann Toccata (Op.7), he couldn’t have had a better finish.

KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY

may be heard on the SIPCA 2008 CDs (ABC Classics) performing:

MOZART Sonata in F major, K.533/494

TANEYEV Prelude & Fugue in G sharp minor

BEETHOVEN Sonata Op.106 "Hammerklavier": 1st movement

WAGNER-LISZT Isoldes Liebestod

MOZART Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat major, K.595

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor, Op.16

with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, February 2010)

CHOPIN Waltzes
INGRID FLITER, Piano
EMI Classics 51489922
****1/2

It used to be commonplace to find a volume of Frederic Chopin’s Waltzes in every household endowed with a piano. As a group, these are his most approachable pieces, suitable for relative beginners as well as those with aspirations to virtuosity. For children, there’s that modest posthumous A minor Waltz, which is often mistaken to be a mazurka. There are five Waltzes in A flat major alone, all of which are gems of digital brilliance and well-suited for the concert hall.

The Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter placed second to Li Yundi at the 2000 Chopin International Piano Competition, but was awarded the arguably more coveted Irving S. Gilmore Award in 2007. In these often understated dances, she finds a certain tragic quality to match her supple and fluid fingers. There’s no better time than on Chopin’s 200th birth anniversary (which falls on 21 February) to enjoy his music.

CHOPIN GOLD
Deutsche Grammophon

477 8727 (2CDs)
****

Tributes to Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) come thick and fast in his bicentenary year. This double-disc album assembles 18 of the Universal labels’ top pianists dead and alive for a well-programmed anthology of the French-Polish pianist-composer’s greatest solo piano music. From Sviatoslav Richter and Michelangeli come the Third Ballade (Op.47) and Second Scherzo (Op.31) respectively, a summation of Chopin’s heady blend of poetry and passion. Vladimir Horowitz and Emil Gilels supply a Mazurka (Op.17 No.4) and Polonaise (Op.40 No.1) each, poignant reminders of his unwavering nationalism.

Of the marquee artists, Maurizio Pollini has the lion’s share of 24 flawless minutes, performing the Heroic Polonaise (Op.53), First Ballade (Op.23) and lilting Barcarolle (Op.60). Helene Grimaud in Berceuse (Op.57) and Funeral March (from the Second Sonata, Op.35), and Maria Joao Pires with the Minute Waltz (Op.64 No.1), Fantaisie-Impromptu (Op.66) and a Nocturne (Op.37 No.2), get 15 and 14 minutes each. Seven Préludes (from Op.28) are shared by Martha Argerich, her teacher Friedrich Gulda and young Polish ace Rafal Blechacz, while honours are even for Vladimir Ashkenazy and Nelson Freire in four Études.

The youngest pianist here is the recently unveiled Alice Sara Ott, only 19, who gets to play the Waltz in C sharp minor (Op.64 No.2), with the most delicate of touches. Even mavericks Ivo Pogorelich and Lang Lang are included, whose views of the Third Scherzo (Op.39) and Nocturne (Op.27 No.2) demonstrate that Chopin’s music can more than survive their self-indulgence. Top notch playing all round, but the lack of sleeve-notes (all one gets are artist photographs and a George Sand quote) is regrettable.

BIRDS OF PARADISE / Jeong Ae Ree Vocal Recital / Review

BIRDS OF PARADISE
Jeong Ae Ree, Soprano
Shane Thio, Piano
Esplanade Recital Studio
Friday (12 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 16 February 2010.

If there were an award for the most glamourous music teacher in Singapore, it would surely go to the Korean-born soprano Jeong Ae Ree. An alumnus of musical universities in South Korean and Austria, Jeong was the vocal teacher of rising talents like Janani Shridhar and Rebecca Chellappah. In her 75-minute art song recital, this dynamo packed within a tiny frame charmed, teased and communicated with great flair.

The titular birds came from Ravel’s melodie Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis (Three Beautiful Birds Of Paradise), part of a set which also included Mozart’s Oiseaux, si tous les ans (You Birds, So Every Year) and the Xinjiang melody Little Swallow. This thematic approach to programming was inventive, showcasing many facets of her artistry.

Although she does not have the most powerful of voices, Jeong makes up with an intimacy and flexibility of tone, coupled with loads of personality. Beginning with a suite on flowers, her approach to Barber’s The Daisies, Poulenc’s Fleurs, Richard Strauss’ Das Rosenband and Korean Kim Sung Tae’s SanYu Hwa (Mountain Flowers) was colourful and varied as the subjects themselves.

