THE PRINCELY PIANO
LIM YAN
Piano Recital
Friday (6
September)
This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 September 2013 with the title "Royal accession of the piano".
It has been a long while, in fact several years,
that Young Artist Award winner Lim Yan has given a solo piano recital. The
Music At An Exhibition concert series held alongside the Princely Treasures of
Liechtenstein display at the National Museum
Using a Steinway grand piano instead of a
harpsichord had its advantages. The music projects better in the dry acoustic
of an exhibition hall, and a wider range of dynamics and nuances is afforded.
Authenticity is perhaps not top of the list of priorities here, but the works
performed had a nice symmetry about them.
A pair of Domenico Scarlatti Sonatas, composed as exercises for a Spanish
princess, were tasty starters. Both were fast pieces, with a sparkling
lightness that showcased fluency and impeccable staccato technique. Vigorous
dances to strumming guitars and clicking castanets come to mind.
This was followed by two popular sets of
variations. Handel’s The Harmonious
Blacksmith, the final movement of one of his keyboard suites, was lightly
ornamented, and with each variation grew in complexity before closing in a
cascade of scales. Somewhat simpler was Mozart’s Variations of Ah, vous dirai-je, maman, also known as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
The familiar children’s tune was stated with an
insouciant air, and every effort was made by Lim to colour the complexion of
each variation that ensued. There was innocence, fluidity, pathos (with a
switch to the minor key), reflection, under-stated virtuosity and finally
bombast to close.
Lim’s approach to Johann Sebastian Bach, a
composer he is not usually associated with, was revelatory. The two Prelude & Fugues he chose were
deliberately contrasted. The D major (from Book
Two of The Well-Tempered Clavier)
was celebratory, with trumpeting fanfares and ceremonial pomp. The C sharp
minor (Book One) was one deep in
thought and contemplation, so profound was its utterance that the startling
dissonance of its fugue seemed a mere sideshow.
The recital was completed with Bach’s Fifth Partita in G major. One of his
most cheerful suites, Lim brought a wealth of character and colour to its sequence
of antique dances. The dotted rhythm of the Sarabande
was taken at a slightly fast clip, but the quaint darting fingers of the Tempo Di Minuetta was the
usually-serious composer having some fun in expense of the unsuspecting. The
fugal Gigue that ended the work was a
culmination of counterpoint at its most joyous.
As an encore, Lim offered a third fast Scarlatti
sonata, this time bringing on the full force and volume of an orchestra and
marching band. The princely piano had ascended the throne to become a king.
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