SG50 CONCERT / Hua Xing Choir Society / Review

SG50 CONCERT

Hua Xing Choir Society

Wang Ya-Hui (Conductor)

Victoria Concert Hall

Friday (31 July 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 August 2015 with the title "Treats from Taiwan".

Tis the season to be patriotic, and SG50 tribute concerts have come thick and fast, all leading to the great climax of the 50^th National Day on 9 August. This concert organised under the auspices of Hua Xing Choir Society and Boon Lay Choir however had a difference: the leaders and soloists were of Taiwanese extraction or lineage, all of whom have significantly contributed to the music scene of Singapore. 

The four participating choirs, which also included the Sing Sheng Choir and Ngee Ann Polytechnic Voices Club, were trained by Taiwan-born singer and vocal teacher Lin Liying. The concert conducted by Wang Ya-Hui opened with the Taiwanese song Yu Ye Hua, sung in the Minnan dialect and Phoon Yew Tien's colourful arrangement of the very popular Ye Lai Xiang (Evening Primrose). The young and mature voices blended pleasingly in this mostly unison number.

The orchestral segment was supported by the young musicians of  Kids'Philharmonic, which gave a stirring account of the Furiant from Dvorak's Czech Suite, and then ably supported pianist Albert Lin in Mendelssohn's Rondo Brillant Op.29 by not being distracted by all the virtuosic note-spinning. Both conductor Wang and pianist Lin are Singaporeans whose parents came from Taiwan.

The only concession to pop songs was offered by the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Voices Club, which sang choral versions of Alan Menken's Go The Distance from the Disney animated movie Hercules and Grammy Winner Adele's Skyfall from the James Bond movie of the same title. The youths were led by young conductor Umar Sirhan and accompanied by pianist Noella Lim.

The artsong, operetta and opera selections by Taiwanese tenor Fernando Wang and soprano Jessica Chen were most warmly received. Accompanied by pianist Aloysius Foong, both sang artsongs by Singaporean composer Lee Yuk Chuan and Leong Yoon Pin to begin, warming up for the treats that followed. Wang's hitting the nine high Cs in Donizetti's Ah! Mes Amies (from Daughter Of The Regiment) was remniscent of Pavarotti's heroics, while Chen emoted ever so ardently in Lehar's Meine Lippen, Sie Kussen So Heiss (Giuditta). Both did the waltz together in Lippen Schweigen (The Merry Widow), also by Lehar.

The Kids'Philharmonic played for the whole second half beginning with Phoon Yew Tien's arrangement of a popular Taiwanese song and the rousing Prelude from Bizet's Carmen, which came off with aplomb. Accompanying singers in opera arias was a lot trickier, especially in Puccini's Signore Ascolta (Turandot) with its short pauses, sung beautifully by soprano Lin Liying. To complete the popular trio of Turandot arias, soprano Chen polished off In Questa Reggia with steely and ice-cold resolve, while tenor Wang's effort with Nessun Dorma brought down the house.

With the serious part over, all the choirs congregated to sing the familiar Jiangsu folksong Molihua, which also happens to appear in Turandot. Two senior citizens then joined the throng as amplified soloists for Wong Kah Chun's glitzy arrangement of the Dick Lee's Home, now sung in Mandarin. Finally as an encore, all the soloists returned for a communal clap-along to the infectious tune of the Taiwanese song Maidens Of Alishan. 

If there were a dollar saved for every time Home is being heard this month, the problem of poverty would be instantly eradicated. 

CONDUCTOR WANG YA-HUI'S TRIBUTE TO HER TEACHER ONG LIP TAT

The maestra with her maestro: Conductor Wang Ya-Hui
with former piano teacher Ong Lip Tat.
Photo taken in 2007 at Jan Vogler's cello recital,
Mercedes Benz showroom @ Alexandra Road. 

HERE IS CONDUCTOR WANG YA-HUI’S

TRIBUTE TO HER TEACHER ONG LIP TAT

Mr Ong Lip Tat was indeed a great teacher. He transformed me from a student/kid into a performer. We always marvelled at his performances, full of passion and huge musicianship. The incredible thing was that he could articulate and describe how to achieve showmanship through technique and music. This was something that would become very helpful later for me in crafting conducting gestures.

