POPULAR CLASSICS / Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra / Review

POPULAR CLASSICS
Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra
Singapore Conference Hall
Sunday (29 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 31 August 2010.

The Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra (BHSO) is Singapore’s only community-based orchestra. Since 1986, it has provided an invaluable platform for non-professional musicians, students and budding soloists to perform the great classics in public. Its latest concert was a good example of egalitarianism at work.

The guest conductor was Seah Kar Heng, better known as a mechanical engineering professor specialising in racing cars and all-round renaissance man. The soloists were members of the Incursion Trio (below), which performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major (Op.56). Although not the German master’s greatest effort by a long shot, it is the only example of the genre in the active repertoire.

Cellist Brandon Voo, the chief protagonist, cogently presented his opening statement, later joined by his partners violinist Siew Yi Li and pianist Beatrice Lin. Balance between the three young professionals, who have been playing together for about a year, was generally good, but problems arose when the orchestra joined the fray.

Cellist Brandon Voo, pianist Beatrice Lin,

conductor Seah Kar Heng & violinist Siew Yi Li (from L)

Mozart’s Don Giovanni Overture opened the concert, its stern opening chords and an introduction foretelling the grave final scene contrasted with the lively main body. Although the sound was anaemic and lacked homogeneity, the story was conscientiously conveyed.

The most satisfying orchestral performance came in Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony in A major, also known as the Italian Symphony. For its outset, Seah’s charges got the throbbing rhythm spot on, and the pulsating spirit of the sunny work never flagged. The second movement was also coherently delivered, its slow march-like procession paced with discipline and character.

There were some rough spots in the flowing third movement, but the sweeping intensity for the final Saltarello, a swirling Italian dance, made the journey worthwhile. The intricate counterpoint was overcome with some degree of caution, but that was never an impediment to a final decisive flourish.

The encore, the rousing Wedding March from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was dedicated to Seah’s wife. Engineers, contrary to popular stereotype, can be romantic souls too.

SSO Concert: The Spectacular Seventh / Review

THE SPECTACULAR SEVENTH
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (28 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 August 2010.

When the Singapore Symphony Orchestra invites a guest conductor to lead over two consecutive weeks, it is a sign of faith and confidence in the maestro’s leadership and training abilities. German conductor Günther Herbig is one of a select few who enjoy that privilege, and the second concert of his two-week residency was proof of that.

Under a master of Austro-German repertoire, the symphonic pairing of Schubert’s Fifth and Beethoven’s Seventh worked like a dream. The teenaged effort by the former was a study of Mozartian grace and lightness.

The orchestra’s reading of its clean and clear lines came across with the freshness of morning dew, the bright and chirpy spirits providing the lift and lilt the music needed. Has the love-forsaken and often tormented Schubert (above) ever sounded this happy?

The grittier but no less congenial Beethoven seemed like its ideal counterpart. Ironically, Beethoven in 1812 was already flexing his Romantic muscles while an 1816 Schubert basked in Classical finery. Despite that, the temptation to gush in adrenaline was resisted in a performance that was as finely honed as it was invigorating.

For a symphony with no true slow movement (the most deliberate tempo being Allegretto), it never felt frenetic or rushed. The opening movement’s prolonged introduction gave way to brimming exuberance aided by Jin Ta’s excellent flute solos. The emotional core of the work unfolded in the Allegretto, and like a steady heartbeat building to a heady climax.

While pace gathered inexorably for the last two irresistible movements, it never strained at the reins, guided by some benevolent force of reason and will. That force was, of course, Herbig’s unfaltering vision that helmed these shows of nobility and grandeur.

The concerto segment saw Russian violinist Denis Goldfeld tackle Henryk Wieniawski’s (left)popular Second Violin Concerto. He has a refined and cultured sound, sounding most comfortable in the slow and probing moments, such as the achingly beautiful Romance.

When it came to the more fiery sections, his tone hardened and rhythms became less stable. This resulted in a brief lapse in the gypsy finale and the scramble with the orchestra towards the end was a case of safety first. All was forgiven, however, in the perfect encore from Bach’s unaccompanied Partita No.2. That was where his truest sympathies lie.

SHOPPING FOR CHOPIN / A Play by Phan Ming Yen & Jeremiah Choy / Review

SHOPPING FOR CHOPIN
Play by Phan Ming Yen & Jeremiah Choy
John Cheng, Pianist
The Arts House
Thursday (26 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 28 August 2010.

Celebrations of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) has come thick and fast in this his bicentenary year, but none has gone beyond the performance of the music to explore or even speculate on feelings and moods that inspired his creations. Shopping For Chopin, an augmented piano recital or artsy slide show accompanied by “live” music, whichever way you look at it, attempted to scratch the surface.

The plot by first-time playwright Phan Ming Yen (above right) and veteran dramaturg Jeremiah Choy (left) was a simple one. Budding China-born would-be pianist Jun meets a local girl San in the Singapore music shop where he works. She is mute but wants to hear some Chopin. He reciprocates with CDs of his choice, and communicates via a series of letters prompted by her regular visits.

The letters are projected on two walls, while a central screen plays out the action in the form of stills. All these take place while pianist John Cheng performs Chopin selections. His letters convey hope yet hopelessness, an estrangement with his home village but isolation in his adopted land. Identification with his roots, personified by the repeated mention of his mother, is strong. The future in Nanyang, now dashed by his hand injury, remains nebulous.

