Piano Competition Update

Young 18-year-old Singaporean pianist Shaun Choo (left), a student of the Salzburger Mozarteum, has been selected to take part in the AXA Dublin International Piano Competition to be held from 1 to 15 May 2009. 45 pianists will slug it out in four rounds of piano performances, which include a set piece by an Irish composer and a concerto competition finale.

I will never forget Shaun’s performance of the Bach-Busoni Chaconne at the quarter-final stage of the 2007 National Piano & Violin Competition, where he appeared with poise and assurance of someone double his age. His DVD of Chopin’s 24 Préludes Op.28, recorded when he was 16, is simply stunning.

As prodigious teenagers go, his biggest rival will be 18-year-old Rachel Cheung (left) from Hong Kong, already a veteran in piano competitions. She won 1st prize at the 2004 Gina Bachauer International Junior Competition, and recently placed 2nd at the 2008 Casagrande Piano Competition. Not to be underestimated is 18-year-old Jong Hai Park of Korea, who was 2nd at the 2008 Hong Kong International Piano Competition.

At the other end of the age spectrum for competitors, 29-year-old Mei Yi Foo (left) of Malaysia has been selected as one of 24 pianists for the 7th London International Piano Competition (18-28 April 2009). This is probably her last shot at fame in the competition circuit. She was 4th in the 2005 Hong Kong International Piano Competition, and 2nd at the 2008 Maria Callas International Piano Competition (Greece).

Her fellow competitors include Jin Sang Lee (Korea), the most recent winner of the 2008 Hong Kong International Piano Competition, Tatiana Kolesova (Russia) and Ran Dank (Israel), who placed 2nd and 3rd respectively at the 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition.

At the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition (29 June – 10 July 2009), Helene Tysman (France, 5th at Hong Kong 2008) and Eric Zuber (USA, 6th at Sydney 2008) will be featuring as is our Russian friend Eduard Kunz (left). This time, however, he goes by the name Eduard Kunts.

PAPA HAYDN & YOU / The Philharmonic Orchestra Haydn Cycle / Review

PAPA HAYDN & YOU
The Philharmonic Orchestra
LIM YAU, Conductor
National Museum
Sunday (22 February 2009)

Has there been a more underrated composer than Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)? He composed over a hundred symphonies, but how often do these, if any, appear in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra concert seasons? In commemorating the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death, The Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO) under the indefatigable Lim Yau have righted several wrongs by embarking on a Haydn symphony series in the Salon of the National Museum.

The venue is probably not much larger than Haydn’s own at Esterhaza, and the sound generated by a small orchestra is close and vivid, without too much reverberation from the stonewalls and marble floor. Two rather different symphonies were selected to launch the series, which also had an educational element presented by Symphony 92.4 deejay Phua Ee Kia.

There was a tentative start to Symphony No.73 in D major (1782), which soon settled once the first movement’s Allegro got underway. The mostly amateur group could have done with more intimacy in the slower and quieter bits, and sounded less four-square in the minuet-like dance sections. However, there was no lack of fervour in the general ensemble, with the French horns generating a robust sound in the bumptious “hunt” conclusion, which gave the symphony its nickname La Chasse (The Chase).

What a sensation this music must have caused on its first hearing, as was the Beethoven-like opening to Symphony No.82 “The Bear” in C major (1786), the first of Haydn’s Paris Symphonies. Exploiting wind, brass and the timpani to their max, the performance flexed every muscle and sinew, breaking all restraints to so-called classical prettiness. Yet there were concessions for soloistic prowess, well demonstrated by the solo oboists in both symphonies.

If Haydn (left) had a musical successor, it would have surely been Beethoven, whose storm-tossed compositional tantrums were already anticipated in Haydn’s copybook. The pastoral drone in the rustic finale, suggesting a village dancing bear, went several leaps further - pointing to Brahms and as Maestro Lim rightly alluded to, Stravinsky. More Haydn is keenly awaited, perhaps his concertos, string quartets and further symphonies, just about 102 to go!

