I HEAR THE WATER DREAMING / The Philharmonic Orchestra / Review

I HEAR THE WATER DREAMING

The Philharmonic Orchestra

SOTA Concert Hall

Saturday (14 June 2014)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 16 June 2014 with the title "Sweet dreams are made of beautiful melodies".

While most orchestras in Singapore, professional or otherwise, are intent on pursuing performances of blockbuster repertoire works, The Philharmonic Orchestra has bucked the trend. Its latest concert conducted by its music director Lim Yau was a well thought-out and imaginative programme of contemporary Asian works, including two by Singaporean composers.

Unsurprisingly the hall was far from filled but the audience were treated to some of the most piquant orchestral sounds thought possible. Arguably the most familiar work was the late Leong Yoon Pin’s Dayong Sampan Overture (1980). Despite hearing it for the umpteenth time, there is much that sounds fresh in a spirited performance as this.

Cast in the form of a short symphonic poem, Leong introduces much original material before the well-loved Malay melody is first heard on the oboe played by Veda Lin Wei. It is a magical and nostalgic moment, and the piece is developed in the manner American composers Ives or Copland might have done, before the four-note motif appears for the last time for a rousing close. If the Singapore Symphony Orchestra had to choose a local work for the BBC Proms to represent the nation, this would be it.       

The other Singaporean composer was Phoon Yew Tien, whose Wang Jiang Nan (2003) featured young yangqin virtuoso Derek Koh in the solo part. In its four short movements, the Chinese dulcimer struck by sticks is treated both as an ensemble as well as a solo instrument. While no Chinese melodies were overtly quoted, the spirit of Jiangnan shizhu (ensemble playing south of the Yangtze River) was re-lived by the bold use of instrumental colour, clashing dissonances and the yangqin’s virtuosic showing.

Another young Singaporean soloist was flautist Jasper Goh who was ushered on stage in a wheelchair with a plaster cast wrapped around his right foot. Like the legendary Itzhak Perlman, he performed seated in Toru Takemitsu’s hauntingly beautiful I Hear The Water Dreaming (1987).

The gentle and strangely soothing piece develops from the rarefied sound world of French masters Debussy and Messiaen, but takes on an Oriental slant without actually sounding Japanese. Those enraptured by the sinuous and tonally ambiguous flute solo in Debussy’s Syrinx or Prelude to the Afternoon of the Fawn would find much to enjoy here.

As if mirroring the Phoon work was Chinese composer Zhu Jian’er’s A Wonder of Naxi (1984), a picturesque suite in four short movements that closed the concert. It is to Zhu’s credit that he did not plagiarise known Western models but instead strived to create his own sound effects. Including the alto saxophone played by Xia Wei in the opening movement Droplets in a Brass Basin was a nice touch, before crafting a lovely duet for Lin Juan’s cello and Chan Yoong Han’s violin in the third movement, Nocturnal Conversation of Mother and Daughter.  

There were string and woodwind trills galore in the 2^nd movement Bees Crossing the River and an excitable chase pitting both timpani and Chinese drums in the finale Red Deer Hunting. So exciting it was that the baton flew out of conductor Lim’s hand and landed somewhere among the violists. As concerts go, it was a welcome departure from the norm and an evening to cherish.

FLOURISHES / NAFA New Music Ensemble / Review

FLOURISHES

NAFA New Music Ensemble

Lee Foundation Theatre

Thursday (3 October 2013)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 October 2013 with the title "Aural snapshot of city and country".

Following the fine example set by the Conservatory, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts has begun to present new music in chamber concerts open to the public. This modest but encouraging free event, attended by a small audience, featured works by four locally-based composers who are faculty or alumni of the institution (below).

The eponymous Flourishes by Jeremiah Li which began the concert was a set of three contrasting canvasses exploring different moods and textures on flute, clarinet, cello and piano. Loud and emphatic riffs issued from the opening Presto Agitato, a world apart from the static calm of the middle movement Tranquillo which included the insides of the piano being quietly percussed. A jazzy ostinato from Tran Thanh Xuan’s piano set the rhythm of the insouciant finale which gave the work a languid feel of the American Deep South.

Each composer spoke briefly about their pieces. Li likened his Daemonwing for solo violin to the malevolence of a gothic cathedral gargoyle in flight. Violinist Guo Xingchen (below left) was put through an etude-like test which bristled with high-pitched harmonics and sul ponticello, the wiry timbre produced when the instrument is bowed near its bridge.

Similarly inspired was Lim Tee Heong’s The Devil Dancing for solo piano, receiving its world premiere by excellent Indonesian pianist Wilson (above right). Lim attempted to outdo the efforts of Liszt’s First Mephisto Waltz which he considered being “too nice”. Its 333 bars (exactly half of the diabolical number triple 6) housed trills galore, insistent gestures and abrupt rhythm changes before coruscating home with a tarantella from hell.

The two pieces by Zechariah Goh Toh Chai sounded more conventional but have the best chance of becoming central repertoire works. Four Taiwanese Aboriginal Songs for woodwind quintet is an excellently scored study of ethno-musicological research, in the best tradition of masters like Bartok and Kodaly. Conducted by the composer himself, the EDQ quintet brought out its quaint folksy flavour to great effect.

Goh’s T’was The Rain, part of an ongoing series of chamber pieces, was impressionistic in its colour, with long-breathed passages by flautist Jasper Goh and oboist Veda Lin (above) sensitively accompanied by Ernest Lim on the piano. This was the aurally the most alluring work in the whole concert.

Not to be outdone was Eric Watson’s Aftermath for solo piano, composed in 2011 as a reflection of the Japanese tsunami tragedy. Introspective rather than violent, its subtle mood changes ranged from stoic despair to placid resignation, masterfully negotiated by Ukrainian pianist Kseniia Vokhmianina (above) with much polish and poise.