I still have the copy of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas which he pulled out from his library just for me. He probably got fed up of waiting for my folks to purchase it (scores were very expensive then!) and signed "TO WANG YA HUI" in Chinese and his autograph on the cover. I still have it and will (more than ever) treasure it for life.

BLUFF YOUR WAY THROUGH CLASSICAL MUSIC

BLUFF YOUR WAY THROUGH CLASSICAL MUSIC
NUS CFA Speakers Series
Tuesday (22 March 2011)
NUS Museum

So its finally over! My little contribution to the National University of Singapore Centre for the Arts ongoing Speakers Series took place on Tuesday afternoon, attended by an audience of almost a hundred people, family and friends included. It was hosted by Professor Wang Ya-Hui (below), who quizzed me on a number of subjects, including the catchy title of the talk, and how an absolute rank musical amateur like myself entered into the world of classical music. Its quite simple actually - I was a failed pianist! And failed musicians take the easier option and become doctors!

The audience was a warm and receptive one, even if one errant handphone went off (it had to be that Nokia ringtone!). How did I fill up those 90 minutes? By having an acute attack of verbal diarrhea (a speciality of mine) certainly helped, besides being obliged to play some music on CFA's quite lovely Ibach grand piano.

What did I play? I began with the Intermezzo in A major (Op.118 No.2) by Brahms after a long preamble, and to while the time away before the Q & A session, the final movement from Schumann's Fantasy in C major (Op.17). As with other public performances, I must admit to have played much better when no one's listening. And to suffer the ignominy of having the piano lid fall on my fingers while clumsily trying to turn a page! It was thus a relief for both performer and audience when the ordeal came to a close.

The short encore was Marc-André Hamelin's Ringtone Waltz, previously known as Valse Irritation d'apres Nokia! By the way, the handphone that went off (and I have Mrs Tan Suan Imm to thank!) was completely unscripted. How's that for "Bluffing Your Way Through Classical Music"?

My thanks go to Prof Wang Ya-Hui, Christine Khor, Lai Zhenhua and the technical crew of CFA for their hard work, forebearance and patience.

NUS Speakers Series: 22 March 2011

My last post before we go on holiday during the March school vacations.

If you have absolutely nothing to do on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 March 2011, why not come for a few laughs at the NUS Museum at 5 pm, when I am being presented by the National University of Singapore's Centre for the Arts (NUSCFA) as part of its Speakers Series. Others who have been presented in the past were Professor Tommy Koh, Dr Lee Suan Yew and Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, so you might say I'm in good company.

My so-called topic Bluff Your Way Through Classical Music will be moderated by Professor Wang Ya-Hui, who will give me the third degree and persuade me to play a few piano pieces (after all there is a handsome Ibach grand piano there, I am told). What will I be playing? Why not come and find out?

Place: NUS Museum (note the change in venue!)

Time: 5 pm

Date: Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Admission: Free for NUS students and staff

$10 for everbody else (boo!)

I'd better start practising soon!

Angels amd Demons / Jessica Mathaes Violin Recital / Review

ANGELS & DEMONS
JESSICA MATHAES, Violin
WANG YA-HUI, Piano
University Cultural Centre
Wednesday (12 January 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times

on 14 January 2011 with the title "Devil's best tunes thrilled".

The first chamber concert of the year took some time to warm up. Beethoven’s early Sonata in A major (Op.12 No.2) was the appetiser in the recital by American violinist Jessica Mathaes, Concertmaster of the Austin Symphony Orchestra in Texas.

The opening was taken at a sprightly pulse, with staccato playing that was both light and flighty. The slow movement was well-paced, leading to a lively finale that could have done with a little more humour, No signs of angels nor demons yet, until Giuseppe Tartini’s Sonata in G minor, better known as the Devil’s Trill, took hold.

Here the gremlin was in the Theatre’s dry acoustics, which did not flatter the statuesque Mathaes’ robust tone on her 1807 Johannes Cuypers violin. Legend has it that Tartini had dreamt of Satan fiddling away furiously at the foot of his bed, thus inspiring its composition. Its performance hinged on the music’s ability to conjure up a hair-raising experience. Unfortunately, the menace of diablerie did not surface, instead remained firmly under the sheets.