These were perhaps the very real emotions that tugged at Chopin’s consumption-racked and tormented soul, which ultimately defined his art. The choice of music was also ideal. The nocturne-like Andante Spianato (from Op.22) exuded reassuring calm while the E minor Prélude (Op.28 No.4) portended doom. Played together, and with texts rapidly and randomly inserted, the intended effect was jumbled thoughts and confusion.

The Second Ballade (Op.38) Chopin’s least celebrated of the four, juxtaposed serenity with extreme violence, with the Heroic Polonaise (Op.53) exhibiting tragedy in equal measure. Closing with the D flat major Nocturne (Op.27 No.2), the mood was of quiet resignation. Cheng, who also played Jun on screen, portrayed the protagonist with a stoic dignity.

There are no happy endings with Chopin, only questions. Did San ever receive Jun’s letters, and what was her response? Did Jun return to China? These are left hanging in the air as the 50-minute play drew to a close. When there are no more words to express, the power of Chopin’s music remains an implacable surrogate.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, August 2010)

NOW WOULD ALL FREUDIANS PLEASE STAND ASIDE?
JAMES RHODES, Piano
Signum Records SIGCD185 (2CDs)

*****

This is the sequel to Razor Blades, Little Pills & Big Pianos, by the conformity challenged British pianist James Rhodes. The arcane title comes from a quote by the late Canadian maverick Glenn Gould whose playing of Bach Rhodes worships. Thankfully he is no Gould clone and imbues Bach’s forward-looking Sixth Partita in E minor with much spirit and sensitivity, minus the eccentricity. The ear-piquing harmonies of the Sarabande come through most eloquently. Quite unlike Gould, he also has a thing for hyphenated Bach. The Bach-Busoni Toccata, Adagio & Fugue (BWV.564) receives a grandstanding performance which even tops the quirky Horowitz, with the Aria transformed into a grand procession. His view of Beethoven’s late Sonata No.30 in E major(Op.109), with its inventive and almost jazzy variations, is no less involving.

A bonus disc includes two short Chopin tracks (a Prélude and an Étude), excerpts from an interview, and a video of the sublime Marcello-Bach Adagio. Although Rhodes is fashioned to look like a cross between Jack Nicholson’s Joker and Phua Chu Kang with his yellow boots, here is an extremely serious artist with a lot to say.

STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
REVUELTAS Night of the Maya
Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra
GUSTAVO DUDAMEL
Deutsche Grammophon 477 8775
****1/2

This is an unusual but totally logical coupling, one which revels in primal and intoxicating dance. Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) was the most original Mexican composer of his time, whose all too short life of genius and alcoholism seemed to parallel that of the Russian nationalist Mussorgsky. His La Noche De Los Mayas (Night Of The Maya), in four movements, was initially conceived as film music, but first performed 20 years after Revueltas’ death. Pagan rites and sacrificial orgies are vividly imagined and captured in these tableaux, which range from folk music simplicity (Night of Revelry) to a battery of uninhibited improvisatory drumming (Night of Enchantment).

Stravinsky’s iconic ballet The Rite Of Spring needs little introduction, except that its shock value remains unabated almost a century since its 1913 premiere. The Venezuelan wunderkind of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra led by the equally youthful Gustavo Dudamel surpass themselves in this monster score, where complex rhythms and jangling dissonances continue to baffle. A totally enjoyable romp, but beware the speakers!

CD Review (The Straits Times. August 2010)

THE FIVE BROWNS IN HOLLYWOOD
EQ Music 72161

****

Repertoire for five pianos is understandably scarce, which is why the Utah-born Mormon siblings rely almost completely on specially-commissioned transcriptions. Film music, the main focus here, lends itself well for this kind of treatment. The arrangements of John Williams’ Star Wars music are largely enjoyable, the percussion-driven rhythms of the Imperial March, Mos Eisley Cantina and ubiquitous Main Theme having a ring of familiarity. Also evocative are Bernard Hermann’s music to Hitchcock thrillers Psycho, Vertigo and North By Northwest.

Some selections however fall flat. Other than Over The Rainbow by Harold Arlen, The Wizard Of Oz Fantasy is rather thin on substance. Philip Glass’ theme for The Hours also comes across as mindless doodling. There are several solos, Scott Joplin’s Solace (used in The Sting) and Stephen Hough’s transcription of My Favourite Things (The Sound Of Music) get good performances from Gregory and Melody Brown respectively. A mixed bag, but that is no deterrence to an hour or so of pleasant listening.

THE MAD SCENE is 3 years old! An interview with STEVEN ANG, Founder of Singapore's only Opera Blog

On 1 September, Singapore's only opera blog The Mad Scene turns three years old!

You may find it at: http://the-mad-scene.blogspot.com. Its creator STEVEN ANG, now a voice student in Taipei shares with us his passion for the voice and writing about it!

Q: When and how did you come up with the idea of creating a blog about the opera scene in Singapore?

The blog was started in September 2007. At that time, I had written quite a few articles for The Flying Inkpot for a number of years under Derek Lim’s leadership. It was all rather fun, public response was good and of course we enjoyed getting free tickets and CDs. Unfortunately we were unable to update the site regularly due to our increasing work commitments. The formatting required for maintaining a traditional website was also very time consuming.