Following a trio of Aaron Copland songs, the birds and bees came to roost in the second half when Jeong emerged with a revealing bright red gown. Thankfully this did not distract too much attention from her romantic selection of Reynaldo Hahn’s A Chloris, Liszt’s Oh, Quand je dor and Debussy’s Mandoline. These were delectably sung, even if a hint of strain crept into her high registers. Veteran collaborative pianist Shane Thio (left) provided both responsive and sensitive partnership.

The waltz songs by Erik Satie, Tendrement and La Diva de l’Empire, brought out the cabaret and vaudevillian, culminating with a waltz with a male member in the audience. In case one got funny ideas, the lucky man was her husband Chan Wei Shing, who happens to be a far better cellist than dancer.

Prolonged cheers drew three encores, by Franz Lehar (Meine Lippen sie küssen so heiss from Giuditta), Kurt Weill (Surabaya Johnny) and Richard Strauss (Morgen!). A next recital could not arrive any sooner.

SSO Concert: Musical Journeys / Review

MUSICAL JOURNEYS
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Thursday (11 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 13 February 2010.

It is no state secret that the Singapore Symphony Orchestra does not play enough music by Singaporean composers. A wrong was righted with the World Premiere of Kelly Tang Yap Ming’s Piano Concerto (1995). Chronologically, it is the first Singaporean piano concerto to be written, predating those by Bernard Tan (2001) and Leong Yoon Pin (2005).

Musically, it is also the most uncompromising, espousing the atonal idiom at its thorniest. Its three movements present the piano as both solo and ensemble instrument, sometimes so enmeshed in dense orchestral textures as to be inseparable. Pianist Lim Yan (who also premiered Leong’s concerto in 2006) overcame its stiffest challenges with much alacrity and sympathy, alternating adroitly between paroxysms of violence and lyrical asides.

Those seeking melodies would do well exploring Schoenberg and Lutoslawski instead. However Tang’s (above) pioneering effort, composed as a doctoral thesis, is no mere academic fodder. Like much of his eclectic output, it repays further listening.

The other Singaporean soloist was mezzo-soprano Rebecca Chellappah, who bared her soul in Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). She clearly has the emotional heft and agility to carry these weighty songs about love hoped for and lost. While the expressions were spot-on, projection beyond the orchestral forces, by no means overpowering, became an issue. At times, the strain at the highest vocal range became audible.

The SSO, directed by Resident Conductor Lim Yau, as always strived to be the perfect collaborator for the young soloists. On their own, the concert began with Weber’s Der Freischütz Overture, which was spun off with much spirit even if the opening French horn chorale was less than immaculate.

The third leg of the Schumann symphony cycle fell to his First Symphony in B flat major, also known as his Spring Symphony. It was a feisty affair, capturing the orchestra in rude health. The tempos were brisk all round, with the three fast movements delivered with an unapologetic directness and drive. Politeness and finery found no place here, instead raw emotions and freshness not unlike the awakening of a new season. Another fine demonstration that there can be no torpid Schumann, only vital Schumann.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, February 2010)

ALFRED BRENDEL
THE FAREWELL CONCERTS
Decca 478 2116 (2 CDs)
*****

All good things must come to an end. For the revered pianist and scholar Alfred Brendel’s sixty years on stage which came to a grand close in December 2008, this handsome tribute celebrates his musical loves. Mozart is represented by a sonata (K.533) and the early Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat major (K.271), his longest work of the genre. With the Vienna Philharmonic directed by Sir Charles Mackerras, this performance captures all its elegance, grace and ebullient wit. From the final recital in Hanover, Haydn’s Variations in F minor in his hands exude a freshness that is ever-rejuvenating.

The second disc houses Beethoven’s Sonata in E flat major (Op.27 No.1), an underrated masterpiece with its sublime hymn-like slow movement, alongside the final Sonata in B flat major (D.960) of Schubert. These are great and unshowy performances which underline Brendel’s superior musicality and humanity. Having conquered Mussorgsky, Stravinsky and Balakirev in his younger years, he had risen to “higher” things, ideals also espoused in his encores: a Beethoven Bagatelle, a Bach-Busoni chorale prelude and the song-like beauty of Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat major. At mid-price, this album is one for keeps.

