CHOPIN VS AI / CHUREN LI PIANO RECITAL / Review

 

CHOPIN VS AI

Churen Li Piano Recital

Chamber @ The Arts House

Sunday (19 April 2026)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 April 2026 with the title "Recital proves that AI will replace mediocrity but not true inspiration". 

Organised by the Embassy of Poland in Singapore as part of its PolandShiok! Festival, this unusual hour-long recital by Singaporean pianist-composer Churen Li pitted the composition skills of Poland’s national composer Fryderyk Chopin against the modern marvels of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The premise was simple. Li performs on the Yamaha grand and the audience is asked to vote as to whether each piece was by Chopin or AI. A big question was being asked: can human composers be replaced by AI? This experiment was both thought-provoking and interesting.

Li’s opening piece was silky and nocturne-like, with a gentle legato melodic line accompanied by G major arpeggios on the left hand. There were also discrete ornamentations that dressed up the invention. Those in the know would recognise Chopin’s serene Andante Spianato in G major (Op.22), played without the Polonaise.

Next came another elegant nocturne, this time in A minor, but with regularly shifting tonalities. There were Chopinesque touches for sure, but some uncharacteristic ones as well. Li explained that AI generated sound files, which she needed to transcribe and edit into a score that was playable.

The key of C sharp minor figured prominently in the next segment, beginning dark and smouldering but gradually morphing from night to brightness of day at its climax. Following that was a very familiar number, with a scintillating opening contrasted with a D flat major big tune at its centre. Nobody was fooled as that was clearly Fantaisie-Impromptu (Op.66), but the preceding number was also by Chopin, his less familiar Nocturne in C sharp minor (Op.27 No.1).

The next two pieces in A minor were dances in three-quarter time, either the waltz or mazurka. The first included some dissonances which jarred somewhat but had some Chopinisms heard elsewhere. The second sounded quite like Japanese anime music trying to imitate the inimitable Pole. These flights of fancy were very pleasant but hardly authentic. AI, for certain.

Then came the Waltz in C sharp minor (Op.64 No.2), simplicity personified, and the recital closed with the longest work on show, Chopin’s Ballade No.4 in F minor (Op.52). One of his greatest single-movement utterances, a short introduction was followed by variations building up to a stirring climax, prompting premature applause at a strategic pause. Closing with a thunderous coda, this was a work of true genius not to be randomly cooked up by some app. At least not yet.

Li’s marvelous encore was her own improvisation on Chopin’s Prelude in E minor (Op.28 No.4), which skillfully played on its two pivotal notes, before gloriously reliving the original in full. In this musical duel, Chopin won handsomely simply because of his blindingly obvious genius. If Chopin’s teenaged and unformed Polonaises or his many Mazurkas were put to the test, the result might have been less one-sided.

On the other hand, had Austrian composer / pianist / teacher Carl Czerny’s 861 eminently forgettable works been scrutinised, AI has at least a fighting chance. In short, AI can and will replace mediocrity, but not true inspiration.

LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 1

 

LEGENDARY 

RUSSIAN PIANISTS

Brilliant Classics 9014 (25 CDs)

Despite the globalisation of piano playing in the 21st century, the hallowed Russian piano school is invariably referred to with a sense of awe and an aura of mystery. Its great tradition began with the Rubinstein brothers, Anton and Nicholas, who founded conservatories in Moscow and St Petersburg, where musical instruction founded on strong foundations, interpretive rigour and technical prowess held sway. The rest is history.

This impressive box-set of Russian pianism, expertly curated by Anglo-Turkish writer, critic and record producer Ates Orga for Brilliant Classics, encompasses 29 pianists with recordings – famous and obscure – which represent a mere tip of the iceberg. Arranged in chronological order from Konstantin Igumnov to Nikolai Lugansky, there will be many Russian / Ukrainian / Soviet era pianists whose names who could have been included and one thinks of Sergei Rachmaninov, Nikolai Medtner, Alexander Goldenweiser, Vladimir Krainev, Grigory Sokolov, Elizo Virsaladze, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Dmitri Alexeev, Nikolai Petrov, Yuri Egorov and more like them. However, this collection was never meant to be exhaustive, but merely a sampling which will hopefully whet the appetite for more.