Singapore Chinese Orchestra Concert: Folklore and Legends / Review

FOLKLORE AND LEGENDS
Singapore Chinese Orchestra
CHOO HOEY, Conductor
Singapore Conference Hall
Saturday (21 February 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 February 2009.

It was unfortunate that the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s founding Music Director Choo Hoey did not feature in the orchestra’s landmark 30th anniversary season. Thankfully the Singapore Chinese Orchestra picked up the slack, landing the 75-year-old maestro with a pair of concerts at the very venue and stage where he conducted SSO’s first concerts in 1979.

Choo (left) fed the young SSO a steady diet of Chinese orchestral music, paving its way as an ensemble adept in both Eastern and Western idioms. It was also Choo who recruited former Menuhin prodigy Jin Li (below) as SSO first violinist. The reunion was relived in The Legend Of Luhuitou, a concertante work for violin and orchestra.

This programmatic work about the romance between a deer-turned-maiden and her Hainanese stalker turned out to be a poor cousin of the Butterfly Lovers Concerto. Its mix of Chinese melodies and Western devices could have been exploited to the hilt, but its cliché-ridden 20 minutes of tawdriness was only saved by Jin’s considerable but understated virtuosity.

The balance of the 2-hour concert was a musical geographical tour, opening with Festoon Drum Of Fengyang based on Anhui folksongs and featuring an improvisational section for percussion. Kwok Hang Kei’s Impressions Of Russian Folk Song was a medley – Two Guitars, Kamarinskaya and Kalinka included - with strummed strings simulating a band of balalaikas.

The home countries were not neglected. Qian Zhou Xi’s Impressions Of Malaysia utilised Iban (Dayak) melody and rhythm, sounding exotic even for Chinese ears. However Former SCO Deputy Conductor Qu Chun Quan’s Reverie At The Statue Of Sir Stamford Raffles (see below) qualified as the least original work on show.

Shamelessly ripping off Suppé’s Light Cavalry Overture in its opening fanfare, peppering it with fragments of Zubir Said’s Majulah Singapura (The National Anthem) and trying to sound like a local version of Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, it was anything but a reverie. It was more like a musical nightmare. Was it a total surprise that it climaxed with National Day Parade and Sing Singapore favourite Singapura, with “beautiful flowers blooming for you and me”?

The best music was left for the last, ironically from the pens of Percy Grainger and Malcolm Arnold. The pentatonic strains of Molly On The Shore and Four Scottish Dances respectively translated very well for the Chinese instruments. The latter’s Allegretto with its flute melody sounding particularly Oriental was so beautifully rendered that it was generously encored.

In reality, despite Choo and SCO’s spirited advocacy, little else deserved to be heard for a second time.

SSO Concert: Beloved Places / Review

BELOVED PLACES
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
OKKO KAMU, Conductor
Esplanade Concert Hall
Friday (20 February 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 February 2009.

One could be forgiven for imagining the first half of SSO’s latest concert to be a continuation of last weekend’s Valentine’s Day musical celebration. Filled with sentimental Russian bonbons, it began with Rachmaninov’s orchestral Vocalise. The orchestra could have milked it for all its worth, but was well-reined throughout with the violins shaping a beautiful line and the ensemble rising to a passionate climax.

The requisite schmaltz was provided by SSO concertmaster Alexander Souptel (left) in the violin solo of Tchaikovsky’s 3-movement suite Souvenir Of A Beloved Place (Souvenir d'un lieu cher), orchestrated by Glazunov. Souptel’s easy-going and avuncular style belies an artist of utmost conviction and sincerity. His sweet but not overly effusive tone served the music well; Meditation – the rejected slow movement from the famous Violin Concerto – relived nostalgia heart-on-sleeve, contrasted with the perpetual motion of the Scherzo and tear-jerking Melodie.