This concert was in essence a 70-minute panoramic snapshot of the contemporary composing scene in the “city” (the Academy at Bencoolen Street), a quite different but equally valid vista from the “country” (the Conservatory at Kent Ridge). It is hoped that more is forthcoming in the near future. 

EDQ! A Woodwind Quintet Recital / EDQ / Review

EDQ!

A Woodwind Quintet Recital

Esplanade Recital Studio

Wednesday (7 August 2013)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 August 2013 with the title "Unfamiliar delights".

EDQ is an award-winning woodwind quintet formed by young professional musicians who were alumni of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. Fresh from winning the contemporary music prize at the Henri Tomasi International Competition in Marseilles, its second public concert in Singapore was greeted by a full-house and a standing ovation.

Repertoire for woodwind quintet often involves different composers from those of standard chamber music programmes, usually peripheral figures unfamiliar to the public. Bohemian composer Anton Reicha (1770-1836), the acknowledged “Father of the woodwind quintet”, was a contemporary of Beethoven, but how many people know of his 24 quintets?   

The members of EDQ showed that his very well-crafted Quintet in D major (Op.91 No.3) was worth listening to because of its freshness and vitality. A slow introduction heralded a florid cadenza from flautist Jasper Goh, and the ensuing Allegro was launched with an energetic fervour. Veda Lin’s oboe and Goh provided the main melodic thrust in the four movements, well supported by their partners on lower pitched instruments.

Frenchman Jean Francaix (1912-1997) was a colleague of Olivier Messiaen but their music could not be more different. The former was the master of musical comedy, as his Wind Quintet No.1 (1948) proved. After a languorous opening, jazzy runs erupted in all directions, with side-splitting bellyaches from Alan Kartik’s French horn which almost stole the show. Neoclassical and mock-serious, this was music that spared no effort to entertain, and the performers reciprocated with every ounce of their wits.

Two works that utilised folk music followed after the interval. Hungarian Ferenc Farkas’s Serenade (1951) was short and pleasing, full of bucolic charm and Italianate warmth. The World Premiere of Singapore composer Zechariah Goh Toh Chai’s Four Taiwanese Aboriginal Songs (2013) was nothing short of a success. The way he dressed these simple melodies with unusual harmonies and counterpoint made them sound contemporary and relevant.

Opportunities were given for clarinettist Benjamin Wong and bassoonist Emerald Chee to bask in melody, while Goh briefly exchanged his flute for the piquant piccolo in the Dance of the Paiwan Tribe. The final Dance of the Beinan Tribe brought all five instrumentalists together for a grand tutti.

The final and longest work was the Sextet (1888) for piano and winds by the Austrian Ludwig Thuille (1861-1907), who knew Richard Strauss and was probably acquainted with Mahler. The first two movements breathed the same air as Brahms, the expansive themes rich with piano chords and figurations from guest artist Nicholas Loh. The music could have suffered from a surfeit of voices, but it was the clarity of articulation and individual mastery of each performer that saved the day.

As if effecting a change of heart, the music broke off from its shackles of convention with a jocular little Gavotte and finished with a sunny Tarantella in rapid triple rhythm. It was like the composer saying, “Enough of the serious stuff, and now let us have fun.” That spirit was clearly conveyed by the six musicians to all present, and the audience voted with its feet. Bravo all round.      

JASPER GOH Flute Recital / Review

JASPER GOH Flute Recital
Artists Academy, One Commonwealth
Monday (27 June 2011)

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 29 June 2011 with the title "A poignant farewell".

The Singapore National Youth Orchestra has nurtured so many of Singapore’s talented young musicians over the decades that its place in our cultural life is irreplaceable. There however comes a time when a young musician has to leave its ranks to answer a higher calling, such as overseas studies or national service in the case of 18-year-old men.

Flautist Jasper Goh’s farewell recital before his enlistment to arms provided some poignant but treasurable moments. Having thrilled with Lowell Liebermann’s ebullient Piccolo Concerto almost a year ago, his hour-long and well-balanced programme provided more of the same glitter.

Opening with Telemann’s brief unaccompanied Fantasia No.2, his sweet and smooth tone soothed while comfortably negotiated the alternating slow and fast movements for an appetising palate tickler. Then came the recital’s big work, Prokofiev Flute Sonata in D major (Op.94).

Well known it its violin version, this engaging but tricky masterpiece revels in its bittersweet lyrical melodies, ambushed by unsuspecting rhythmic shifts. Goh coped with the complexities admirably, while making the music sing with sinuous charm. Partner to the endeavour was sensitive pianist Loh Wan Shan, who ensured that her exuberant piano part never overwhelmed in this little cosy venue.

Cecile Chaminade’s popular Concertino was another showpiece, where Goh’s winning way with cantabile was topped with his immaculate technique on many flashy scales. A dazzlingly delivered cadenza was the icing before a spirited conclusion.

Goh was later joined by fellow flautist Teo Shaoming in Friedrich Kuhlau’s delightful Duet No.3 in G minor. Here both players were nigh inseparable, each providing the other with delicious harmony, steady accompaniment and delicate counterpoint. Give and take was the name of the game.

Pianist Loh returned for Franz Doppler’s Rigoletto Fantasy, based on themes from Verdi’s opera. There were to be no academic pretentions in this out and out crowd-pleaser, which saw both flautists attempt to outdo each other in floridly dressing up familiar melodies like La donna e mobile, the Quartet and Caro nome. With tongue firmly in cheek, the duo delighted in variations on the latter aria as it morphed into an outrageous waltz to close.

It is hoped that a flourishing talent like this will continue to grow, and stay true to his art during his two years as a soldier.