CAROLINE GOULDING Violin Recital
Christopher O’Riley, Piano
Janine Randall, Piano
Telarc 80744

****1/2

Another year, another child prodigy turns professional. The 16-year-old American violinist Caroline Goulding’s début recording is an enjoyable mix of Fritz Kreisler lollipops – including the lesser known but delectable Gypsy Caprice and Berceuse Romantique - and unashamed Americana. The latter is varied enough, beginning with the Paganini-inspired Red Violin Caprices by John Corigliano, adapted from his score for the Oscar-winning movie.

Popular American folk and dance movements are relived in Paul Schoenfield’s Four Souvenirs, including the samba, tango and square dance. A suite of familiar songs from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess gets the Heifetz treatment, while the Belgian Henri Vieuxtemps’ Yankee Doodle Variations is pure tongue-in-cheek. The idiomatic and resourceful Goulding completes her coast-to-coast musical tour with Gaelic fiddling in two dances from Cape Breton in Canadian Nova Scotia. Do try this!

MAHLER Symphony No.9
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
ALAN GILBERT
BIS SACD-1710

****1/2

The young American conductor Alan Gilbert began his tenure as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic last year, which included an Asian tour that swung by Singapore. This recording of Mahler’s last completed symphony (1908-09) with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, where he was chief conductor from 2000 to 2008, shows why he was so highly fancied. Under Gilbert’s leadership, the Swedes play like they own the work, from the opening movement’s world-wearied trudge to the finale’s catharsis of quiet resignation and mortality. In between, the music swings from the banalities of a Ländler (Austrian country dance in 3/4 time) gone demented to the crazed slashings of the vehement Rondo-Burleske, all imaginatively characterised without resorting to hysterics or caricature.

There are more famous recordings by Karajan, Bernstein, Walter et al but this expertly-judged reading more than holds its own among the finest. Its 82 minutes, opulently recorded with BIS fabled sound, is contained within a single disc, rendering it an excellent bargain as well.

SARA BUECHNER Piano Recital / Review

SARA BUECHNER Piano Recital
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory
Wednesday (10 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 12 February 2010.

A most interesting piano recital took place at the Conservatory on Wednesday evening. Not only was the repertoire tantalisingly different, the American Sara Davis Buechner is also possibly the only transgender classical pianist in the concert circuit today.

Before her gender reassignment surgery in 1998, the artist formerly known as David Buechner had won a wardrobe-full of international prizes and amassed a diverse discography. Sex matters aside, Buechner presented two hours of simply amazing pianism, and mimicked a more than decent stand-up comedian.

David & Sara Davis

Busoni’s transcription of Bach’s chorale prelude Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland, its deep solemn thoughts, was shaped with a heartwarming organ-like sonority. Beefy chords and delicately spun filigree, topped with a silky smooth touch also caressed shorter pieces from Busoni students Egon Petri and Michael von Zadora.

The masterclass of how the piano ought to be played continued with Mozart’s less-often heard Sonata in B flat major (K.570), where Buechner fully lived up to the composer’s dictum of “flowing like oil”. Rarely has its simple unison opening resounded with such clarity and sincerity. The slow movement reveled in hymn-like countenance while the Allegretto finale danced with a spirited and playful joie de vivre.

Then her shoes came off – literally - for the Bohemian Bohuslav Martinu’s Fantaisie et Toccata, a coruscating white-knuckled showpiece executed with a fearless bravura so as to knock the socks off an audience. Speaking of which, the many latecomers were also entertained with Buechner’s “walking music”, some cakewalk improvised as they found their seats.

Pondering on the next witticism.

The jokes flowed in the second half, ostensibly to forestall further late entries. Dry wit and humour helped break the ice between listeners and the otherwise severe-looking performer but she need not have worried as the playing itself was ravishing and readily communicative.

The Vintner’s Daughter, a colourful set of variations by the Hungarian Miklos Rozsa, better known for the scores of Ben Hur and Spellbound, received the Technicolor treatment. Although based on a French folksong, its ingenuity was pure Magyar, recalling Bartok and Kodaly.

American music closed the recital on several highs. Buechner’s way with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was infectious, with the sheer sweep of the composer himself. Ever the life of a party, he threw in two riproaring encores, Gershwin’s improvisations of Do, Do, Do and Swanee. People will still be talking about this recital in years to come.

Do, Do, Do... play it again, Sara.

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concerto Competition Prizewinners Concert / Review

CONCERTO COMPETITION

PRIZEWINNERS CONCERT
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory
Saturday (6 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 February 2010.

Regulars to the free concerts at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory know that the annual highlight is the finals of the concerto competition, where its top instrumentalists get to perform with the Conservatory Orchestra. With the competitive element eliminated this year, what remains is a celebratory concert, which proved to be a good thing.

