Want to be a host family in a Chinese piano competition?

International piano competitions in USA are famous for the hospitality of their host families. Every video of the Van Cliburn competition shows the pianists lounging about in their hosts' palatial homes, practising on grand pianos, enjoying BBQs, sipping on pina coladas while lazing in swimming pools et cetera. Not so in Asia, where homes tend to be small, overcrowded, pokey, and most of all, messy.

However the Shenzhen International Piano Competition has taken upon itself to organise host families for the 40 or so pianists taking part. Given the increasing number of billionaires in modern China today, that certainly is a possibility in one of China's fastest growing cities. However, it is interesting to see the list of criteria below (from the competition's website, http://www.csipcc.com.cn/) which host families have to fulfill to in order to be eligible. Every word is as quoted in the webpage.

The requirements of a host family are as follows:

1. Have relatively few family members with a simple family structure.

2. Have enough bedrooms or guest rooms.

3. Own piano facilities and enough space for practicing. (For those who meet other conditions but lack of piano, the organizing committee may consider allocating piano facilities.)

4. Own a private car and have a fulltime accompanier who can communicate with the contestant in English or other foreign languages.

5. Well-educated without any criminal records or harmful habits.

6. Love music. Have good cross-cultural attitude and be familiar with western etiquettes and customs.

7. Warmhearted, serious and have the sense of responsibility. Be able to arrange the daily life of the contestant and would like to be the cheering squad. Be willing to guide the contestant to city sightseeing during spare time.

I particularly like criterion No.5, which means that I should preferably have a PhD, and not smoke, drink, spit, gamble, bribe minor bureaucrats, deal in counterfeit Guccis and Pradas, or run a bawdy house. In other words, I should preferably not get hauled up and be executed with a bullet to the head during the course of the competition. So Communist party officials should be barred from being hosts!

In an effort to be helpful, I forgot to mention: Homes should preferably have seat toilets rather than squatting toilets, and all pianists should be spared the indignity of depositing their used toilet paper in pails, as opposed to flushing them.

VICTOR KHOR Piano Recital @ Yamaha Premium Piano Gallery

VICTOR KHOR Piano Recital
Yamaha Premium Piano Gallery
Plaza Singapura / Saturday (30 July 2011)

Singaporean pianist Victor Khor was invited to perform a short piano recital at the opening of Yamaha Music's Premium Piano Gallery,which also showcases the Bosendorfer grand pianos.

Performing on a Bosendorfer 6-footer, his programme included the following works:

BACH-SILOTI Aria from Orchestral Suite No.3
SCHUBERT Impromptu No.3 in G flat major
ERKKI-SVEN TUUR Finale from Piano Sonata
FALLA Serenata Andaluza
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
RADIOHEAD-O'REILLY You & Subterranean Homesick Alien

Victor acknowledging the applause with a simple nod of the head.

Victor meets with his fans.

At the recital was Singapore's premier piano duo of Dennis Lee and Toh Chee Hung. Appropriately, Dennis plays some Viennese waltzes on the Bosendorfer grand.

A ROMANTIC REMINISCENCE / Singapore National Youth Orchestra / Review

A ROMANTIC REMINISCENCE
Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Thursday (28 July 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 July 2011 with the title "Conductor's energetic debut".

High-flying Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang (left) was appointed Music Director of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) late last year, but audiences had to wait some eight months before his first concert with his charges in that capacity. It was well worth it given the new found energy and vitality that possesses the ensemble.

The opening bars of Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture made its mark immediately. The turbo-charged pace from the outset seemed initially implausible, but this high wire act seemed to thrive on a surfeit of adrenaline. Stunningly accuracy at high velocity, with the strings singing with natural and unfettered ease, gave this opener the stamp of greatness.

More followed as the orchestra partnered local virtuoso Lim Yan (left) for Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto, a second performance of this rare gem within the space of two weeks. For certain, young Lim yielded nothing to the stupendous reading by Russian veteran Nikolai Demidenko with the Singapore Symphony a fortnight ago. Only the approach was radically different.

While Demidenko highlighted its tragedy with far slower tempos, Lim’s more sprightly account brought out the implicit irony and satire. When it came to the crunch of the gargantuan first movement cadenza and rapid-fire cascades of notes, the younger man matched blow for blow and came off with fewer misses. These two brilliant performances were the stuff of dreams.