One of my favourite websites to visit was Parterre Box (http://www.parterre.com/) and Opera Chic (operachic.typepad.com), blogs about opera in New York and Milan respectively, which report as well as make fun of the latest opera news and the people behind them. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great if Singapore has something like this?

That’s not to say that The Mad Scene is in any way like the two popular blogs above. Ultimately my aim is to provide magazine content for local music enthusiasts, and using a blog format makes the technical side of things much easier to handle, leaving me with more time to worry about content. Also with a blog format readers can expect posts that are more informal, less structured than would a traditional magazine format. And so with the help of a few friends, we managed to build this website and get it started.

Q: How did you come to adopt The Mad Scene as the title?

Oh i have to come clean and admit that title The Mad Scene is not really my idea. Basically the idea to start a blog was made between myself and 3 other friends; the four of us would often meet for dinner and talk about our favourite sopranos and discuss who had the better high e-flat, so we thought why not put it down on a blog for all to see?

We then ran through a few names; some of them include sedizio se voci (sedicious voices), the first line of Norma’s entrance scene, but that idea was scraped because www.sediziosevoci.blogspot.com is probably too much of a mouthful for casual lovers to handle. Another idea was “Fiordiligi and Dorebella”, because it was supposed to be two main writers writing behind fictitious personas. That wasn’t good either because firstly my partner doesn’t like Mozart operas, and secondly, I’m too much of a fame whore to hide behind an alias.

So going by our common love for sopranos who sing lots of high notes before dying tragically, my friend Justin came up with The Mad Scene. It was the perfect name for us: it aptly describes our passion for the art, the intended tongue-in-cheek writing style, and the sometimes ridiculousness situations that the performers and storylines can get into. And so a blog was born! Not only did Justin come up with the name, he also designed the collage of mad sopranos as well as its updated version that you see on the new site. Now that the blog has some regular following, the name has proven to be such a good fit for the site as well as my own personal branding. If you ever need any design work done, send me an email and I will refer you to him.

Q: Tell us a little about your background as a singer, musician and music lover.

Well I have been making the rounds as an amateur singer and performer for some time, hence my appreciation for opera. In my poly days I did an experimental theatre called When Will I See Sky, about the live of Indonesian writer and political prisoner Promedeya Anant Toer. I had wanted to do musicals and made the rounds of auditions, yet somehow this became the first play I’d ever done. I’ve also joined the Echo Philharmonic Society then and did my first two performances of the Xian Xing-Hai’s Yellow River Cantata under Maestro Yan Liang-Kun, a student of the composer and widely regarded as the Karajan of China. I stayed with the choir for a number of years after National Service, making it my artistic home and therefore my performances are mostly with the Chinese-educated group. I love Chinese repertoire very much, but their limited tastes can get frustrating at times. When I joined the Singapore Symphony Chorus, I felt that my musical education is finally on track. It was such a thrill being able to sing with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

At that time, I was sending out applications for some conservatories, thinking about just trying them out. Never did I think that I would be accepted by the prestigious Soochow University (東吳大學). Going to Taiwan would be beneficial in so many ways: being able to study music full-time instead of juggling a full-time job, getting to explore my beloved Chinese repertoire, and working in a scene that while not the traditional centres of classical music (such as Europe or USA) does have a more advanced music education that here. Plus the fees are much cheaper! And so I packed my bags and never looked back.

Its heartening to see that there are so many opportunities for younger singers now, whether for amateurs or students looking at making a career, what with the local conservatory and School of The Arts taking off, Singapore Lyric Opera productions getting bigger than before, and theatre productions and Integrated Resorts looking for live entertainers where having a solid classical technique would surely be beneficial (these opportunities at my time or were either not available during my time or my pragmatic parents preferred a sit-in-office career, but I’m not bitter!) I’m trying not to try out for these performing jobs yet until such a time when I feel my voice is ready for them, so you probably won’t see me onstage that soon. Until then, do keep a lookout for my “big début”!

Q: You are among a number of writers about music in Singapore who began their journalistic exploits with The Flying Inkpot. How has that experience influenced your present activity in The Mad Scene?

Gosh the experience with Inkpot was great in so many ways! Firstly having my writing published in public for the very first time was such a thrill for a then National Service boy trapped in camp. Getting free tickets and CDs were great also for a broke NSF. Also the experience of simply writing one article after another helped polish-up my basics (with special indulgence from my editors…) and helped me develop my writing style into what you see today. I’ve also included my Inkpot experience in my resume post-NS which landed me a job as a copy-writer-cum-account-executive. Lastly, I wouldn’t have gotten to interview Renée Fleming during her stint in Singapore, if not for Inkpot!

Q: How many articles or posts have you registered in three years of The Mad Scene?

Many many, though not all of them are full articles. Part of the beauty of using a blog format is that you can put up even the most whimsical of topics, such as Renée’s early attempts at interviewing fellow sopranos, and how closely the greatly-hyped Michael Phelp’s Beijing Olympics’s swimwear (the Speedo LZR) resembles one of Cher’s trademark costumes. So if I were to tally up: 1,213 in the old site plus 26 on the new site, that adds up to 1,239 posts.

Steven with The Beautiful Voice Renée Fleming

Q: Interviews form an important part of your content. What were some of your more memorable interviews with singers? And why?