The second half was more engaging. One suspects Mathaes to be more comfortable in evoking angels, as her performance of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending was true beauty to behold. Its meditative soliloquys revealed a purity of sound that was ethereal, and taking wing on a flight of fantasy that was the central episode’s pentatonic melody.

Pianist Wang Ya-Hui (formerly the Music Director of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra) proved a rock-steady partner throughout, always sensitive and alert to the shifts in dynamics, even if she was not completely note-perfect.

Both musicians were taxed to the limit in Saint-Saens’ Violin Sonata in D minor, a work so thorny that angels fear to tread. Here Mathaes and Wang were no fools rushing into trouble, instead infused with the devil-may-care bravado to go for broke, and making the outing work.

The final two movements were more than just an exercise in fast playing. Part of the adrenaline rush was to witness the performance teeter on the edge of the abyss, and then righting itself for a breathless close. Their resolute showing brought on hearty applause, later topped off with Vieuxtemps’ fiendishly delicious Variations on Yankee Doodle. As they say, the Devil gets the best tunes.

This concert was presented as part of the ExxonMobil Campus Concert series at the National University of Singapore. All photos courtesy of NUS Centre for the Arts.

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concerto Competition Prizewinners Concert / Review

CONCERTO COMPETITION

PRIZEWINNERS CONCERT
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory
Saturday (6 February 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 February 2010.

Regulars to the free concerts at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory know that the annual highlight is the finals of the concerto competition, where its top instrumentalists get to perform with the Conservatory Orchestra. With the competitive element eliminated this year, what remains is a celebratory concert, which proved to be a good thing.

Firstly, the inequality of comparing performances on winds, brass, percussion, strings and piano is no longer an issue. Secondly, the undue pressure is off the young soloists, such that only musical values would prevail.

Hou Chuan-An (Taiwan) was the very relaxed yet confident protagonist in Johann Hummel’s (left) popular Trumpet Concerto in E flat major, where his bright and clear tone was matched by agility and showmanship. Pity about the paucity of trumpet concertos from the great masters, as this work from Mozart’s most famous student is decidedly second-rate. Apart from a sizzling Rondo finale, the first movement is foursquare and forgettable, while the slow movement a blatant rip-off from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.21 (K.467).

No such problems with Robert Schumann’s (left) masterly Cello Concerto in A minor (Op.129),where the arresting stage-presence of Wu Daidai (China) held sway. Not only does she have full-measure of the work’s yearning intensity, her ingratiating sound served the bittersweet music well. The orchestral partnership was least satisfactory here, with spots of hesitancy and the woodwinds arriving late in the opening three notes. The important second cello part in the slow movement was also barely audible.

The support from Wang Ya-Hui’s big band was however close to excellent in George Gershwin’s (left) Piano Concerto In F, where the swagger of big brassy strains dominated. Through this bluster emerged a glittering performance by Khoo Hui Ling (Singapore), her sense of the bluesy idiom, swing and rhythm impeccable, with a macho mastery of cascading octaves and chords.

Whoever thought that one could attend university to learn how to play jazz? This is a reality in the 21st century, and judging by the quality of musicians our conservatory produces, this nation need not fear about being a “cultural desert” ever again.

PUCCINI'S LA BOHEME by Singapore Lyric Opera / Review

PUCCINI La Bohème
Singapore Lyric Opera
Esplanade Theatre
Friday (29 January 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 1 February 2010.

No matter how many times one encounters Puccini’s verismo opera La Bohème, it never fails to engage the emotions and senses. The story, its characters and Puccini’s music all contribute to “making it stick”. The Singapore Lyric Opera’s third production of the veritable tear-jerker had most if not all the ingredients for a memorable 5-evening run.

Director Andrew Sinclair brought the setting a century ahead to Paris of the Depression years. The Bohemians’ garret, simply but splendidly designed by Priscil Poh, sported steel girders with rivets and was suitably grubby. Even the outdoor Café Momus scene allowed a vista of the Eiffel Tower in the background.