The oldest recording dates from 1935, with Konstatin Igumnov (1873-1948) performing Chopin and Scriabin. He was an exact contemporary of Rachmaninov and premiered his First Sonata and later the Paganini Rhapsody in the Soviet Union. His virtuosity is evident in the 1941 recording of Schumann’s Kreisleriana, and his Russianness displayed in all twelve of Tchaikovsky’s Seasons, recorded in 1947.

Despite deserving at least a disc each, Grigori Ginzburg (1904-1961), Samuil Feinberg (1894-1962) and Heinrich Neuhaus (1888-1964) are cramped into one single album, performing concertante works. Ginzburg draws the short straw with Liszt’s brilliantly inconsequential Fantasia on Beethoven’s The Ruins of Athens. Feinberg gives an idiomatic performance of Scriabin’s only Piano Concerto (Op.20) while Neuhaus is excellent in a thankfully uncut performance of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto. Neuhaus’ son Stanislav and grandson Stanislav Bunin are not represented in this set.

Lev Oborin (1907-1974) is often remembered as piano partner of David Oistrakh, and also the very first winner of the 1st Chopin International Piano Competition in 1928. His solid musicianship is on show in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor (K.466) and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, where virtuosity is allied to musical ends. Much less well-known is Rudolf Kerer (1923-1913) whose view of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.1, with the March from The Love for Three Oranges as tag-on, has much to recommend.

Maria Yudina (1899-1970) is now much better recognised, thanks to the movie The Death of Stalin, where she is portrayed (by Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko) as the Soviet dictator’s fatal adversary. Known as an authority on Bach, she is represented by the Bach-Busoni Prelude & Fugue in A minor (BWV.543), Liszt’s Variations on Bach’s Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, and two Beethoven C minor sonatas, the early Op.10 No.1 and the final Op.111. One will not find more redoubtable performances than these.

Although he had a wide repertoire, Vladimir Sofronitzky (1901-1961) is limited to two discs of Scriabin in this box. He was Scriabin’s son-in-law, having married his daughter Elena in 1920, five years after the composer’s death. Nobody plays better Scriabin than Sofronitzky and here is the evidence: over two hours of Preludes, Etudes, Poemes, various short pieces and several extended works such as the Polonaise (Op.21), Waltz (Op.38) and four Sonatas (Nos.2, 3, 9 and 10), all randomly assorted in no particular order. Still an absorbing listen.

Continued in Part 2:

pianomania: LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 2

LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 2

 

LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS

Brilliant Classics 9014 (25 CDs)

Continued from Part 1:

pianomania: LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 1

Vladimir Horowitz (1904-1989) gets just one disc, comprising Chopin and Liszt in 1930s recordings, but what great offerings these are. Horowitz was at his sharpest in Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata (Op.35) and Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, in volcanic performances that better his later takes. Also enjoy a selection of Chopin Etudes and Mazurkas topped by his mercurial and unsurpassed Scherzo No.4, and Liszt’s Funerailles. No Rach, no Scriabin, but no worries.

Two further women who make it in the set are Maria Grinberg (1908-1978), whose Beethoven Emperor Concerto (Op.73) is commanding and imperious. Much-recorded in the West during her later years, Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993) is in perfect form for J.S.Bach’s Concerto in D minor (BWV.1052). Forget about period instrument practice, this is how Bach should sound, so persuasive yet authoritative is the performance.

The two Jewish Jacobs, Yakov Flier (1912-1977) and Yakov Zak (1913-1976), are better remembered as teachers at the Moscow Conservatory, whose students included Davidovich, Postnikova, Pletnev (Flier), Petrov, Egorov and Virsaladze (Zak). From Flier, one gets Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata, two most popular Rachmaninov Preludes and Dmitri Kabalevsky’s 24 Preludes (Op.38), which are rarely heard. These are quite interesting despite the poor sound. Zak is heard in Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, very idiomatic and in more than acceptable sound. The coupling is Bella Davidovich (born 1928, still living) in Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No.2, which she later recorded on Philips with Neeme Jarvi.

To complete the picture, Igor Zhukov (1936-2018) who also doubled as a sound engineer is the dependable and unflashy soloist in Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto. As its coupling, Dmitri Bashkirov (1931-2021), very well-known as a pedagogue in Madrid during his last decades, brings out a very musical Mozart Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor (K.491). Combining vigour and elegance, it has a very interesting 1st movement cadenza (his own?) to boot.