Wiping sweat from his brow and acknowledging applause between pieces, “Sasha” (as he is known to practically everybody) cut a familiar figure of much likeability. The Entracte from the Tchaikovsky ballet Sleeping Ballet similarly played to his strengths but it was the unscripted encore that drew most cheers.

Skipping offstage and returning in a Cossack top, he ripped through the Russian Dance (complete with fearsome cadenza) from Swan Lake like a man possessed. As if drawing audacity from some imaginary vat of vodka, here was the shining singular result of how the fall of the Soviet Union has ultimately benefited Singapore.

The SSO then expertly switched mode to ponder the dark morbid sphere of Shostakovich (left). His First Symphony is an astonishing effort from a teenager, possessing nearly all the hallmarks of the haunted, irony-driven adult composer. Conductor Okko Kamu took an epic view of the work, delivering its urgent message with broad strokes, while downplaying the temptation for caricature.

There were many moments for solo musicians to shine, notably from the clarinet, bassoon, oboe, piano, timpani, cello and violin (with Lynnette Seah taking over Souptel’s traditional role). Their individual moments vividly added to the multifarious human comedy that shaped the multi-layered enigma that was Soviet Russia in the 1920s.

As for the evening’s offerings, the audience could also be forgiven for thinking that Esplanade Concert Hall had been transformed –for nearly two hours - into the Bolshoi Zaal of Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concerto Competition Finals / Review

Concerto Competition Finals
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra
WANG YA-HUI, Conductor
Conservatory Concert Hall
Monday (16 February 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 18 February 2009.

For lovers of the concerto, there is no better showcase in Singapore than the Grand Finals of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory’s Concerto Competition. Many weeks of practice and preparations went into selecting the four finalists – a pianist, French hornist, violinist and cellist - winners of their respective instrumental competitions. Partnered by the tireless Conservatory Orchestra led by the ever-responsive baton of Wang Ya-Hui, the talent on display was awe-inspiring.

It was refreshing to see Beethoven, instead of the usual Rachmaninov or Prokofiev, on the piano finalist’s plate. Akkra Yeunyonghattaporn (Thailand, left) captured the angst and brio of the German’s Third Piano Concerto to equal measure. His emphatic entries were spotless and spot-on, portraying the composer as both long-suffering soul and all-conquering hero. While there was no shortage of bravura, one did have to dig deeper for the poetry that brought music to a higher plane.

Eloquence and fluidity were the strong points of wind finalist Xie Yelin (China, left), whose take on Richard Strauss’ athletic First Horn Concerto seemed as natural as speaking a mother tongue. He exhibited exemplary breath control and kept the melodic line seamlessly, so well as to make the few fluffs of intonation seem negligible.

When the turn of violinist Hsien Jou (Taiwan, left) arrived, it seemed way past her bedtime. Within the opening bars of Saint-Saens’ Third Violin Concerto, a star in the marking had announced herself with a combined force of personality and virtuosity. Her voluminous tone (a singing one to add) and big gestures were scarcely believable for one so young, and her penetrating sound cut through swathes of orchestral textures effortlessly.

Before crowning a likely winner, cellist Lu Bingxia (China, left) had to be heard. She cut a figure of concentration in Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, coaxing a generously burnished timbre that was totally pleasing and had long-breathed moments to die for. Negotiating between whispers, sighs and full-throated melismata, this was what genuine music-making is all about. Lu’s ability to deliver the notes with stunning aplomb yet tug firmly on the heartstrings made her, for this listener, the most compelling soloist of all.

One does not necessarily have to agree with the international panel of judges (which incidentally awarded the First Prize to the prodigious Hsien, below) to realise that we are in the midst of an embarrassment of musical riches.