Firstly, the inequality of comparing performances on winds, brass, percussion, strings and piano is no longer an issue. Secondly, the undue pressure is off the young soloists, such that only musical values would prevail.

Hou Chuan-An (Taiwan) was the very relaxed yet confident protagonist in Johann Hummel’s (left) popular Trumpet Concerto in E flat major, where his bright and clear tone was matched by agility and showmanship. Pity about the paucity of trumpet concertos from the great masters, as this work from Mozart’s most famous student is decidedly second-rate. Apart from a sizzling Rondo finale, the first movement is foursquare and forgettable, while the slow movement a blatant rip-off from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.21 (K.467).

No such problems with Robert Schumann’s (left) masterly Cello Concerto in A minor (Op.129),where the arresting stage-presence of Wu Daidai (China) held sway. Not only does she have full-measure of the work’s yearning intensity, her ingratiating sound served the bittersweet music well. The orchestral partnership was least satisfactory here, with spots of hesitancy and the woodwinds arriving late in the opening three notes. The important second cello part in the slow movement was also barely audible.

The support from Wang Ya-Hui’s big band was however close to excellent in George Gershwin’s (left) Piano Concerto In F, where the swagger of big brassy strains dominated. Through this bluster emerged a glittering performance by Khoo Hui Ling (Singapore), her sense of the bluesy idiom, swing and rhythm impeccable, with a macho mastery of cascading octaves and chords.

Whoever thought that one could attend university to learn how to play jazz? This is a reality in the 21st century, and judging by the quality of musicians our conservatory produces, this nation need not fear about being a “cultural desert” ever again.

SSO Concert: Transfiguration / Review

TRANSFIGURATION
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Friday (5 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 February 2010.

It was an inspired stroke of programming by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to pair music by Johannes Brahms and Arnold Schoenberg. The former was a staunch upholder of the classical tradition, while the latter threatened and destroyed the status quo. Both composers resided in Vienna, becoming as iconic as the musical capital itself.

Brahms’ Tragic Overture, a stand-alone symphonic movement rather than prelude to musical theatre, is equal to any in his four symphonies. Under conductor Okko Kamu, the orchestra coaxed a very smooth and non-histrionic performance. While hard edges and bumps were ironed out, its evocation of seriousness and portent of tragedy were never in doubt. Drawn inexorably by the pull of Fate, its Beethovenian conclusion was also delivered with aplomb.

Lushness of sonority distinguished Schoenberg’s (left) most popular work Verklaerte Nacht (Transfigured Night), originally written for string sextet in 1899. The large string orchestra version was heard, with its post-Wagnerian maelstrom of anguish and neurosis amplified manifold.

Apart from several solo passages that sounded disjointed, the playing was generally polished. Although the ensemble also coped well with its roller-coaster of emotions, there was an episodic feel through its half-hour duration. For the ultimate of slickness, one will still defer to Karajan’s legendary 1973 recording.

The evening’s highlight was undoubtedly Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major (Op.77), with its solo part commandingly helmed by Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos (left). So good was this that it put the memory of the New York Philharmonic’s performance last October well in the shade. Kavakos is not one of those glib play-by-numbers jet-setting soloists; he made every note and phrase count towards a magnificent whole.

For all his voluminous tone and perfect intonation, it was the fine control, ability to feel and fit into the music’s myriad contours that were striking. The reflective moment shortly following the 1st movement cadenza, where he blended seamlessly with Ma Yue’s solo clarinet and Rachel Walker’s oboe, was something magical worth reliving over and over.

Following the sublime slow movement where Walker’s solo sparkled like a jewel, Kavakos led the attack on the Hungarian-flavoured finale. More furioso than giocoso, he threw all caution into the wind, even adding dance-like steps to the invigorating Rondo. The applause was loud and prolonged, generously reciprocated with two substantial encores by Ysaye (slow movement from Sonata No.4) and Bach (Sarabande from Partita No.2). Music-making rarely gets better than this.

An American lady sitting beside me suggested that

Leonidas Kavakos looked like Marc Chagall's Green Violinist.

By golly, she was right!

3rd Singapore Chamber Music Festival: SCHUMANN & CHOPIN / Review

SCHUMANN & CHOPIN
3rd Singapore Chamber Music Festival
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory
Wednesday (3 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 February 2010.

The third concert at the 3rd Singapore Chamber Music Festival was a dual celebration of Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin. Both composers were close friends and shared the same year of birth: 1810.

