FESTIVAL
OF MUSIC GALA-CONCERT
Living
Room, The Arts House
Thursday
(29 December 2016 )
This review was published in The Straits Times on 31 December 2016 with the title "Local-born pianist thrills in comeback".
Music lovers with long memories might
remember Singapore-born pianist Koh Poh-Lin who was active here during the
1980s before moving to Vancouver , Canada
She marked her long-awaited return to the
local stage with a performance of Chopin's First
Piano Concerto in a chamber version accompanied by a string quartet and
double bass. Formed by members of the Singapore International Festival of Music
(SIFOM) Orchestra, the string group that partnered Koh was unfortunately ragged
and under-rehearsed.
The martial opening tutti was hesitant
and out of sorts, with intonation being mostly a hit or miss affair. It seemed
like an eternity before Koh's imposing entry of big octaves and chords, which
broke the spell of mediocrity. The hall's Shigeru Kawai grand piano was not in
best shape, but she made music with a sensitive and limpid touch, and the music's
over-arching cantabile came through winningly.
Where the adrenaline level was upped in
the 1st movement's development section, she responded in kind,
providing some of the concerto's more thrilling moments. With the strings
scrambling to keep up, the collegial qualities that characterised chamber music
at its finest was intermittent at best. When the ensemble seemed to gel at
times, these were unfortunately not sustained for longer stretches.
The performance's best minutes came in
the slow central movement, where its title Romanze
was taken at face value. At a more relaxed pace, all six players luxuriated in
the music's warm glow and seamless lyricism.
The finale's Rondo might be described as rough and ready, one which would have
benefited from more rehearsal time. Other than a short section where a
variation of the dance-like theme was missed out or not observed, Koh's pianism
was otherwise one of steadfastness, the unifying factor that kept the ensemble
together through to the concerto's romping close.
Would a solo recital have been a better
choice to make one's comeback in front of a hometown audience? A standing
ovation accorded by a full-house might encourage her to do just that in next
year's edition of SIFOM, a festival that celebrates local talent.
 |
| Amanda Chia plays de Beriot. |
 |
| SIFOM Artistic Director Darrell Ang interviews the Hwang sisters, Claris & Crystal. |
 |
| Crystal Hwang plays Debussy |
On the same platform this evening were
three younger Singaporean musicians. 16-year-old violinist Amanda Chia gave a
confident reading of Charles de Beriot's Violin
Concerto No.9 accompanied by pianist Iryna Vokhmianina. Sisters Claris and
Crystal Hwang put the polish on a Haydn sonata movement and Debussy's First Arabesque respectively. Given time
and hard work, they might one day emulate the achievements of Koh Poh-Lin
themselves.
 |
| Iryna Vokhmianina and the Hwang sisters are based with Tanglewood Music School. |
 |
| A Rolex Reunion, after 27 years! Koh Poh-Lin, with Albert Tiu and Susan Lai took part in the 1989 Rolex Asia Piano Competition. |
No comments:
Post a Comment