Viktor Merzhanov (1919-2012) is heard in an excellent Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini which lacks nothing in spirit and digital dexterity. Alexander Iokheles (1912-1978) is virtually unknown, and the unusual repertoire he presents includes an evocative Manuel de Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain, easily comparable with the best of Alicia de Larrocha. The true find is Arthur Honegger’s Concertino (1924), 10 minutes of neoclassicism meets jazz, composed in the same year as Rhapsody in Blue, and predates both of Ravel’s piano concertos. The conductor is the ever-adventurous Gennady Rozhdestvensky.

Fun fact: There is one Singaporean pianist who was a student of both Nikolayeva and Merzhanov in Moscow during the late 1980s, and that is Victor Khor.

The two giants born in the Ukraine, Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) and Emil Gilels (1996-1986), both students of Heinrich Neuhaus, get three discs each, having been extensively recorded during their lifetimes. Richter has two discs of mostly Beethoven, the late Sonatas (Op.101, 109-111), the early C major (Op.2 No.3), topped up with a live performance of Liszt’s B minor Sonata, warts and all. His view of Schubert’s final Sonata in B flat major (D.960) is distinguished by its heavenly length and deliberate pacing. The first movement alone with exposition repeat takes 24 minutes, but nobody stretches it out better. He also throws in the less-often programmed Sonata in E major (D.575).

Gilels is represented by Chopin (the Second and Third Sonatas, a Nocturne, a Polonaise and an Impromptu), an all-Prokofiev disc (Sonatas No.2, 3 and 8, short pieces including a selection of Visions Fugitives) and Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata (Op.106) dating from 1984. His take on Deutsche Grammophon would soon win the coveted Gramophone Award, a crowning achievement before his premature demise.

Continued in Part 3:

pianomania: LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 3

LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 3

 

LEGENDARY 

RUSSIAN PIANISTS

Brilliant Classics 9014 (25 CDs)

Continued from Part 2:

pianomania: LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS / BRILLIANT CLASSICS / Review Part 2

Lazar Berman (1930-2005) is cast here as the ultimate Liszt specialist, a heavy-hitting player in virtuoso works like the Dante Sonata, Rhapsodie Espagnole, Mephisto Waltz No.1 and a selection of Transcendental Etudes, dating from 1950 to 1971. At the height of his career, during the 1960s and 70s, his Liszt was nigh unimpeachable.

The great Vladimir Ashkenazy (born 1937) is represented by his 1961 live performance of Prokofiev’s mighty Second Piano Concerto (Op.16) partnered by Gennady Rozhdestvensky, predating his famous Decca recording with Andre Previn by some 14 years. Despite poorer sound, his responses are no less acute and the result is a thrilling performance. 

On the same disc, Rozhdestvensky’s wife Viktoria Postnikova (born 1944) performs Rachmaninov’s Chopin Variations (Op.20) where she performs the brilliant alternative ending, the infamous C sharp minor Prelude (Op.3 No.2) and salon favourite Polka de W.R. (a virtuoso transcription of Franz Behr’s Turtle Dove Polka) with the rarity of Anton Arensky’s Prelude to The Fountain of Bakhchisaray as encore.

For many, Nelly Akopian-Tamarina (1941-2025) has come as a discovery, after having spent over 40 years as a teacher in the royal institutions of London. Her very deliberate tempi in Brahms’ Three Intermezzi (Op.117), especially the first two, truly live up to the description of “lullabies of grief”, but these are beautifully voiced. Timed at 37 minutes, her account of Schumann’s Fantasy in C major (Op.17) is likely the slowest on record. Romantic ardour is in plentiful supply, but there are deliberately static moments. The finale is a slow boil but the steady build up to a shattering climax is well worth the investment. Its big melody is then recycled in the Arabeske (Op.18), distinguished by broad tempi but still a canny encore nonetheless.

For those living in Singapore, Nikolai Demidenko (born 1955) has become a familiar figure with his regular visits and SSO concerto performances. His thoughtful and sensitive pianism, allied with a febrile blow-torching technique is encapsulated in this excellent recital of Scriabin (Sonata-Fantasy No.2, Sonata No.9 “Black Mass”, Vers la flamme, shorter pieces including a selection of Etudes) and Prokofiev (Visions fugitives) was originally released by Conifer. A much welcome reissue.