SSO Concert: Music for Valentine's Day / Review

MUSIC FOR VALENTINE’S DAY
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
OKKO KAMU, Conductor
Saturday (14 February 2009)
Esplanade Concert Hall

This review was published in The Straits Times on 16 February 2009

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s much-loved Valentine’s Day concerts have traditionally highlighted forbidden love. Romeo and Juliet, Pelleas and Melisande, and the Butterfly Lovers all had their ill-fated romances fleshed out in music. This year’s offerings provided a wider spectrum of that thing called “love”.

“Lust” began the evening with Venusberg Music from Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser. Taking a detour from the Overture, bacchanalian delights ruled with whooping French horns and fluttering trumpets, and pulses set racing with each turn from Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu’s (left) baton. While the fast music thrilled, even greater satisfaction was to be found in its detumescence. Clarinettist Jerry Chae’s long-breathed solos supplied that fine glistening sheen that suggested Tannhauser’s carnal revelries were genuine, not faked.

“Narcissism” came next with Venezuelan wunderkind Sergio Tiempo’s (left) no-holds-barred view of Liszt’s First Piano Concerto. His prodigious fingers were equipped with the fastest and loudest octaves, befitting one of the wildest stallions from Martha Argerich’s stable of young virtuosi, but many of his artistic decisions – mostly self-indulgent - may be called into question. Seldom has the nocturne-like solo in the slow movement lurched with such motion sickness-inducing rubato, dotted with misplaced accents and agogic pauses, for example. At least he wasn’t boring.

The Prelude and Liebestod (Love and Death) from Wagner’s Tristan And Isolde, the best 17 minutes of the 4-hour long opera, was arguably the least successful outing. The transition between pieces could have been subtler and more seamless, while the rapturous climax, with a feverish Tristan ebbing within Isolde’s arms, sounding more polite than overwhelming.

More earthy pleasures in Ravel’s Suite No.2 from the mythic ballet Daphnis And Chloe were however captured spot on, from the erotic tittering of birdsong in Daybreak to the orgiastic dances that followed. Principal Flautist Jin Ta’s wonderfully fluent passages set the tone for a show of solo and ensemble excellence.

Perhaps the greatest love of all is the largesse and generosity of one who sets a loved one free; that of the aging Marschallin and her young lover Octavian in Richard Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier. Its 25-minute long Symphonic Suite provided the icing on this year’s confections, as the orchestra journeyed from intoxicating champagne and perfumed harmonies, passionate declarations with concertmaster Alexander Souptel’s wistful solos, to the grand apotheosis of the Viennese waltz. And the house erupted with a roar of cheers.

Jie Chen Piano Recital / Review

JIE CHEN Piano Recital
Huayi Chinese Festival
Esplanade Concert Hall
Sunday (8 February 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 11 February 2009

It is no exaggeration to assert that if Esplanade were to present more than one prize-winning Chinese pianist in its annual Huayi Chinese Festival, there will be no shortage of names for the next couple of centuries. The likes of Yundi Li and Lang Lang are merely the tip of an iceberg that does not look like melting anytime.

Now meet 22-year-old Jie Chen, whose wholesome and demure manner belies a serious artist, and seriously good musician. Her well-balanced piano recital showed why Asian pianists are conquering the world’s concert stages, the arena traditionally dominated by the Russian and Eastern European axis.

Poise and polish distinguished Chen’s view of Haydn’s Sonata in A flat major (Hob. XVI: 46), which brought out lovely sonorities aided by generous but judicious use of the sustaining pedal. A romanticised view, particularly in the central Adagio, would have sounded foreign to Haydn or Mozart’s ears, but borne with such beauty and persuasiveness, it is hard to resist.

Chen included two transcriptions of Chinese melodies by Wang Jianzhong, and these were lovingly recreated, with the piano simulating a host of traditional instruments. The cumbersomely titled A Hundred Birds Paying Respect To The Phoenix (Bai Niao Chao Feng in far more poetic Chinese) saw birdsong in resplendent mimicry, the trills of one nightingale out-singing the rest of the flock.