In terms of instrumental achievement, the orchestra’s view of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony will have to take some beating. Conducting completely from memory, Ang honed a tight and urgently driven traversal, yet one that was never hectic or harried. Always allowing the music to breathe, there were long stretches of seamless beauty and utter coherence that held the work together.

Strings were particularly mellow, with a homogeneous refinement and suppleness that reminded one of the far more experienced SSO. Also highly confident were the wind and brass solos, with Alan Kartik’s French horn (left) in the slow movement being the pick of the crop.

The valedictory final movement summed up the group’s enormous potential. No longer were notes being dutifully churned out but actually breathed and cherished, and the nail-biting lead up to the triumphant climax had a feverish quality never previously realised. A strong SNYO can only mean a better future for classical music in Singapore.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2011)

ROSSINI Stabat Mater
Soloists with Chorus & Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Academy
ANTONIO PAPPANO
EMI Classics 640529 / *****

From the same forces that produced one of the great Verdi Requiem recordings comes an equally enthralling performance of Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Although a setting a 13th century Franciscan liturgical text about Mary’s anguish at the foot of the crucified Jesus, it did not prevent Rossini, who had retired from writing for the stage, from giving his patented full-blown operatic treatment. After a serious opening, the second to fourth movements resemble pure musical theatre.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee clearly relishes the march-like swagger of Cujus animam gementem before nailing the high D flat with great gusto. Soprano Anna Netrebko and mezzo Joyce DiDonato sensuously blend as one in their duet Quis est homo, while bass Ildebrando D’Angelo gloriously relives buffo roles in Pro peccatis suae gentis. Together the vocal quartet shines in Sancta Mater, pulling it off with irreverently delightful chemistry. Rossini does however provide moments of sobriety from the excellent choir, and closing with an infectious fugal Amen. If you love opera and choral music, do not hesitate checking out this unusual masterpiece.

Introducing the LEE-HENDRIJANTO PIANO DUO

Introducing the LEE-HENDRIJANTO PIANO DUO RECITAL

Lee-Hendrijanto Duo Recital
4 August 2011, Thursday, 7.30pm
Esplanade Recital Studio
Tickets at $20 (free seating, $12 for students, $6 with Tote Board subsidy)

For tickets, please contact: deniselee.sh@gmail.com

Programme:
TCHAIKOVSKY (Arr. ECONOMOU) Nutcracker Suite

DEBUSSY Prélude l’apres midi d'un faune

ANANDA SUKARLAN The Humiliation of Drupadi

BERNSTEIN (Arr. JOHN MUSTO) Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

GERSHWIN-LEE-HENDRIJANTO
Original Variations & Paraphrase on 'I Got Rhythm'
(featuring guests pianists Frances Lee & Song Ziliang)

Pianomania is fortunate to have Singaporean composer-pianist Denise Lee speak with us about the début of her new piano duo, in tandem with Indonesian composer-pianist Elwin Hendrijanto.

Denise is Singaporean, while Elwin is Indonesian. How did the two of you get to meet?

We met at the Royal College of Music, London, where we were studying. In fact, we both started College as first-study pianists, but quite swiftly got increasingly involved in composition. I was working in the classical contemporary idiom, while Elwin discovered a massive talent for film composition. However we both remained committed to piano playing, and have been leading very hectic lives trying to develop both areas as much as possible.

When was the first time you discovered that the both of you could "click" as a piano duo?

This concert marks our first artistic collaboration. We had never really worked seriously together as pianists before, but had become familiar with each other's playing and musical personalities through concerts, endless discussions, and of course, through the music we write. In casual reading sessions at the piano, it didn't take too much effort to understand what the other was doing, which was encouraging! As pianists, we also much preferred performing chamber music to solo recitals. We decided it would be a nice idea to do some concerts together back home in Asia - one in each of our home countries - and thus this concert was created.

Performance on two pianos requires a great degree of give and take. How did you manage problems of coordination and balance in this special artform?

