EVERYONE LOVES A SOIREE: HARI RAYA MUSICA @ HEYANG'S TAMPINES HUT

It's the eve of Hari Raya Haji, a Muslim public holiday that has to do with the pilgrimage to Mecca or a haj, not to be mistaken with Hari Raya Puasa, the end of the fasting month Ramadan. Very soon after the "Three Chef" Soiree, Lianhe Zaobao musical journalist Zhang Heyang organised his Hari Raya Musica which brought together more of his musical friends on a Tuesday evening (26 May). There are more violinists this time, he promised but we were not expecting an actual concert pianist and composer to be present. But like a true jouno, Heyang knows everybody...

Enough of waffling, so here are the photos of another every enjoyable soiree. Nobody quite knew what they were going to play, so it was a case of "let's see what scores we have available". Thankfully, there were some emergency Bach and emergency Kreisler at hand, sure prophylactics against boredom and somnolence.

Where are the greens?
Here they are, very healthy!

Getting to know everybody

The ice was broken when Two-Set Zhang
played Ohne Dich by Erich Korngold

It sounded completely different when
played by true professionals:
Jonathan Shin & Zhang Xiaomeng

Jon Shin's The Other Swan
where the bird swims in an opposite direction
due to the Coriolis effect in Singapore.

Young Pei En plays Elgar's Salut d'Amour

J.S.Bach's Double Violin Concerto
with different duos in three movements.
I. Heyang with Yang Liuyi

II. Liuyi with Xiaomeng

III. Xiaomeng with Heyang

Shostakovich-Atovmyan
5 Pieces for two violins

Heyang's Intermission Tiramisu
with Tommaso from Genoa,
who certainly knows his tiramisus.

Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No.1
with added modifications

Improvising on some Chinese songs

Bryan Ong sings Stars
from Les Miserables

More Shostakovich

Kreisler's Liebesleid & Schone Rosmarin

Jon Shin plays improvisations.
NB. He will perform a Late Night recital
at the Singapore International Piano Festival
at The Arts House on 3 July

Liuyi plays more improvisations
before locking her violin for good.

In reality, this was an Arsenal
Premiership 2025-2026 celebration.

Three-Set Zhang
(Chang + Zhang X 2) + Hubby of Zhang

 

Till the next soiree!

A MAHLER CONCERT NOT TO MISS: OMM PLAYS MAHLER 7 / QIN LI-WEI PLAYS SHOSTAKOVICH on 29 May 2026

There's still time. A rare opportunity to hear Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony. Even the SSO does not play it often. The Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM) led by French conductor Alexander Bloch lifts the roof off Esplanade with the orchestra's first performance of Mahler 7, widely regarded as his most problematic symphony. Why? It has five movements, two long outer movements sandwiching two nocturnes (Nachtmusik) and a demonic scherzo, a strange juxtaposition. It is sometimes called Song of the Night, not Mahler's description.

I had a rare opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal, and if anything is an indication, it's going to be a superb and memorable evening. Not just for the serious music, but to feel the passion of all the performers on stage. 

The concert opens with Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto with Qin Li-Wei as soloist, who will give a truly sizzling performance. The Mahler, although complex and convoluted, gets a performance that is clear-headed, vigorous in spirit yet filled with many moments of aural sensuousness. "The symphony is like a world. It must have everything," so said Mahler himself. Here are the photos. 

The Bells, not by Rachmaninoff but Mahler!

QIN LI-WEI PLAYS 

SHOSTAKOVICH. MAHLER 7

Friday 29 May 2026

Esplanade Concert Hall, 7.30 pm

Get your tickets ($18-48) here:

Qin Li-Wei Plays Shostakovich • Mahler 7

SG Culture Pass credits accepted!

WHAT IS TASTE by WU MALI @ Esplanade's Jendela Gallery

Here is another art exhibit and installation about food. What is Taste is a memory project by Taiwanese artist Wu Mali which deals with what food means to us, and the memories - good and bad (mostly good) - which are associated with it. What were our comfort foods when we were growing up? What do memories of these culinary items engender in our sensibilities, or say about us as consumers?

Her project includes short films about life, food and cooking on Cijin island, off the coast of port city Kaohsiung in the south of Taiwan. Accompanying it are written and visual responses by people from all around the world, mostly children. It was interesting to see their responses, and the various reactions they bring about. There were touching ones, as well as a silly one. As they say, it takes all kinds.

This exhibit runs till 10 August 2026.

What is Taste - Esplanade