In the ubiquitous Bach-Busoni Chaconne, Chen never lost the rhythmic impetus set by the bass, upon which she built a cathedral of fancy and filigree. That she was able to bring out inner voices and harmonies while generating a large volume of sound was testament to her prowess.

The dynamic extremes of Chopin’s Four Ballades provided Chen’s sternest tests. Although her diminutive physical frame mostly matched the bluster and overwrought emotions demanded, but with caution thrown into the wind, as in the codas of the first two Ballades, choppiness in rhythm and several missed notes were a price to pay.

Taking a breather before the final pair was the best tonic, as the least intimidating Third Ballade and the rhapsodic Fourth Ballade (arguably Chopin’s greatest single movement) traversed from arch simplicity to the rarefied realms of ecstatic highs. For this listener, Chen’s unerring vision of the latter was alone worth the price of admission.

A return by this fine artist to our stages is imperative, and one most keenly awaited.

CD Review: Chinese Piano Favourites

CHINESE PIANO FAVOURITES
JIE CHEN, Piano
Naxos 8.570602

Rating ****1/2

This album of Chinese piano classics is emphatically not a poor person’s version of Lang Lang’s Dragon Songs. Although there are a few works common to both, evocative favourites like Silver Clouds Chasing The Moon and Autumn Moon Over The Calm Lake, Chinese pianist Jie Chen offers a more varied range of solos. Transcriptions of familiar tunes such as Liu Yang River are de rigeuer, but there is original music as well – Ding Shande’s Children’s Suite (sharing the same spirited naïvete of Villa-Lobos’ miniatures) and Wang Lisan’s impressionistic The Sound of Big Waves, inspired by a Japanese painting.

Jie Chen, prizewinner in competitions at Sao Paulo, Santander and Minneapolis, lends the music a variegated touch. Spinning silky legatos to packing powerful fortissimos, she runs the full gamut and her pianism is wonderfully recorded.

SSO Chamber Concert: In Memory of Great Artists / Review

IN MEMORY OF GREAT ARTISTS
SSO Chamber Concert
Victoria Concert Hall
Sunday (8 February 2009)

An edited version of this review was published by The Straits Times on 11 February 2009.

Encountering a sizeable audience attending a concert of wholly 20th century music is always a gratifying sight. While the names of Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975, above) may seem like old hat to certain quarters, their names still spell box office trepidation to promoters and performers alike. So kudos to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s chamber music initiative for taking the plunge, as the rewards were bounteous.

The most forbidding music was heard first. In Shostakovich’s rarely performed Seventh String Quartet (Op.108), all ears were transfixed upon violinist Chan Yoong Han’s (left) insinuating opening solo, answered by cellist Chan Wei Shing’s laconic reply in three notes. This pivotal and recurring leitmotif was to resound with greater vehemence in the 3rd movement, by which time the quartet had made an indelible impression with its tautly driven narrative.

Expertly careening round hairpin turns, no better illustrated in the finale’s furious fugue, this was a reading of understated virtuosity complimented by luminous clarity. Second violinist Lim Shue Churn’s opening in the slow movement was close to perfection in setting the doom-laden tone, while Marietta Ku’s droll viola provided the balance needed for the ensemble to work.

Due to programming conflicts, Tchaikovsky’s glorious Piano Trio (in memory of Nicholas Rubinstein, hence the concert’s title) made way for two shorter works. Violinist Chan paired up with pianist Low Shao Suan in Prokofiev’s Five Melodies (Op.35bis), a favourite of the great David Oistrakh. Adapted from wordless songs, the violin’s bittersweet vocalises ambled from quiet murmurings to soaring climaxes, sharing the same ethereal fairy-tale sound world as the composer’s First Violin Concerto.