As with anything involving music, I think the golden rule is to simply use your ears, and to use them scrupulously well. Balancing sound at the piano, let alone two pianos, requires a solid understanding of the nature of the instrument, as well as the way sound itself works. I find that in this respect that being a composer is implicitly useful. Paying close attention to detail in pedalling goes a long way, as does with articulation. Coordination has not been a major issue given our general music like-mindedness, but I do find that conviction and clarity in phrasing helps the other pianist understand your musical intentions.

Your concert pieces, strongly influenced by dance and drama, is a very interesting one. How did you arrive at such a programme?

From the outset, we were adamant about not giving a concert with the standard classical repertory In Singapore. As an educator and musician, I often think people who are not yet properly initiated into the world of art music are not given sufficient opportunities to do so in a non-alienating manner. We felt it important to create a program with immediate appeal, and yet containing music of uncompromisingly high quality. We also wanted to celebrate the wide variety of colours and styles the piano is capable of articulating.

Music associated with dance and drama naturally embodies a certain directness about it, and is often evocative. Such qualities provide something tangible for the listener to enjoy, which is one thing the newcomer will find tremendously helpful, and more importantly, encouraging to them as a listener. Tchaikovsky Nutcracker is a wonderful curtain-raiser, with its attractive character pieces. The Debussy provides an opportunity to recede into a subtler, more softly-hued sound world, while Ananda Sukarlan's piece reveals yet another harmonic palette. The jazz-inclined second half explores rhythmic excitement and a harder edge, with plenty of drama and dance energy thrown in for good measure.

Tell us a little about Ananda Sukarlan's (left) new work, and the Gershwin Variations for 8 hands.

The Humiliation of Drupadi, written in 2009, is one of several ballet collaborations between Chendra Panatan and composer-pianist Ananda Sukarlan. It is based on an ancient Indian Mahabharata epic, but the harmonies are reminiscent of gamelan music, thus pointing towards the Indonesian origin of this music.

As for the Gershwin, we felt it would be a shame if a duo recital by two composers did not feature something of their own. We decided that the best way for a collaborative composition - one that allowed for individual stylistic flexibility, yet overall coherence - would be a variation form of sorts. I Got Rhythm was chosen for its simple and direct charm, and the ease with which it lends itself to elaboration and paraphrase. Gershwin's own set of variations for piano and orchestra testifies to this. For two composers working in vastly different fields - myself in concert music, and Elwin with screen composition - this proved to be a madly fascinating endeavour. Fortunately, it was also one which we both enjoyed very much. Initially, we sketched out the overall design together, agreeing on the big shapes and rough characteristics of each section. Then we wrote our individual variations, put them together, and smoothed out the bumps. The result is quite an eclectic mix, but one we hope presents a positive union of our musical personalities.

As a composer yourself, what do you seek for in writing something new based on something already quite familiar?

The advantage of using pre-existing material as base material for a composition is that it becomes a quite easily perceived reflection of the composer's unique stylistic characteristics. With something familiar - and therefore, taken for granted - one can focus on the composer's treatment of raw material. I think this can reveal really interesting insights to one's musical approach. I speak for the composer as much as the listener. This has been a fascinating exercise that has exposed certain artistic inclinations I have, the awareness of which is invaluable.

So this is going to be your official debut. What does the duo plan to do after this concert? What next?

Both of us have an interest in outreach, and would like to organise more performances with repertoire such as this. Hopefully, this will not only help develop a habit of concert-going in the younger generation, but also chip away at the perception that art music is some esoteric, impenetrable world, only available for appreciation to a select few.

We also hope to draw on our ability as composers to add an innovative and creative edge to our future performances. We also want to centre our musical partnership in our immediate region, so hopefully somewhere not too far from home!

Denise Lee was interviewed by PianoManiac.

HAS SINGAPORE ARRIVED....?

HAS SINGAPORE ARRIVED when your local NTUC Fairprice Supermarket stocks copies of Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine? By the way, the copies of BBC Music Magazine in Bukit Timah Plaza's Popular Bookstore have all been sold out. Obviously someone other than Phan Ming Yen, Marc Rochester and yours truly have been reading these publications.

Can you spot Gramophone 

and BBC Music Magazine 

among the National Enquirers, 

Australian Women's Weekly, 

FHM, Men's Health and Match of the Day?