Of the ones I did recently, I had a lot of fun conducting the one with Tai Hsiao-Chun, SLO’s recent Queen of the Night. I had just seen her Lucia di Lammermoor in Taipei, so our discussion was pretty much revolved around our favourite soprano roles and their high notes and the singers who take them on. Also as a Singaporean living abroad, I got to brag about what a wonderful company we have (many will surely disagree but let’s not take things for granted…), and assuring her that she’ll surely do a comparably much better job coming after the horrorific Olympia at our Tales of Hoffmann.

As for earlier interviews, my Inkpot interview with Renée Fleming was great for obvious reasons; it was actually a press conference with reps from more established papers but it was only Derek and I asking all the questions, of which the rest understood neither the questions nor the answers.

( http://inkpot.com/concert/flemingconference.html)

My article about interviewing Kiri te Kanawa and Frederica von Stade for the Singapore Sun Festival is also one of my personal favourites: I wonder how they became such good friends with such different personalities; one being cold where the other is effusively warm. I had to take a few hours off work to attend the Sun Festival opening press conference, but the picture I took of Kiri dozing-off while their ex-chairman Barrett Wissman was making his opening speech was totally worth it!

(http://themadscene.athenarts.com/?p=519)

Then there was the time earlier this year when my 2008 interview with Jeong Ae Ree received over 4,000 visitors in a week, due to that incident with that Romanian diplomat. Now as a website owner can’t help but be thrilled that my work is receiving such attention, despite the negative cause of it. But I’m grateful that through this interview and Ae Ree’s clarification at the time, the general public who won’t otherwise know of her as a performer could see that here is an artist who is serious about her work and her students, and not an attention seeker that could have been their first impression. It was heartening when her supporters posted messages of goodwill in the comments, though I had to play censor when some of the more ruthless gossips posted some really malicious messages. (http://themadscene.athenarts.com/?p=523)

A culmination of the Singapore choral music scene:

the 2004 performance of Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand.

Q: Vocal music has a following in Singapore, but somewhat lags behind that of orchestral music and instrumental music eg. piano. Why do you think that is so?

Hmm… I haven’t really done such an observation to necessarily agree with you. In the Chinese-educated circle that I perform in, the Singapore Choral Association has about 100 choirs under its wing, each staging at least 2 performances a year, that amounts to about 200 concerts annually, not withstanding their annual choral festival, solo recitals by their teacher-conductors and competitions. So that’s already plenty of activity!

Perhaps then that the vocal scene can seem small because, unlike instrumentalists, language and taste play a big factor when engaging audiences and deciding programs. Coming from the previous generation where the majority Chinese population is so clearly segregated into English and Chinese speakers, their respective cultural programs are thus promoted through completely different sources. So I wouldn’t say that it lags behind the instrumentalists, just that our overall the profile is more fragmented. For those of us in the younger generation who can straddle the big divide, this is actually a good thing as it leads to a wider variety of music and talents to be experienced.

But assuming that vocal music does lag behind the instrumentalists, one should consider that the voice is an instrument of a very different nature. An enthusiastic singer has many options that would be closed for an instrumentalist, such as a capella groups, musical theatre, bands and pop music. Thus the percentage of singers who would join traditional classical formats such as choirs or learning lieder and arias is smaller. A violinist with some training might perform solo with a pianist, in a quartet or an orchestra, but opportunities to cross-over would be limited due to the different instruments used in other genres.

Lastly, opera with all its adult themes and passions, would probably be appreciated more by adults or at best mature teenagers. Some of these new fans may then choose to become singers themselves after pursuing a more ‘practical’ course of study or work. Instrumentalists however can be trained at a very early age, so its probably easier to find instrumental performers than vocal ones. In my conservatory, the instrumentalists are mostly of school-going age while singers can come in at any age level, we even have some retired bosses in the masters program!

Q: How would you describe the vocal, choral and opera scene in Singapore today? And what further progress do you expect in the years to come?

I’ll say it’s growing at a very exciting pace. Just the past two weeks I’ve attended no less than 4 concerts. The SLO, while sticking with traditional repertoire, has expanded its operations to such a large scale that it is such a far cry from their Victoria Theatre days. Their productions will always remain the heart of a voice lover’s live music experience. Meanwhile, the SSO’s offerings of large-scale choral works seem to have increased with very interesting programs, aided by the excellent SSC and their assisting choirs; the Hallelujah Oratorio Society is another group that I always love to hear.

Meanwhile many of my fellow amateurs ten years ago while we are teens are returning with high grades and professional experience from their European and American conservatories, so maybe we will soon get to see one of our own leading an opera on our global stage! Meanwhile, the influx of foreign talents coming to learn or teach in our conservatories means that we have many more great performers and concerts to enjoy.

With the opening of the Esplanade many years ago and now with the IRs, our previously staid government (the same one that banned Kitaro from performing due to his refusal to cut his trademark long hair) is finally recognising the need to make Singapore a more fun and exciting place to live in, and that I think this is the mindset we need for a more vibrant arts scene.

The iconic original iconic banner of The Mad Scene,

recently replaced in 2010.

Q: What do you think is the most important role of The Mad Scene within the context of the Singapore music scene?

This question is probably best asked to a long-time reader or one of the many performers I’ve interviewed, but I’ll give it a shot!