The plot of youth, poverty, love and loss however remained eternal and universal. Central to this was soprano Nancy Yuen’s (left) sympathetic Mimi. She has lost none of her youthful ardour and vocal purity over the years, totally capable of portraying a role half her age convincingly. Her distinctive timbre has become almost synonymous with Singapore opera itself.

Opposite her was Kota Murakami (left) as Rodolfo whose pleasant and bright tone was complementary, even if it was not the biggest on the tenement block. That belonged to Song Kee Chang’s angst-filled Marcello who was the glue that united the principal cast. His paramour Musetta, sung by Kristin Symes, had great physical presence as a Marilyn Monroe look-alike but limited by a miniscule voice in her Waltz Aria.

Singaporeans William Lim and Martin Ng sand their respective parts as the landlord cum sugar daddy and Colline with credit, with the latter having a shining moment in the “Overcoat” Aria of Act Four. An animated Brent Allcock as Schaunard completed the male foursome that bubbled with close camaraderie.

There were many musical highpoints. The love duet of Act One and the chorus-crowd scenes of Act Two that threatened to spill out over the stage were among them. However Act Three with the lovers reunited at the Barrier Gate held the most poignancy, reflected against the violent parting of Marcello and Musetta that resembled scenes from The Godfather.

The SLO Orchestra conducted by Wang Ya-Hui (left, incidentally the first woman to conduct an SLO production) supported marvelously with concertmaster Seah Huan Yuh’s violin solos a particular pleasure. If only the surtitles were this well coordinated; the sudden and heartbreaking entrance of a pale and ashen-faced Mimi in the final act was spoilt by the surtitles coming on too soon.

That the Singapore Lyric Opera has been able to mount a production of this quality on a shoestring budget is itself a remarkable achievement. Its future productions - The Magic Flute and Salomé – look very inviting indeed.

TRAGEDY TO MAJESTY / Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra / Review

TRAGEDY TO MAJESTY
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra
Wang Ya-Hui, Conductor
Conservatory Concert Hall
Saturday (7 November 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 November 2009.

Has there been a more apt title for a concert? Or a more astute piece of programming?

The route to glory helmed by Wang Ya-Hui (left) was an unusual one, beginning with the Singapore premiere of Italian avant-gardist Luciano Berio’s Requies, composed in memory of his ex-wife, the soprano Cathy Berberian. Its 15 minutes of reflection and contemplation was static yet chameleonic with its shifting timbres, harmonies and rhythms. Although reflecting Berberian’s amazing vocal range, the music while dissonant was strangely soothing, a restless soul finding final repose.

The performance was both sympathetic and cathartic, also a feat of instrumental cohesion. Much more conventional was Brahms’ Tragic Overture, with the orchestra in full voice. The declamatory opening two chords were marvellously delivered, and the song of the strings that followed evinced true pathos. The intensity and sheer sweep achieved in this reading suggests that convincing performances of the Brahms symphonies should not be too far off.

Two orchestral excerpts from Wagner’s Die Walküre served as encores, including the high decibel Flight of the Valkyries and Magic Fire Music. The latter saw the hall bathed in cherry red light, definitely a case of taking the title too literally rather than a fit of synaesthesia.

The majesty came in the second half with Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. To American pianist Thomas Hecht’s credit, he did not stop at that. The grandiloquent cadenza on the outset had a freedom which defined the rest of the performance. He did not merely interpret but lived Beethoven’s angst of deafness and despair, evidenced by the angry crashing chords, vehement octaves and paradoxically scintillating fingerwork.

Lovely strings set the B major nocturne of the slow movement in motion, and poetry reigned unabated before the life-affirming Rondo romp of the finale. As tragedy had inched towards majesty, pain had also transformed into pure joy. Although rough and ready in parts, the orchestral partnership was fully attuned with Hecht’s intentions which made for a riveting performance from start to end. Two solo encores, by Beethoven and Soler, sealed an enthralling journey from darkness to light.

Romantic Fantasy Worlds / Review

ROMANTIC FANTASY WORLDS
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra
Wang Ya-Hui, Conductor
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (18 April 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 20 April 2009.