Then came Shostakovich’s only Cello Sonata (Op.40) in a passionate reading by SSO principal cellist Nella Hunkins (left) and pianist Low Shao Ying. Hunkins dedicated her performance of the elegiac slow movement to her sole Russian grandparent, with its heart-on-sleeve Slavic melancholy laid bare. Elsewhere, the duo reveled in the Russian’s curious blend of easy lyricism and spiky dissonance.

The palpable see-sawing and obstinate rhythms of the Scherzo immediately brought to mind a performance of this movement in the very same venue by a late great – Mstislav Rostropovich in 1992. That this evening’s performance could stand shoulder to shoulder speaks volumes; Hunkins’ generous artistry will be missed on her retirement from the SSO.

CD reviews (The Straits Times, January 2009)

ROBERT CASTEELS Symphony No.2
Taman Suara / Sound Journey
Casteels 2008

Rating ****1/2

The Belgian-Singaporean Robert Casteels (born 1958) has carved himself a niche by combining trans-cultural and inter-disciplinary elements in music, eloquently displayed in his latest disc. Taman Suara (2007) has two separate parts: Buluh (bamboo) and Pontianak (the Malay female apparition). Both employ Western instruments and amplified taped sounds of bamboo and banana trees. The Malay titles suggest an assimilation of certain aspects of culture rather than quoting ethnic tunes. Jazz ironically features prominently in the second piece. Both also involve installation art (photos in the CD leaflet), so mere listening isn’t enough.

Sound Journey for three percussionists celebrates tribal drumming, taking a leaf from György Ligeti’s creations. In the 23-minute Symphony No.2 (commissioned for the 2006 Singapore Arts Festival and performed by The Philharmonic Winds conducted by the composer), Casteels holds the Mahlerian worldview of embracing everything, including mathematics, numerology, choral contributions with children’s ditties and closing with a big bang. Just the right tonic for the curious and adventurous.

This CD is available on sale at Earshot, The Arts House @ Old Parliament House.

For more about Robert Casteels, please visit:

http://robertcasteels.com

JOHN TAVENER Piano Works
RALPH VAN RAAT, Piano
Naxos 8.570442

Rating ****1/2

Sir John Tavener (born 1944) is often synonymous with choral music of a hyper-religious bent, easy listening steeped in Russian Orthodoxy with its sine qua non icons. His small volume of piano music shares a similar aesthete but is far less well known. This album is especially welcome because the piano writing is highly idiomatic, filled with celestial choruses, exotic birdsong, resonant tintinnabulation (bell sounds) alternating with pregnant silences, and ecstatic climaxes.

The sprawling 30-minute long Pratirupa (Sanskrit for “reflection”) has all of these. The shorter pieces: Zodiacs, Palin (short for “palindrome”) and Ypakoë (Greek for “to be responsive”) involve modern techniques but are eminently listenable. Possible influences? Arvo Pärt, Olivier Messiaen and less so, Alexander Scriabin, but Tavener is very much his own man. Much sympathy will also be had for two short feline-inspired works – Mandoodles and In Memory Of Two Cats. Dutch contemporary music specialist Ralph van Raat, a sensitive pianist with a steel-clad technique, makes the best possible case for these interesting rarities.

CHOPIN Piano Concertos
LANG LANG, Piano
Vienna Philharmonic / ZUBIN MEHTA
Deutsche Grammophon 477 7749
Rating ****

It is gratifying to note that Lang Lang, long known for his self-indulgence, attempts to go to the heart of both Chopin piano concertos. The tendency to distort the music to his own wilful ends, most excruciating in the same composer’s Third Sonata, is thankfully absent.

He astutely presents the Second Concerto, chronologically the earlier work, first. Eschewing sentimentality for its own sake and the need to shock and awe, he actually sounds persuasive and idiomatic. The finale is taken at a lithe, light pace and in one passage, he creates a luminous crystalline sound - an unexpected but pleasant surprise. The more grandiose First Concerto is equally convincing, and even if he does not relive the white-hot intensity and vehemence of Martha Argerich, there is still much to enjoy.