As a regular concert-goer for many years, I’m often puzzled by the lack of support performing groups have for each other’s work. Many times I would ask a fellow singer if he had attended so-and-so’s performance only to be told that he has never even heard of such an event. The mainstream media understandably only covers the big acts, and while there are many avenues for reviews (such as your fine blog and the newly revived Inkpot), these articles are mostly in hindsight; that is the publicity comes only after the performance is over. I thought wouldn’t it be great if there is an avenue that could publicise these events BEFORE they actually happen? It’s great if you can afford the services of SISTIC and newspaper ads, but for the smaller groups and soloists, I hope that I can help to bring more attention to their efforts.

So this is really what I hope The Mad Scene can help to achieve. And to do so I want to go beyond the standard introductions that can be found on posters and flyers. I want to introduce to fellow music lovers the personalities behind the music, both the movers-and-shakers and the up-and-comers, who are working hard to bring our unique brand of entertainment to you. Never mind that most of them have yet to make their Met debuts, they are the ones we have, they are good in their own right, so they deserve your support. I hope my work on The Mad Scene has helped to achieve this end. While it can get tiring running the site for the past 3 years, the feedback and thanks that I’ve received lead me to believe that it is a worthwhile contribution to this segment of the artistic community.

Here is the how you reach The Mad Scene:

http://the-mad-scene.blogspot.com

SSO Concert: The Familiar and the Fantastic / Review

THE FAMILIAR AND THE FANTASTIC
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (21 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 August 2010.

It isn’t often these days that the Singapore Symphony Orchestra performs a full-length symphony for the first time. It was a programming coup of guest German conductor Günther Herbig to couple two Czech symphonies for comparison and contrast – Antonin Dvorak’s popular Eighth Symphony and Bohuslav Martinu’s by far lesser-known Sixth Symphony.

The latter, also titled Fantaisies Symphoniques (Symphonic Fantasies) was a revelation. Its three movements each sprouted like exotic plants out of murky and nebulous primordial orchestral stew. Gratifyingly tonal, kernels of themes (including a pivotal motif quoting from Dvorak) were developed, transformed gradually by Martinu’s (left) distinctive dynamic and kinetically charged style.

The orchestra dived headlong into its complexities, performing the half-hour work as if it were a long-trusted and well-loved friend. Concertmaster Lynnette Seah’s extended solo in the first movement was a picture of confidence, while the brass’ reassuring chorale closed the work on a sublime calm.

Familiarity with the Dvorak (left) did not lead to contempt, but rather a freshly minted reappraisal. Taken at the brisk clip, there was little time to get bored yet much of orchestral details shone through. Jin Ta’s flute was heard in his resonant best in all four movements while the overall string tone was glorious in full flow. There was an insouciant country lilt in the dance-like third movement, contrasted with a well-paced finale, never rushed for effect, which closed the concert on a rousing high.

Sandwiched between both symphonies was Mendelssohn’s E minor Violin Concerto. SSO Assistant Leader Kong Zhao Hui, often fondly remembered for his playing of the Butterfly Lovers Concerto, was a paragon of understated virtuosity. Never one for extravagant outward display, his aristocratic mien and thoughtful musicality were inspiration itself.

Producing a sweet but smallish tone, this was no impediment to crafting a reading that was generous with warmth and largesse of spirit. His perfect control in the encore – the Adagio from Bach’s unaccompanied Sonata No.1 in G minor – was further proof of this. Many a young and budding soloist can do well to learn from his example.

NIGHT SONGS / MELVIN TAN Vocal Recital / Review

NIGHT SONGS
Melvin Tan, Tenor
Shane Thio, Piano
Esplanade Recital Studio
Friday (20 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 August 2010.

The long-held stereotype that tenors are brawny jocks and pretty brainless can beltos should be forever put to rest on the strength of this song recital. Melvin (note the spelling) Tan was a recent graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music, and his return to Singapore to further his family’s wine distribution business, can only spell champagne days ahead for the local vocal music scene.

Seldom has a more intelligent and coherent art song programme been drawn, and delivered with a zest and panache that surpassed initial expectation. The idea of night’s mysterious charms is not a new one, but Tan had the audacity to omit the customary Schubert and Schumann Lieder to plump for all-20th century fare.

Beginning with Debussy’s Nuit d’Etoiles and Le Balcon, his expansive yet supple voice filled the hall, ringing with a bright bell-like lustre. With English translations of the French texts projected on the wall behind, it was easy to follow and relate to Tan’s multifarious expressions, which so indelibly shaded each chanson.

German was the principal language on show, with the two most familiar songs by Richard Strauss – Die Nacht and Allerseelen. The positive rarities were the Singapore premieres of Alban Berg’s Seven Early Songs and Wolfgang Erich Korngold’s Songs of Farewell (both composers below).

Alban Berg & Wolfgang Erich Korngold,
they look like brothers, don't they?

The former dates from 1907, before Berg’s emergence as a giant of atonal modernism. Here Wagner and Mahler’s tonalities are taken to the next level of ambiguity, but the emotions expressed remain vividly etched. Korngold is often credited for inspiring the genre of Hollywood film music, and Tan’s take on his four best-known songs were memorable for the warmth and nostalgia engendered.

Russian romances were represented by Rachmaninov's Six Songs Op.38, where Tan reveled in their melancholy and dark emotions. In Krysolov (The Pied Piper), his sense of comedic timing was infectious, while pianist Shane Thio’s mastery of the intricate and demanding piano parts was admirable.

Their guests, Hong Kong soprano Colette Lam with pianist Miranda Ong, were also excellent in two Debussy songs and Poulenc’s Banalités. Lam’s faultless vocal control and wide range came close to stealing the show. No matter, both singers were united in Noel Coward’s I’ll See You Again, culminating in an intimate waltz together, a delightful way to say goodbye.

