The 32 Singapore International Piano Festival (2-5 July 2026) has come and gone. And what an adventure that was. For all who love the piano, for its infinite variety of repertoire and possibilities, this was a refreshingly different and liberating experience. The theme of the concert pianist as composer, transcriber and improviser threw up a diversity of piano music one would never have thought could actually be programmed.
Never had so many pianists (six) played their own music, either original works or in improvisations. For the first time, the music of Arnold Schoenberg and John Adams appeared in a pianofest recital. Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue made its belated pianofest debut, as did an entire book of Liszt's Annees de pelerinage. The music of women composers, Lili Boulanger, Alexina Louie and Churen Li were heard. Also for the first time, there were late night concerts, which ended near midnight.
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| Da new boss |
For all these firsts and superlatives, we have 5th artistic director Albert Tiu to thank, for his spirit of curiosity, innovation and adventure. Piano playing from "outside the box" has been a credo of his, and long may that continue, or at least for the next five years. Here are the photos, in chronological sequence, taken from my camera and LG Lim's smartphone.
Thursday (2 July 2026)
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| Conrad Tao loved the idea that Gershwin and Schoenberg were tennis kakis, while Rachmaninov fancied Art Tatum's playing. |
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| Concert pianist or punk rocker? |
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| There are no pianists more elegant than Churen Li. |
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| Oops, wrong photo! That's Karen Aw and Lee Tan Ni from the SLO Madama Butterfly production next door in Victoria Theatre. |
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| Hyung-ki Joo gets much more work now that Igudesman is far away. |
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| The only time in PianoFest history where the pianist gets to sing, whistle, pluck and strike piano strings. |
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| The only time in PianoFest history where the artistic director and pianist from another recital get to gatecrash. |
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| The totally original origami folded programme (by Jonathan Lim) of Jonathan Shin's recital. |
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| Jonathan Shin's programme included Shin, Mozart, Boulanger, Ge, Muhly, Yoshimatsu, Andres and Parks. |
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| After Jon Kimura Parker's masterclass. |
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| Sean Chen being totally absorbed in his playing. |
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| His transcription of the slow movement from J.S.Bach's Violin Sonata No.3 was totally delectable. |
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| Can one get more eclectic than Jon Kimura Parker playing Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel, Adams, Louie, Parker, Chick Corea, Oscar Peterson and Sir Elton John? |
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| Little wonder he is smiling! |
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| Albert Tiu, Sean Chen and their wives. |
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| Pianomaniac shows JKP photos from 1984. |
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| By golly, those guys look like us! |
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| Sean Chen is a perfect role model for young pianists. |
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| No.2 and No.5 (but this is not a SPECTRE meeting) |
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