Here they are. 

At this moment, Lang Lang seems to be 

selling better than Anna Nicole Smith.

Singapore Architecture: The SCO Hall @ Singapore Conference Hall

The Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) Hall is a well-known icon of Singapore's commercial thoroughfare Shenton Way. Completed and opened in 1965, it was known as Singapore Conference Hall (Dewan Persidangan Singapura) or simply Trade Union House or NTUC Conference Hall, as it housed the offices of the trade unions. In 1979, it was the temporary home of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, which performed its inaugural concerts there before moving to Victoria Concert Hall in 1980. Today, the refurbished Singapore Conference Hall is now the home of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.

This is the side of SCO Hall 

that used to face the sea.

A spacious foyer and concourse.

Heritage corner (1st floor) and 

SCO musicians' roster (2nd floor)

The giant dagu (taiko) drums 

are popular with visitors.

Giant models of ancient 

Chinese instruments adorn the walls.

Replicas of ancient Chinese slung bells.

The concert halls seats over 800. 

When Victoria Concert Hall opens 

with a reduced capacity of 600, 

SCO Hall could become a preferred venue 

for solo recitals and chamber concerts. 

Here, Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen 

gives a superb piano recital 

to an enthusiastic audience.

THE POETIC JOURNEY WITH STEPHEN CLEOBURY / The Philharmonic Chamber Choir / Review

THE POETIC JOURNEY WITH STEPHEN CLEOBURY
The Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (23 July 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 25 July 2011 with th title "Chorus for a sparse audience".

The Philharmonic Chamber Choir, founded by Lim Yau and Singapore’s finest a cappella choir, has worked with the world’s top choral conductors over the years. Its latest concert was helmed by Englishman Stephen Cleobury, long associated with the King’s College Choir, Cambridge and BBC Singers.

But where was the audience in the sparsely-filled Esplanade, in particular students of the schools’ choral excellence programmes? Winning awards at the Singapore Youth Festival mean nothing when young singers and their teachers cannot learn from Singapore’s best led by the world’s best.

Their loss is especially acute with such peerless performances of varied German and British choral music. The first half was entirely Teutonic, beginning with Heinrich Schutz’s Jauchzet dem Herrn (Make a Joyful Noise), where rich polyphony immediately piqued the ears and excited the senses.

The 34-member choir’s ability to vary nuances was heard to great effect in Brahms’s Warum ist das licht gegeben (Wherefore is Light Given), where each succeeding plaint resounded with different intensities and degrees of earnestness. In Mendelssohn’s Richte mich, Gott (Judge Me, O God) and Reger’s O Tod (O Death), dynamics and colours shifted from dark and forbidding to the light of hope and respite.

J.S.Bach’s joyous motet Lobet den Herrn (Praise the Lord) also demonstrated the choir’s masterly execution of fugal writing. Their ability to change gears and switch modes for the second half’s 20th century British choral fare was equally remarkable.

Although tonal in idiom, Michael Tippett’s Dance, Clarion Air and Nicholas Maw’s One Foot in Eden were demanding in intonation, coordination and rhythmic subtleties. Myriad colours were exploited, bathing the hall with a rainbow-like glow of light and shade. The excellent quartet of solos, answered by the warm main corpus, suggests they have been singing this music all their lives.

Vaughan Williams’s Three Shakespeare Songs and Benjamin Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia have long been in the choir’s repertoire since its early years. Yet these sounded even better now, ripe and mature in every way.

If there were an abiding memory of this evening’s masterclass, it would be Scotsman James Macmillan’s Christus Vincit (Christ Conquers). From a sea of otherworldly voices soared the virginal pure soprano voice of Mairianne Reardon, the very evocation of the eternal spirit transcending the temporal body. Encore!

ZHANG HAOCHEN Piano Recital / Review

ZHANG HAOCHEN Piano Recital
SCO Singapore Conference Hall
Sunday (24 July 2011)

This review was publishe in The Straits Times on 26 July 2011 with the title "Modest Zhang oozes music".

It was not difficult to understand how Zhang Haochen, who at the age of 19, became the first Chinese pianist to win the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009. His debut solo recital in Singapore reveals a confident young man oozing music from every pore, backed by a maturity beyond his tender years.