Vocal Recitals / David & Jonathan Tay / Brendan-Keefe Au & Lim Yanting / Review

VOCAL RECITALS:

ON WENLOCK EDGE

David & Jonathan Tay
The Arts House
Tuesday (10 August 2010)

L'HEURE EXQUISE

Brendan-Keefe Au & Lim Yanting
University Cultural Centre
Tuesday (17 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 19 August 2010.

There have been an increasing number of voice students, to judge by the number of vocal recitals taking place of late. Some pursue their art overseas while local voice teachers have also been kept busy.

25-year-old twin tenors David and Jonathan Tay are undergraduates at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. They are no two peas in a pod. David has the richer tone, coming closer to the “heroic tenor”. In Vaughan Williams’ song cycle On Wenlock Edge, his ease of expression carried the gamut of emotions, from furtive hope to dark resignation. Assertive but not loud, he transcended the impressionist hues provided by the Artsylum Quartet and pianist Rachel Teoh.

Jonathan possesses a darker shade, more like a baritone’s. In five songs by Vaughan Williams, Quilter and Finzi, accompanied by pianist Valarie Wilson, he faithfully captured the moods and nuances, even if there was audible strain and approximate intonation in higher notes. In the Italian song segment, his guitar serenade from Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville provided a muted contrast from his brother’s booming Alfredo from Verdi’s La Traviata.

Together, their duet from Act IV of Puccini’s La Boheme was a touching moment. David sang Rodolfo while Jonathan sportingly settled for the baritone Marcello’s role. As they say, there can only be one primo tenore in a family.

Tenor Brendan-Keefe Au and soprano Lim Yanting, both non-music students at the National University of Singapore, provided what the title of their recital promised – an exquisite hour. Their selection of songs, accompanied by pianist Shane Thio, were mostly Romantic and about romantic love.

Being non-native to the German language, there was some unfamiliarity of pronunciation in Schubert and Hugo Wolf Lieder, and songs by Beethoven and Mozart. However in Italian, where mere expressions alone can bring out the amore, they seemed more at home.

Au’s ardent demeanor in Bellini’s Malinconia and Tosti’s La Serenata left little to the imagination, while Lim took flight in Arditi’s waltz song Il Bacio (The Kiss) even if she was occasionally overmatched by its dizzying coloratura. Her pair of Belle Epoque songs by Frenchman Reynaldo Hahn, and Au’s fine control in Quilter’s Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal were poignant and evocative, epitomes of grace.

Together, their flirtatious Schumann duet Unterm Fenster, acted out with a twinkle in the eye, brought the short evening to a delightful close.

World Youth Orchestra of the Singapore Games / Review

WORLD YOUTH ORCHESTRA
OF THE SINGAPORE GAMES
Darrell Ang, Conductor

Esplanade Concert Hall
Sunday (15 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 17 August 2010.

After the visual spectacle that was the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games, it was only appropriate for the World Youth Orchestra of the Singapore Games to deliver its sonic equivalent. The well-programmed concert led by the highly decorated young Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang was an aural feast.

The cosmopolitan first half was a whistle-stop world tour of orchestral showpieces from the 20th and 21st century. Performed in chronological order, the opener Shostakovich’s Festive Overture (1954) was in fact a socialist realist crowd pleaser. Never mind the banal left-leaning Soviet slant, its effectiveness was immediately felt with flawless trumpet fanfares and a delicious solo clarinet part that was gratefully lapped up.

Moving to the communes of Red China, Chen Yi’s Ge Xu (Antiphony) of 1994 showcased a virtuosic tapestry of instrumental threads, coalescing into rhythmic chants and a raucous percussion cadenza. Like Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring in reverse, a plaintive bassoon solo closed an impressive showing.

America was represented by Michael Torke’s Javelin (1994), which gained prominence during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Its agreeable tonal machinations gathered pace and momentum as it blazed a trajectory for a dramatic photo-finish. Peruvian Jimmy Lopez’s Fiesta! (2007), a four-part suite, accomplished much the same with some spicy dissonances lighting its flame.

Singapore’s own version of this quadrennial orchestra was formed by students of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, augmented by further musicians from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Great Britain and USA. Their stunning prowess with only one week of rehearsals was capped with Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony (“From The New World”), a stirring performance breathing the spirit and vitality that only the young and young at heart can muster.

The string sound was unvaryingly gorgeous, and woodwinds plenty of confidence, typified by the lovely cor anglais in the Largo, which proffered palpable pangs of nostalgia. The French horn solos were on occasions wayward but that did little to dampen the overall pulse and fervour of the reading.

Conducting completely from memory, Ang mastered his constituents with a force of will that came through single-mindedly and tightly held together. For their efforts in offering two glorious hours of orchestral music making, all on the Esplanade stage deserved to be awarded a gold medal.

SSO Concert: Pathétique / Review

PATHÉTIQUE
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Friday (13 August 2010)

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

For once in a while, the person who gives titles for Singapore Symphony Orchestra concerts has got it spot on. “Pathétique” refers to the Russian use of the word, which connotes passion and deep sorrow. Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, his fatal final opus, had all the qualities to deserve that epithet.

