MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN & SEBASTIAN WEIGLE / TROUT QUINTET & BRAHMS WITH MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

 

MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN &

SEBASTIAN WEIGLE – 

BRAHMS PIANO CONCERTO NO.2

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Thursday (6 August 2026)

THE TROUT QUINTET & BRAHMS

WITH MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN

with musicians of 

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Saturday (8 August 2026)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 August 2026 with the title "Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin shows mastery of wide repertoire in concerts with SSO".

Canadian super-virtuoso pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin made his fourth appearance with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since 2005 in a sold-out concert directed by German conductor Sebastian Weigle. Hamelin’s legend as “the pianist’s pianist” was borne out by his complete mastery of the widest repertoire, and the art of making the most complex of works (by Charles Alkan, Leopold Godowsky, Ferruccio Busoni, Nikolai Medtner, Charles Ives, K.S.Sorabji et al) sound like child’s play.

All this seems to have overshadowed his true love and deep understanding of the core repertoire classics, set right in a masterly performance of Johannes Brahms’ monumental Second Piano Concerto in B flat major (Op.83). Cast like a four-movement symphony, its demanding piano part is so well-integrated into the musical fabric as to render its virtuoso presence moot.

Photo: Chris P.Lim

Hamelin’s role was to stand out like a soloist yet be part of the general ensemble, a task far easier said than done. His mission was helped by excellent orchestral players, opening with fellow Montrealer Marc-Antoine Robillard’s pitch-perfect horn solo, whose theme returned like an idee fixe (fixed idea) at pivotal moments.

Photo: Chris P.Lim

In the Andante slow movement, Ng Pei-Sian’s cello sang the concerto’s most memorable melody, its congeniality reciprocated by Hamelin’s mellowness of touch. At the Scherzo’s treacherous development section where lesser pianists fall short, Hamelin’s transcendental technique held sway. Playing very fast, very soft and very smooth all at once is what pianophiles marvel about.

The finale’s lightness saw Brahms at his most mercurial, with the Viennese waltz and Hungarian influences referenced, and a sprightly tarantella rhythm to close brought down the house. Hamelin’s encores, two riotous Earl Wild transcriptions of George Gershwin songs – Liza and Fascinatin’ Rhythm – were icing on the cake.

What an Esplanade full-house looks like,
a view from the gallery.
Photo: Kenneth Kwok

Antonin Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony in D minor (Op.70), the Bohemian composer at his most Brahmsian, completed the concert. The burnished quality of strings and warmth of excellent woodwinds distinguished the performance. Conductor Weigle ensured the Scherzo’s vigourous Slavonic Dance and dramatic finale were not rhythmically strait-jacketed, allowing the music to breathe and stride to a thrilling conclusion.

Photo: Aloysius Lim

On 8 August, Hamelin was joined by SSO musicians for a fully-subscribed chamber concert that will be long remembered for the quality of playing. Newly-appointed concertmaster Andrew Beer on violin and French horn principal Austin Larson were his partners in Brahms’ Horn Trio in E flat major (Op.40).

Photo: LG Lim

Larson’s exceptional tone quality, intonation and breath control were exemplary for its success, with the lively spirit of the hunt leaping into action in the second and fourth movements. Hamelin’s rock- steady pianism and Beer’s excellent articulation supported him to the hilt.

Photo: LG Lim

Photo: Aloysius Lim

Franz Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major (D.667), better-known as the Trout Quintet, was the ultimate Hausmusik, a collegial house party of musical friends. Despite just having met within the week, Hamelin with violinist Beer, violist Chen Li, cellist Christopher Mui and double bassist Yang Zhengyi played and sounded like long cherished colleagues.

From the opening chord, the music radiated the sunshine of an Austrian summer. The exposition repeats just doubled the pleasure of hearing and seeing men at work. And was not everyone waiting for the fourth movement’s variations on Schubert’s lied Die Forelle (The Trout)? The familiarity of this melody (also heard on Samsung washing machines) will never tire. This delightful outing also highlighted the universality of chamber music, where world-renowned soloists and rank-and-file musicians dine at the same table.

Photo: LG Lim

NATIONAL DAY SUKA MAKAN: RETURNING TO ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT @ CLEMENTI STREET 12

It seems we cannot get enough of Turkish food, so the whole Gouw clan made its way to celebrate National Day (9 August 2026) - our 61st - at Arab Street Turkish & Western Restaurant, the one we know and love along Sunset Way. Owner Maxim was delighted to see us back, and in bigger numbers to try his dishes, so we ordered a selection of meats and seafood.

A selection of veges & hummus

Lentil soup

More hummus & baba ganoush
(eggplant dish in oil)

An Amy Yip-sized lavash (flatbread),
perfect for dipping / dipping into hummus.

A generous helping of moussaka in a tagine.

Here are the sweet results of our choices, a little bit of everything to satisfy the meat-lovers and the ones who need some greens. This is my third post of Arab Street on Suka Makan, and we are still discovering new dishes, and new experiences to savour and enjoy.