First prizewinners of successive Tchaikovsky International Piano Competitions in 1974 and 1978, Andrei Gavrilov (born 1955) and Mikhail Pletnev (born 1957) are both heard in non-Russian concerto performances. These are testaments of their Russian piano school upbringing, with Gavrilov sounding utterly convincing in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 (Op.37), with Romantic impulses in full flow, while Pletnev performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.9 (K.271) to the manner born. He is totally musical and sensitive to the music’s natural ebb and flow.

The two youngest pianists in the set, Evgeny Kissin (born 1971) and Nikolai Lugansky (1972) have one disc each, with performances dating from their prodigious youth. Kissin was just twelve when he recorded the Liszt set, including Hungarian Rhapsody No.12, Liebestraum No.3, concert etudes Waldesrauschen, La Leggierezza and Transcendental Etude No.10. The Schumann group, Etudes Symphoniques, Abegg Variations and Widmung came later, when he was 18. Lugansky was 20 when all 17 Etudes-tableaux (Op.33 and 39) of Rachmaninov, were recorded and originally issued on Vanguard Classics. These fine gentlemen are now in their fifties, their performances and recorded legacies still standing the test of time.

Overall, despite its constraints, this box-set is well worth having as an entry point in getting to know and discover the enduring musical wonders that is the Russian piano school.

TSUNDOKU: THE COMPULSIVE ACT OF COLLECTING BOOKS WITH NO TIME TO READ THEM

Note that Mein Kampf is stuck
at the bottom, destined to remain unread.

I think I have been afflicted with an illness, possibly a mental illness. It's called Tsundoku, the Japanese term for collecting and hoarding books, and piling them up despite not having the time to read them. It comes from the successive dopamine hits of entering a bookstore, just looking at book titles, leafing through the pages, paying for the privilege of owning them, wrapping them with plastic, fashioning bookmarks for them, and then finally getting the chance to read them. Another term for this is bibliomania, which is even more extreme than bibliophilia.

Reading and savouring every page provides yet more dopamine hits, especially when accompanied by the music of J.S.Bach playing in the background on a CD which I had bought ages ago, and hearing them for the first time. 

The main problem is not the money spent, the storage space taken but the time needed to enjoy books to the full. A day has only 24 hours, of which a third is spent working to earn the money to buy books, CDs etc..., another third spent commuting, meals, sundry duties and feeding the cats, surfing the internet, watching YouTube videos..., a quarter napping and sleeping, which leaves precious little to actually read. And yet the books pile up...

The Asia collection

No to mention, the CDs also pile up... Is there a cure for this disease other than bankruptcy, total blindness or progressive dementia?

Gary Graffman gets pride of place

Even Janet has caught the disease,
albeit in a more organised manner.

This post is dedicated to my fellow bibliophiles Phan Ming Yen and Kevin YL Tan, who get far more reading done than I can ever hope for.... to be continued in Part 2 (if ever).

This is the 3333th post of Pianomania!

SUKA MAKAN: LUCKY STAR KITCHEN 118 @ COMMONWEALTH CRESCENT

We've returned to the unlucky Block 118 of Commonwealth Crescent. That's the corner that has such a great turnover of restaurants that it's difficult to keep up with. It's latest occupant is Lucky Star Kitchen 118, which other than its signs and displays, is identical to its predecessor Chuan Ye Seafood Zichar. Even the menu is the same, with no change in name. The serving staff are also the same.

The prices are for real,
unaffected by the Straits of Hormuz blockades

Can we expect the same high quality of cooking? Fortunately, yes. This time, my parents are present, so we decide to splurge a little by ordering my father's other favourite dish - crab. So, we get two Sri Lankan crabs, about 1 kg in weight, and have it in black pepper. The crabs are quite small, but the taste is right up there, befitting the status of Singapore's national dish.

As tasty as it looks

In addition, we also got White Beehoon, Prawns in Garlic sauce and one vegetable, as Janet always insists in greens. There are prawns and Asari clams in the white beehoon, and there's tanghoon (clear noodles) in the garlic prawns, so it's a duplication of sorts. However, the flavours of both dishes are different, so there's little chance of palate fatigue. My parents are more than satisfied, and this looks like a place to return, unless it closes down for the next turnover. So keep fingers crossed.

White beehoon is a classic dish

Lots of prawns here

LUCKY STAR KITCHEN 118

Block 118 Commonwealth Crescent

Singapore 140118