When one expected searing melodrama, the orchestra conducted by the boyish-looking Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbanski, delivered a reading memorable for an insidious sense of tragedy. The symphony began with barely a whisper, simmering beneath a surface of beguiling calm. Just when one wondered when the angst would ever kick in, the eruption of rage went straight for the jugular and did not let go.

These dynamic extremes jolted the senses after having seemingly lulled one to a comfortable repose. Even cracked notes from the trumpets would not detract from that startling impression. The second movement waltzed gracefully like skaters on ice, while the Scherzo’s march flew rather than rumbled inexorably to the brink of the precipice.

For once, the audience – which invariably wrongly applauds after the 3rd movement’s sound and fury – was reduced to stunned silence. All these were merely a prelude to the final movement’s journey of rising and overwhelming depression. Seldom has a state of terminal despair and spiritual desolation been better portrayed in a performance, which returned to the depths as it began.

More uplifting was Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, his only concerto in the minor key. Again, the interpretation was to tread lightly and deliver the bad news in an oblique manner. Central to this was the greying but still elegant Russian pianist Dmitri Alexeev, for whom barnstorming seems a foreign word.

Allegro con brio here did not refer to the loudness or flashiness but the urgency with which the message was conveyed. While the lovely slow movement was an oasis of reverential calm, sparks flew for the Rondo finale. Here the fire reflected an inner turmoil, but an aristocratic mien was never far away.

The concert’s opener was Polish modernist Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa (1986), a short work for only strings. Beginning with just two violins, its minimalist and repetitious loops gradually built in strength, filling the hall with the earthy rhythms of Tatra Mountain dances. Far from the mind-numbing nonsense that passes for some contemporary music today, this was sheer pleasure. Encore!

Home Piano Recital presented by the Mahler Society of Singapore

Wang Congyu and Wayne Teo (standing)

with Nerissa Chen (seated)

The Mahler Society of Singapore presents regular recitals at the homes of its members, presenting some of Singapore's young talents. Three young pianists were on show at a recent event cum potluck dinner. Wayne Teo and Wang Congyu, still in their teens, are presently students at the Ecole Normale in Paris. Nerissa Chen, a non-music graduate from NUS, is set to join them this year.

Nerissa Chen (above) performed:

SCHUBERT Sonata in B flat major, D.960: 1st movement

POULENC Le Soirées de Nazelles (Selection)

She is a sensitive musician with a nice touch.

President of the Mahler Society
Tan Chan Boon introduces Wayne Teo.

Wayne Teo performed:

MARCELLO-BACH Adagio from Concerto in D minor

BACH Prelude & Fugue in F minor (WTC Book II)

CHOPIN Scherzo No.2, Op.31

SCRIABIN Impromptu Op.12 No.2

SAINT-SAENS-GODOWSKY The Swan

Wayne is the "old soul", playing like the most mature among the three, despite being the youngest.

Wang Congyu is a figure of concentration.

Wang Congyu performed:

POULENC Improvisations (selection)

BARTOK Romanian Dance No.1

BEETHOVEN Sonata Op.57 "Appassionata": 1st movement

CHOPIN Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op.Posth

CHOPIN Mazurkas, Op.59

SCRIABIN Étude in E major, Op.8 No.5

LIGETI Étude No.3
Congyu is a yet-to-be-tamed free spirit, who goes where his heart takes him to.

Musical stars of the future:

Violinist Selina Tang & Harpist Laura Peh

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, August 2010)

PROKOFIEV Piano Works
MICHEL BÉROFF, Piano et al
EMI Classics 695590 2 (2 CDs)
****

The Russian iconoclast Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) composed a substantial volume of piano music, including nine Sonatas. The six most popular sonatas are included in this album. The first three combine his hallmark “toccata” style - driving motor-like rhythms – with angular melodies, and are short, flashy showpieces. The Sixth to Eighth Sonatas, composed during the Second World War, represent his mature best. The percussive tendencies remain, violence is heightened, but tinged with a certain bitterness. Veteran French pianist Michel Béroff is suitably brusque but idiomatic in five sonatas, while the young Russian-Israeli Boris Giltburg finds a softer edge for the paradoxically lyrical Eighth Sonata.

The fillers are Prokofiev’s delightful transcriptions from ballets Romeo & Juliet, with Navah Perlman (violinist Itzhak’s daughter) who is surprisingly low key, and Cinderella from the excellent Vladimir Ovchinikov. Four Études (Op.2) played by Roustem Saitkoulov, more sewing machine music and competition fodder, rounds up the interesting anthology.

VERISMO
RENÉE FLEMING
Giuseppe Verdi Symphony & Chorus
Marco Armiliato, Conductor
Decca 478 1533

*****

For the casual opera lover, verismo is almost synonymous with Puccini, whose characters Tosca, Mimi and Manon Lescaut lived true-to-life and often brutal scenarios. Soprano Renée Fleming’s gripping anthology introduces some of the lesser lights of verismo, including Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Catalani, Giordano, Cilea and Zandonai from the Giovane Scuola (Young School), whose heroines were no less sympathetic. Does anyone know Ruggero Leoncavallo’s now-forgotten La Bohème? Here are just 4 minutes from it, with Fleming portraying both Mimi and Musette with great relish.

Also from Leoncavallo is Zaza, which yields a touching 10-minute scena Angioletto, Il Tuo Nome, contrasting Fleming’s enormous range with a young child’s voice, spoken by Emma Latis. Riccardo Zandonai’s Conchita, also set in Spain, makes Bizet’s Carmen sound chaste by comparison. To these roles in this well-filled disc, Fleming invests an emotional energy that is invigorating, touched with sensitivity and sincerity. A must-listen.