Assorted meats and Turkish rice

A pide (Turkish pizza)

Seafood platter

Sea bass, salmon & prawns.

Kunafa dessert with ice-cream & bananas.
Sinfully sweet!

Turkish coffee will keep you awake for hours.

The Gouws heartily approve!

Maxim knows we'll come back again.

ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT

Block 106 Clementi Street 12 #0-38

Singapore 120106

restaurant arab street turkish & western (@arabstreetturkishwestern) • Instagram photos and videos

THE ROMANTIC PIANO VIRTUOSO / ALYSSA KOK PIANO RECITAL / Review

 

THE ROMANTIC PIANO VIRTUOSO

ALYSSA KOK Piano Recital

Esplanade Recital Studio

Tuesday (11 August 2026)

Very often, we as an audience get to experience a young prodigy perform in concert, often wondering what happens to them later in life. Chances they become doctors, lawyers, engineers et cetera, lost to the world of music. On a rare occasion, that prodigy blossoms to become a concert artist fair and true. This was the case with Singaporean pianist Alyssa Kok, whom I last heard in 2014. Twelve years on, she has graduated from the Salzburg Mozarteum University, later pursuing further studies in Poland. It was an absolute pleasure to see her again in concert.

Entitled The Romantic Piano Virtuoso, she waxed lyrical about two pivotal figures of early musical Romanticism, Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Liszt. She spoke most eloquently and engaged the audience on historical backgrounds and lives of both composers. She opened her recital with the Variations on La ci darem la mano (Op.2), the famous duet from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. An early work from 1827, it is impossibly fussy with filigreed ornamentation, where digital brilliance often trumped musical substance.

The solo version also includes orchestral tuttis, and there is a lot going on. An extended introduction soon ushers in the theme, which she plays plainly and without exaggeration, leading to six variations which get more florid as they come. Surmounting all the technical difficulties quite effortlessly, these included treacherous leaps from both hands in opposite directions in Variation 4, which must have given Schumann ideas for his Fantaisie Op.17. There was no loss of momentum all the way through to the final Alla Polacca, in the form of a striding polonaise for a blazing conclusion. Little wonder Schumann had exclaimed, “Hats off gentlemen, a genius!”

Coming from the polar end of Chopin’s output was the mature Sonata No.3 in B minor (Op.58) from 1844. By this time, Alyssa had sufficiently warmed up, bringing out quintessential qualities of Chopin’s Romanticism, contrasting fierce Polish nationalism with pure lyricism in the opening movement’s themes. She omitted the exposition repeat, going straight for the jugular in the development and the gambit worked wonders. 

The swift etude-like Scherzo was dispatched with ease before baring the soul in the nocturne-like Largo, the true beating heart of the work. The final Rondo in tarantella rhythm was a return to scintillation, building up to a simply thrilling close. One can already imagine this passionate first half to be one straight out of the later rounds in the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw.

Alyssa then emerged in a fire-engine red gown for a much shorter second half of music by Franz Liszt. She began with the popular Paganini Etude No.3, La Campanella, where the repeated finger leaps and extended trills held no terrors for her. Later, her account of running straight into a fiesta in Spain, wide-eyed and starry recollections, were relived in the blistering Rhapsodie Espagnole. 

A symphonic poem for piano in all but name, the opening La Folia theme was delivered in full glory Technicolor, its massive octaves and chords coalescing into a satisfying whole before the more animated Jota Aragonesa took over. There was some loss of control at this blinding speed, but there was no doubt she was building to something monumental. Generating a big plethoric sonority that completely filled the hall, she brought her recital to a grandstanding close.

Her encore of Chopin’s achingly beautiful Nocturne in E major (Op.62 No.2) showed where her allegiances and empathies lay, in the lap of the long-suffering, consumptive Pole.

SUKA MAKAN & POST-CONCERT EATS: MINGLE BISTRO @ FUNAN MALL

So you have attended an afternoon or early evening concert at Victoria Concert Hall and are hungry for a meal. Where do you go? Funan Mall, with its many makan options, is an obvious no-brainer. However, its many restaurants are small and often packed at 6 to 7 pm. Fortunately, Mingle, which serves mostly Italian and fusion fare, located at the far end of the mall's second floor was both spacious and welcoming. It has occupied the space of Five Senses, which used to be here opposite Best Denki, now also gone.

Treated by my Seoul-based pianist friend Jared Liew of Piano Duo Ciel, there was both pasta and pizza dishes to enjoy. We tried the tasting portions of the pasta, which were not too small, and were suitably impressed. Despite the inviting ambience, excellent food, service and reasonable prices, I was wondering why this establishment was not as busy as it should be. Perhaps an exotic Italian name could have helped, such as La Mescolare, which has almost the same meaning as mingle. That's marketing for you.

BBQ Corn Ribs

Dry Laksa Spaghetti

Duck Ragout Rigatoni

Pepperoni Pizza

MINGLE BISTRO @ FUNAN MALL

107 North Bridge Road #02-17

Singapore 107105

Mingle - Pizza.Pasta.Bar

Now, doesn't this look and feel more exotic?