The perfect antithesis and antidote to the excesses of Lang Lang, Zhang is modest, almost humble and without airs or affectation. His body language also shows that music comes first, and he is merely a servant of the great composers, not the other way around.

Immediately felt was the gorgeous and pearly piano tone he drew from Schumann’s Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood). Each of the thirteen “easy” pieces was given a life of its own, yet coalescing as a whole with an innocence and simplicity that was disarming.

When it came to capturing thunder, there was ample opportunity in Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata (Op.57) where bare knuckles and fists drew blood. Yet he was the epitome of refinement in the central theme and variations. This encompassing of extremes was what made Zhang’s view of Beethoven so vital and relevant.

The same approach also defined Liszt’s Second Ballade in B minor, where “tragedies of public import” were laid bare with a laser-like precision and clarity, and requisite technique to match. He performed the alternative version with hammered chords in place of right hand scales in the climax, which further added to the drama.

Virtuosity without sensitivity is empty bluster, and Zhang’s variegated touch was put to the test in three Debussy Préludes. Rarely have mystical half-lights and tints come through better in Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir (Sounds and Scents Mingle in the Evening Air) or La cathedrale engloutie (The Engulfed Cathedral). A mastery of pedalling and feather-light caresses were the secret.

The sparing use of pedal and percussive approach made Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata sound the bitter and violent essay that it is. Like the Appassionata before it, his probing and prodding brought out the work’s true character. And when one thought his entry into the toccata-like finale was just too fast, he went for broke and delivered the coup de grace.

Two encores, a Chopin nocturne (C# minor, Op.posth.) and Wang Jianzhong’s Hundred Birds Paying Respect to the Phoenix (Bai Niao Chao Feng), brought down the house. Zhang’s return here will be keenly anticipated.

SCO Concert: Haochen's Yellow River / Review

HAOCHEN’S YELLOW RIVER
Singapore Chinese Orchestra
SCO Singapore Conference Hall
Friday (22 July 2011)

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 25 July 2011 with the title "Cheers for mountains and rivers".

This concert should perhaps been titled “Mountains and Rivers”, after all a piano concerto does not constitute a concert. The evening began with the world premiere of Eric Watson’s The Land Beneath the Wind, a programmatic symphonic poem about Sabah’s wild frontier.

An experienced orchestrator with Chinese instruments, his colourful score recounted its turbulent history and an atmospheric ascent on mighty Mount Kinabalu. Motifs resembling ethnic music were used and the work culminated with a frenetic celebratory dance.

Equally evocative was Wang Ning’s The Ancient Cadence of Gui Plain, its vastly varied three movements possessing the boldness of Chinese brushstrokes. The impressionist Goddess of Gui River saw Phang Thean Siong’s xiao (vertical flute) paint a dreamy and tranquil landscape, coloured by pipa and guzheng solos, and ethereal voices from keyboard synthesiser.

Pitched and unpitched percussion dominated Homes on the Ancient Cliff and Battling Drums in Banquan, the former a set of variations on a tribal dance and the latter a belligerent call to arms which resonated with a strident ferocity.

The Yellow River (Huang He), often referred to as “China’s sorrow” was the subject of the second half. Cheng Da Chao’s Yellow River Rhapsody was in the familiar slow-fast bipartite form, but it was no copy of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies. Its use of dissonances pitting strings and winds depicted a legacy of toil and tribulation. An ocarina-like blown instrument was the avatar of long-suffering river boatmen, while the dizi spelt their optimism in a vigorous dance to close.

It is perhaps a sign of the times that young Zhang Haochen has never performed the Yellow River Piano Concerto, sine qua non of all Chinese pianists, prior to this. This patriotic potboiler was emblematic of all things Chinese (and socialist) despite blatantly copying the Western Romantic piano idiom of such capitalists as Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninov.

No matter, the most recent winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gave a no holds barred account, stamping every note, octave and chord with an emphatic vehemence. Besides the requisite showboating, he also enveloped each lyrical episode, however rare, with a velvet touch.