SINGAPORE CHINESE ORCHESTRA Opening Gala: Jazz You Up / Review

SCO OPENING GALA:
JAZZ YOU UP WITH JEREMY MONTEIRO
Singapore Chinese Orchestra
Singapore Conference Hall
Friday (6 August 2010)

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

For the Singapore Chinese Orchestra’s Opening Gala of the 2010-11 season, local jazz great Jeremy Monteiro held sway like a colossus. His imprimatur as composer, arranger and piano virtuoso was to be ever present at this unusual but highly engaging concert.

Ironically it was the first few minutes – Monteiro’s Overture in C major: The Story of Singapore – which proved the least convincing. Its Coplandesque opening gestures, drumming rhythms and ethnic motifs, later giving way to National Day Parade favourite One People, One Nation, One Singapore, went down like oil and water.

It was when Monteiro eventually emerged to perform his Olympia that the evening truly began. Improvisation is the heart of jazz. Eric Watson’s arrangement offered grateful parts to Yu Jia and Sunny Wong on the pipa and erhu respectively, before Monteiro wrapped up with riffs of his own.

Where does structured composition end and improvisation begin, was a question asked of local serious composer Kelly Tang (left) in his latest piano concerto, wittily-titled Montage. Cast in three movements, his use of the Chinese orchestra was sparing to the point that the ensemble operated mostly from the peripheries while Monteiro’s trio (with bassist Christy Smith and drummer Tama Goh, below) dominated centrestage.

The slow movement, a nocturne for piano and Zhao Jian Hua’s lovely erhu, luxuriated with Chopin-like radiance and Mozartian clarity. The rhythmic exuberance of the finale, where instrumental balance was again problematic, however swept the board with its sheer energy. Plaudits go to Tang for daring to experiment (his earlier piano concerto was atonal), and this genre is well-worth exploring further.

Conductor Yeh Tsung (left) doubled up ad-hoc emcee, proselytising as slickly as a tele-evangelist. With good reason, as in Monteiro’s Asiana, more of SCO’s soloists had their moment in the spotlight. Yin Zhi Yang and Tan Chye Tiong on dizi, Xu Hui’s all-too brief guzheng solo all shone, while the excellent Han Lei whose guanzi could have easily been Kenny G’s saxophone. Kong Hong Wei’s Summer Palace, also with Han, provided the token piece of chinoiserie.

Tony Makarome’s arrangement of Victor Feldman’s Seven Steps To Heaven closed a lively evening, not before Tama Goh’s wild drummer act brought down the house. Monteiro, who could pass off as Fred Flintstone’s twin, offered the theme from The Flintstones as an encore. Cartoon music at the SCO? Notch up a new first for the record books.

SACRED CANTATAS / Musica Fiata / Review

SACRED CANTATAS
Musica Fiata & La Capella Ducale
Esplanade Concert Hall
Thursday (5 August 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 7 August 2010.

Performance of baroque music in Singapore is as common as hen’s teeth. There is only one dedicated baroque group here, the amateur vocalists of Ab Oriente. Thus it was a massive shot to the arm when the Baroque in Singapore series arrived, presented by Musica Anima. Unfortunately, the cancellation of its last concert (due to volcanic ash fallout) and financial constraints dictated this to be the final concert for the year. But what a revelation it turned out to be.

Schütz & Scheidt

They look like twins, don't they?

Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) and Samuel Scheidt (1585-1672) were pre-eminent German composers predating Bach and Handel by a century. A selection of their sacred vocal music was performed with sympathy and authenticity by this Cologne-based ensemble of four singers and seven musicians.

The instrumental combination was unusual, with three trombones, violin, organ and dulzian (an early bassoon), led by Musica Fiata’s founder Roland Wilson (below) performing a zink, a curved pipe played like a recorder but with the timbre of a trumpet. The sound was quaint but intimate, never drowning out the singers in various combinations.

Scheidt’s Freue Dich, quoted from Proverbs of the Old Testament, but was surprisingly sensual, rejoicing in the graceful curves of a young wife’s body. The pleasure expressed, while not overt, was quietly ecstatic. The two tenors, Andreas Post and George Poplutz, also blended prettily in Schütz’s Anima Mea Liquefacta Est and O Quam Tu Pulchra Est, where a lover’s voice and beautiful form inspired feelings of a desirous kind.

Serious vibes was provided by bass Wolf Matthias Friedrich, whose sonorous entreaties in Attendite, Popule Meus, a prophet’s call to pay heed, was contrasted with a father’s anguish in Fili Mi, Absalon, both by Schütz. In the latter where King David mourns his treasonous son’s death, the pain expressed was palpable.

An expectant exultation coloured soprano Monika Mauch’s solo in Schütz’s Paratum Cor Meum, Deus, where her light and crystal-clear voice rose on angel’s wings high above the instrumental accompaniment. Simply beautiful.

For the final valedictory number, both instrumentalists and singers came face to face for Scheidt’s Warum Betrübst Du Dich, a rhetorical question answered by reassurance with faith in God, closing the evening’s fare on a high. In a musical year dominated by Chopin and Mahler, a rare treat was afforded in the company of Schütz and Scheidt.

This concert in the Baroque in Singapore series was presented by Music Anima Entertainment.