Schumann (left) composed only one piano quintet, in E flat major (Op.47), and what a masterpiece it is. Allying a richness of melodic interest and undercurrents of tension, it comes close to the definitive Romantic chamber work. And it received a deservedly whole-hearted treatment from the Philippines-born pianist Albert Tiu and the T’ang Quartet, in its original line-up with Lionel Tan returning on viola.

Colleagues and long–time collaborators since the Conservatory opened, the five launched an incisive attack on its Allegro brillante opening, releasing a wellspring of heartfelt emotions. Schumann was one to wear his intense feelings heart-on-sleeve. Replete with waxing and waning, this was exploited fully in its march-like slow movement and the Scherzo’s furious cascade of scales.

The finale, a delightful study in counterpoint and precision playing, was positively riveting, culminating with a fugal tour de force that recalled the momentous ending of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. If the performance was impressive, the second half proved to be an added treat.

The chamber version of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in E minor (Op.11) received its Singapore premiere, in a piano quintet version specially arranged by Tiu. Removing the double bass part and trimming off the piano’s contribution in the tutti sections, the string quartet became the de facto orchestra.

This newfound transparency and clarity allowed the scintillating piano part to further stand out, and Tiu was more than up to the task. His combination of spellbinding virtuosity and seamless cantabile, the very hallmarks of Chopin playing, was transcendent through the three movements. Credit to the ever-sensitive T’ang Quartet too, that Chopin’s often-derided original orchestration was hardly missed.

The quintet then let down their collective hair in a luxuriant performance of Astor Piazzolla’s tango Oblivion. If two excellent evenings in the company of Schumann and Chopin within five days is not an embarrassment of riches, one wonders what is.

BORIS KRALJEVIC Piano Recital / Review

BORIS KRALJEVIC Piano Recital
NAFA Auditorium
Monday (1 February 2010)

The late piano works of Johannes Brahms are a world apart from his earliest efforts, the big bluster and bombast of the Sonatas (Op.1, 2 & 5) giving way to the intimate miniatures of his Intermezzos, Fantasias and assorted pieces (Op.117-119). These represent the culmination and autumn of a musical life well lived, and probe the depths of his soul and psyche.

Montenegrin pianist Boris Kraljevic, a faculty member of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, played the 13 pieces from sets Op.117 through 119. Possessing a multi-faceted technique and capabilities, he went into the heart of the music. Rarely has this music been so well thought out and magnificently realised.

The art of cantabile, married with smouldering disquiet and a gift for teasing out a melody through thickets of harmony distinguished the Three Intermezzos Op.117. Braving a massive traffic jam through the length of Bukit Timah Road, we arrived late but in time to hear the first set performed through a surprisingly acceptable sound system (and see Kraljevic on TV) in the foyer. Even that was convincingly enough proof of this musician’s prowess.

Sitting in the concert hall lent a further dimension to the experience. Kraljevic’s bear-like stature lends heft and weight to his playing, and he can definitely project. The Op.118 set began loud and passionate, but soon descended into the inner sanctum with the great A major Intermezzo (Op.118 No.2) He paced it very deliberately, but there was method to this approach, as it made the song-like middle section ever more a thing of beauty. The G minor Ballade (Op.118 No.3) had power and drive, and its central melody shone through like a beacon.

The E flat minor Intermezzo (Op.118 No.6), with its deep and dark thoughts, is the crowning glory of the Opus. Kraljevic ruminated like some ancient philosopher, before delivering the triumphant verdict, affirmative like the rise of several blazing suns before subsiding into terminal repose.

The Op.119 tetralogy is arguably the most varied of the three sets performed. Has there been a more dissonant or modern utterance by Brahms than the opening Intermezzo (Op.119 No.1)? Foretelling the coming of Schoenberg (who was in his late teens in 1893 when this was written), this chilling number was eloquently delivered, contrasted with the restless agitation of No.2, which had yet another beguiling middle-section melody derived from the earlier flutterings.

The jocular No.3 received the most pronounced of rubatos, which threatened to pull it out of shape, but the attempt to humour was duly noted. The final Rhapsody in E flat major got the energy and momentum it deserved, and few could deliver it with such trenchancy, closing the recital on a invigorating high.

Kraljevic performed three varied and well-received encores: Prokofiev’s Morning Scene (The Street Awakens) from Romeo and Juliet, Rachmaninov’s meditative Moment Musicaux No.4 (from Op.16) and Bach’s C major Prelude (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1). Few would disagree that one had just witnessed an hour and more of true artistry.