A solo recital would surely reveal his true abilities, but on this occasion, fearless bravura had won the day. Egged on by vociferous applause and a highly enthused conductor Yeh Tsung, the finale was encored to more cheers.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2011)

13th Van Cliburn 

International Piano Competition
ZHANG HAOCHEN, Piano
Harmonia Mundi 907506 / *****

How does a young up-and-coming pianist promote himself? Win a major piano competition and have a CD recorded as a calling card. That was exactly what 19-year-old Zhang Haochen did in 2009, sharing 1st prize with the blind Japanese Nobuyuki Tsujii at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At the time, it was thought that Zhang, then a student, was too young to accept the responsibilities of a winner. However, listening to these “live” competition performances, the maturity and sheer adroitness of the playing suggest otherwise.

There are no edits, and hardly a note is dropped for Stravinsky’s fearsome Three Movements from Petrushka, a typical competition showpiece. In Chopin’s 24 Préludes (Op.28), the magisterial sweep achieved is revelatory, and each individual gem is shaded with polish and finesse. Mason Bates’ blues-inflected White Lies For Lomax, commissioned by the Competition, reveals Zhang’s sympathy for jazz idioms. Closing with Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody, another barnstorming warhorse is served up with stunning accuracy. Fans of Lang Lang and Wang Yuja will not want to pass up on witnessing this major talent in person.

DON’T MISS:

ZHANG HAOCHEN 

with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra
22 & 23 July 2011, 

Singapore Conference Hall, 8 pm

ZHANG HAOCHEN Piano Recital
24 July 2011, 

Singapore Conference Hall, 5 pm
Tickets available at SISTIC

HIGDON & TCHAIKOVSKY 

Violin Concertos

HILARY HAHN, Violin
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic 

Vasily Petrenko
Deutsche Grammophon 477 8777 / ****1/2

The Violin Concerto by the American composer Jennifer Higdon (born 1962) was dedicated to Hilary Hahn, and sounds to be a durable 21st century virtuoso vehicle. Its two longer slow movements followed by a brief but furious finale superficially resemble the famous concerto of Samuel Barber. Just like Barber, Higdon’s is an accessibly tonal score but not without its share of discords and barbs, residing mostly in the opening movement. The second movement is a long-breathed chaconne that has that expansive feel that has come to define much of American music, followed by an impressive display of fireworks to close.

Hahn’s quicksilver technique and sound projection is peerless, which will win this substantial new work many new friends. Its coupling, the extremely popular Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, however sounds almost subdued by comparison. Having outgrown her child prodigy years, Hahn’s restrained approach provides a more sober look at a familiar favourite. One just wishes for a little more youthful dash to complement her maturity.

Zhang Haochen's Piano Workshop

ZHANG HAOCHEN'S PIANO WORKSHOP
SCO Singapore Conference Hall

Wednesday (20 July 2011)

Zhang Haochen is the most recent 1st prize winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (which he shared with Nobuyuki Tsujii in 2009). His piano workshop was just a modest name for a two-and-a-half-hour long masterclass with young students of the School of Young Talents of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. At just 21, he would be still be attending masterclasses himself, but here he was more like your friendly elder brother who is more than happy to teach you a trick or two.

Fighting a cold, Zhang was initially inhibited, peppering his session with "ums" and "ahems", but soon he got into the spirit of things. Speaking in American-accented English, he is comfortable in the role of a mentor, often taking the trouble to explain how he approaches the music as well as playing examples on the piano. Even in repertoire new to him, he was able to discern subtleties by perusing the score, and sharing these with the five young students. One of the things he garnered from his lessons with Gary Graffman was the ability to teach himself (as opposed to merely follow), and he did try to impart this most important aspect of learning to his charges. That is the first step to musical mastery (and hopefully win competitions along the way).

10-year-old Kennis Ang played the 

1st movement from Beethoven's Sonata Op.79.

Zhang shows Joel Tan (10) how to 

vary dynamics in Khachaturian's Toccata.

Haochen leads by example for Nicole Ong (12) 

in Haydn's Sonata in E flat major.

Elysia Widjaja (15) plays 

Chopin's Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise.

Soh Kuan Wai (15) applies the polish to 

Granados' Allegro de Concierto, 

while Zhang Haochen demonstrates some of the finer points.