The Conservatory Orchestra performs four concerts in an academic year, the final one invariably held at the Esplanade, thus drawing its biggest audiences. Performing the technically most demanding works, it is also the culmination of a year’s efforts, lessons and rehearsals.

Pairing two widely differing giants of the Romantic period - Mendelssohn (left) and Berlioz - showcased the orchestra’s versatility. The innocent comedic turns in the former’s Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a study in finesse and control. The prodigious Overture, written when the composer was at an age younger than most of the performers, was distinguished by lightness and elfin charm.

This was repeated in the bubbly Scherzo and ensuing fast movements. The French horn and bassoon chorale of the Nocturne exhibited an enviable warmth and mellowness but inappropriate inter-movement applause probably distracted the trumpets as they went off-pitched momentarily in the opening of the familiar Wedding March.

Berlioz’s (left) highly ambitious Symphonie Fantastique provided a much stiffer challenge, and while revealing many fine qualities, exposed certain vulnerabilities. At the height of the first movement’s passions, there was a major desynchronisation that lasted the best part of two minutes – or what seems an eternity for the performers – before order was restored. In the second movement’s waltz, the pair of harps fluffed their lines in what should have been their golden moment.

Fortunately, the last three movements were the saving grace. The solo cor anglais and offstage oboe were excellent in the Scene In The Fields, as were the four timpanists as they evoked distant thunder. Blaring brass had a field day in the fatal March To The Scaffold, striking genuine terror before the final grotesqueries of the Witches’ Sabbath.

Individual instrumental prowess and taut ensemble were the keys to the final raucous romp that brought this stridently modern masterpiece (for 1830) to a triumphant end. Then something truly remarkable and unprecedented occurred: an instrumental erratum, as conductor Wang Ya-Hui (left) rallied the forces to replay the offending segments of the opening movement. This time it sounded close to perfection.

It was a courageous, ultimately honest and commendable gesture to set things straight. Now everybody can afford an undisturbed night’s sleep.

Varied Tellings / Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra Concert: Review

VARIED TELLINGS

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra

WANG YA-HUI, Conductor

Conservatory Concert Hall

Saturday (15 November 2008)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 17 November 2008.

Following Singapore's only conservatory orchestra has always been a pleasure, especially with the knowledge that it serves as a nursery for professional outfits, such as the Singapore Symphony and Singapore Festival Orchestras. The wealth of talent and potential is enormous, and every concert is a reminder of that fact.

Rossini's popular William Tell Overture gave its players many opportunities to shine, opening with a cello quintet led by Elizabeth Tan, whose gorgeous tone set a perfect tenor for the evening. The central pastoral episode showcased more lovely solos - from the flute and cor anglais - before the final swashbuckling gallop that never fails to set pulses racing.

The orchestra then played able partner to pianist Albert Tiu (left) in Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody. As proved on previous occasions, the Philippines-born Tiu is a virtuoso par excellence, one melding steel and satin with equal alacrity. Steel, because he packed the necessary power and punch to transcend the voluminous orchestra in much of this fearsome score, and satin in the sensitive manner he handled the famous 18th Variation, which was played as an encore as well. His second encore, the subtly taxing Earl Wild transcription of Rachmaninov's Vocalise also displayed this seamless long-breathed beauty.

A much smaller orchestra reappeared in the second half for Schubert's graceful little Fifth Symphony. Despite a sour woodwind entry on the outset, the performance was on a whole one of tautness, energy and unity of spirit. The well-disciplined ensemble was marshaled on tight but not suffocating leash by Wang Ya-Hui (left), who conducted without a baton. There were moments for the strings to soar, and they did so without reservation.

The slow movement was distinguished with warmth and breadth of feeling, which contrasted well with the earthy rumbles of the ensuing Minuet and quicksilver finale. There was always a kick in the step in the playing, and an enthusiasm always associated with young musicians. That final bit of polish and finesse will surely come; it is only a matter of time.

As a further show of single-mindedness, the strings sailed through Johann Strauss the Younger's Tritsch Tratsch Polka, this time without conductor. Look ma, no hands!