NAFA SCHOOL OF MUSIC 40TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT / Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Orchestra / Review

 

NAFA SCHOOL OF MUSIC 

40TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT 

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Orchestra 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Friday (5 April 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 April 2024 with the title "NAFA's orchestra proves its mettle in 40th anniversary concert".

Much ink has been spilt about exceptional musical phenomena taking place at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. What should not be ignored is a similar process brewing at an older musical education institution, the School of Music at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the NAFA Orchestra conducted by Lin Juan gave a genuinely good concert of celebrated Russian classics. 

Opening with Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, the orchestra provided solid partnership for young pianist Nicole Ng Xin-Yu. A graduate of London’s Royal College of Music and now pursuing her masters at NAFA, she gave an all-round solid performance of the virtuoso piano concerto in all but name.

Concertgoers will remember French pianist Alexandre Kantorow’s blistering account with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in February. Ng’s reading was more measured and thoughtful, never speeding for the sake of thrills, instead making every note count. When it came from push to shove, she showed she could also let it all rip. 

Photo: Chung Ee Yong

The harp-like cadenza of Variation 11, accompanied by harp glissandi, was brilliant, and she negotiated the hair-pin turns of the treacherous Variation 15 with stunning aplomb. And who in the audience was not waiting for the bleak B flat minor of Variation 17 to transform into D flat major sunshine of the famous Variation 18? 

How she wound up the tension to its glorious chordal climax was a masterstroke of understanding this often-sentimentalised moment. From then onwards, Paganinian scintillation took hold as the music barrelled to its rapturous conclusion and an ironic closing bar. It was a pity Ng offered no encore, as many who attended were hoping for one. 

Photo: Chung Ee Yong

The concert’s second half was energised by earlier euphoria, but did anybody expect as strong a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony in E minor (Op.64) as the one delivered? Under Lin’s firm guiding hand, the players knew exactly what was needed. The slow opening introduction with clarinets voicing the recurring Fate motif set an excellent tone for the rest of the work. 

Photo: Chung Ee Yong

Passion and commitment drove the first movement’s narrative. The slow movement’s famous French horn solo came across confidently, and ensuing woodwind solos followed suit with equal authority. They have been very well schooled. As with much of Tchaikovsky’s melodramatic music, Fate always intervened, and this interpretation realised the impact and did not pull punches. 

The third movement’s elegant waltz provided some respite, but it was the finale which dealt the knock-out blow. The Fate motif, now cast in the major key and sounding bolder than ever, returned with a vengeance. Its arc of redemption would go through upheavals, each handled with increasing vehemence and excitability, all through to its inexorable conclusion. 

Photo: Chung Ee Yong

The NAFA Orchestra has never played this well. Judging by its latest show, the Conservatory Orchestral Institute could do worse than looking over its shoulder and realise a friendly rival.