THE ANSWER TO THE "DEAD WHITE MEN" QUESTION

Here was the original question we posed:

Q: RUBINSTEIN. ARRAU. HEIFETZ. SZIGETI. PIATIGORSKY. SERKIN. FRIEDMAN. ELMAN. THIBAUD. FEUERMANN. What did these men have in common?

A: They all performed in Singapore, at the Victoria Memorial Hall and Theatre.

Today, 18 October 2015, is the 110^th anniversary of the opening of Victoria Memorial Hall. 

Singaporean cellist LOKE HOE KIT will present a two-part write-up on the Hall’s history over the next few weeks. 

A HISTORY OF 

VICTORIA MEMORIAL HALL

By LOKE HOE KIT

Introduction

Since January, we have been inundated with SG50 events and commemorations, but here’s one more commemoration that may change your mind about classical music in Singapore.

Today, we commemorate the 110^th anniversary of the opening of Victoria Memorial Hall on 18 October 1905 by Governor Sir John Anderson. What dud this event mean for Singapore and Singaporeans?

The names of Arthur Rubinstein, Claudio Arrau, Benjamin Britten, Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, Emanuel Feuermann abd Gregor Piatigorsky will be familiar with music lovers strolling through the aisles of the historical recordings section of record shops. But did you know these very people, the greatest musical legends of all time, actually performed concerts in Singapore – at Victoria Memorial Hall? Unfortunately, most contemporary sources have routinely presented an incomplete version of the Vic’s illustrious history. Consequently, hardly anyone today, even within music circles, is aware of such a heritage.

Imagine, hearing Rubinstein playing Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata, not on the RCA CD box-set, but in the flesh on the stage of Victoria Memorial Hall in 1935!

What this certainly does is to quash the myth that the Singapore of old was a “cultural desert”. It was a bustling metropolis. Its arts calendar regularly featured concerts of stellar quality. Local audiences were constantly exposed to the finest music making one could possibly hear around the world.

Over the next few weeks, I will be presenting a 2-part write-up on the musical history of VMH – who went through its doors, and why the Vic is so special.