3rd Singapore Chamber Music Festival: ROBERT, CLARA & JOHANNES / Review

ROBERT, CLARA & JOHANNES
3rd Singapore Chamber Music Festival
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concert Hall
Sunday (31 January 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 February 2010.

There are many nooks and crannies of the chamber music repertoire that deserve to be explored but for a number of reasons remain obscure. The Singapore Chamber Music Festival, organised by The Chamber Players, has played a massive part in introducing these to a receptive local audience. The first concert of the festival’s third edition was an excellent example of this.

The eternal triangle of Robert Schumann, his wife Clara and the young Johannes Brahms was celebrated with a piano trio each, performed by nine musicians representing a Who’s Who of classical music in Singapore today. In lieu of programme notes, each performance was preceded by carefully chosen words from the ever-thoughtful Dennis Lee.

He was also the pianist in Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio No.2 in F major (Op.80), bringing freshness and exuberance to the music, trading interwoven melodic lines with violinist Ike See and cellist Natasha Liu (above). This is an unfamiliar work, one brimming with energy and optimism, yet balanced by a gentle lilting lyricism. The very crisp articulation by the threesome in the skittish staccato-filled finale was a joy.

Even rarer still was Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio in G minor (Op.17), the slightest work on the menu. Oozing Mendelssohnian lightness and charm, its salon-like quality was delightful and unpretentious. Ironically, an all-male trio of pianist Lim Yan, violinist Seah Huan Yuh and cellist Leslie Tan (above) all clad in Chinese New Year hongbao red did the honours, alternating sensitivity with the odd spot of virility.

The greatest of the three trios fell to Brahms, forever rumoured to be more than platonic soul buddies with Clara. His Piano Trio No.1 in B major (Op.8) was the longest and most expressive in the evening. It also had the most memorable melodies. Two women, pianist Toh Chee Hung and violinist Qian Zhou, partnered cellist Chan Wei Shing (above) in a performance that might be described as rough and ready in parts.

It nevertheless had enough passion and the sense of being on the edge to make it absorbing. One would easily accept a handful of wrong notes here and there than sit through than a squeaky clean but sterile outing. The intimacy of chamber music at its most sincere was more than well served.

Long-time cello pedagogue Mrs Herminia Ilano

(extreme left) was honoured at the festival.

This concert and the 3rd Singapore Chamber Music Festival was organised by The Chamber Players, and supported by the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

SSO Concert: Symphonic Fantasy / Review

Symphonic Fantasy
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (30 January 2010)

This review was published by The Straits Times on 1 February 2010.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s only homage to Chopin in his bicentenary year was a performance of the First Piano Concerto, nestling within a Schumann symphonic cycle. This is not a big surprise given the Pole had written nothing purely orchestral, merely six concertante works for piano and orchestra.

The E minor concerto (Op.11) is the greatest of these, and a sense of occasion was heightened by Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son (left), 1st prize-winner of the 1980 Chopin International Piano Competition. He is the consummate Chopin interpreter, fully attuned to the music’s heart and soul, a master of multitudes of notes and dynamic shifts.

His way with the bel canto aspect was flawless, smooth as silk and pure like morning dew. The nocturne-like slow movement Romance passed like a dream. On the opposite pole, sparks flew and ignited the fire in the outer movements, his fingers in scintillating form. A chorus of bravos from the audience was rewarded with an encore of Chopin’s No.1 hit: the Nocturne in E flat major (Op.9 No.2). How often has this been heard in concert? Rarely, to be honest, and rarely rendered this beautifully.

The concert began with Schumann’s Manfred Overture, with its three dramatic and strident opening chords setting the tone for the concert as a whole. Under SSO Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu’s (left) direction, the orchestra was given full rein to Schumann’s volatile and often-violent Romantic impulses. The strings, amid passionate throes, exuded a lustrous sheen that was hard to resist.

This Schumann revelry continued in the second half with the Fourth Symphony in D minor, arguably his least familiar of four symphonies. Resembling Beethoven most in its intensity and gestures, its four movements - played without a break - received a taut and urgently cohesive reading. The recycling of themes and their variants lends the work its economy and conciseness, a fact not lost to the performers.

While concertmaster Lynnette Seah’s lovely sinuous obbligato violin solo lit up the second movement, it was the brass that had a field day, driving home their message with much cogency. The final glory however goes to the composer himself; a performance like this makes patent nonsense the widely held misconception that Schumann wrote second-rate orchestral music. That is the true reason why musical anniversaries are justly celebrated.