EVERYBODY LOVES A SOIREE:
IN THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY
Another month, another soiree. This one was, however, slightly different, being guests of Germany's Head of Culture, Press and Public Diplomacy in Singapore, Ying Huang at her lovely townhouse in Joo Chiat.
It's been a hot and sultry month of May, and what better way than to celebrate it with a liederabend (evening of song): a performance of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love, Op.48, with words by Heinrich Heine), its first song being Im wunderschoenen Monat Mai (In Wonderful Beautiful Month of May). The singer was young local tenor Shaun Lee, partnered by none other than Ying herself.
They performed all 16 songs, and Shaun was praised for his sung German by the many German speakers in attendance. Ying was a keen virtuoso accompanist as well, mastering much of Schumann's tricky but idiomatic piano writing.
It was a lovely evening with wine, cheese, crackers, muffins, curry puffs (Polar, no less) and pizza, but most important of all was the company of like-minded people who love culture and the finer things in life.
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| It was most sporting to have the printed texts in both German and English! Cultural diplomacy at its best. |
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| There was even time left over for Ying and Pianomaniac to sight read movements from Schubert's Trout Quintet. |
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