RACHMANINOFF 3
Orchestra of the Music Makers
Esplanade Concert Hall
Friday (20 January 2017 )
This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 January 2017 with the title "A night of guilty pleasures".
If
listeners were asked which classical composers were sources of their most
guilty pleasures, chances are Sergei Rachmaninoff and Camille Saint-Saëns would
crop up. Both the Russian and Frenchman wrote some of the classical
repertoire's most unabashedly tuneful scores, the sort music snobs
(particularly lovers of Bach and Schoenberg) turn up their noses to.
There
was a heavy dose of Rachmaninoff and Saint-Saëns in the Orchestra of the Music
Makers' latest concert, directed by young conductor Seow Yibin. First heard
were World Premieres of four Rachmaninoff piano Préludes, in
orchestrations by three young composers. Alexander Oon was responsible for two
of these, Op.32 No.3 and Op.23 No.5, with martial character transformed into
something more festive and dancelike.
Darren
Sng's take on the lugubrious Op.23 No.1 deftly incorporated clarinet, oboe and
flute solos, taking on an impressionist hue. Phoon Yu's vision of Op.23 No.3
was gavotte-like, cleverly utilising strings and woodwinds, even giving
concertmaster Chan Yoong Han's violin an exquisite solo. These imaginative
efforts follow in the illustrious tradition of Respighi and Stokowski in
transcribing Rachmaninoff.
Watch Alexander Oon's orchestral transcription of Rachmaninov's Prelude Op.23 No.5 here:
Rachmaninoff's
mighty Third Piano Concerto was next, with 18-year-old former child
prodigy Tengku Irfan, previously described in these pages as the “Malaysian
Mozart”, as soloist. To say that the Juilliard undergraduate conquered and
vanquished the “Everest of piano concertos” would be mere understatement.
Beginning
quietly and steadily, the performance grew in character and stature over its
rapturous journey of over 40 minutes, Without any hint of narcissicism or
self-indulgence, his apparent coolness while generating white heat in playing
must be the most enviable trait in this profession.
The
massive 1st movement cadenza, the Adagio's climax and skittish
waltz, and the finale's mercurial free-wheeling were among moments to savour. A
standing ovation greeted this outing, which stands proudly alongside the work's
best performances by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (with pianists Sergio
Tiempo and Alexei Volodin) in recent years.
Orchestra
and conductor played a major part in its success, and the good work continued
in Saint-Saens' Third Symphony, also known as the “Organ Symphony”.
Hushed strings and an opening oboe solo set a mood of mystique before
escalating to the movement proper's nervous tension. Flexibility of ensemble
ensured that the work's ebbs and flows was kept on a heightened edge.
Joanna
Paul's organ entry in the slow movement was memorable for its subtlety. Her
part here was mainly to provide a bed of soft harmonies over which the tender
music floated. The big moment came in the dramatic finale, and her huge
striding chords did not disappoint. There was a brief stretch when both
orchestra and soloist threatened to go off the rails, but cools heads prevailed
for that most glorious and reassuring of C major chords to close.
As
an encore, the orchestra conjured a somewhat belated tribute to actress Carrie
Fisher, with Princess Leia's Theme from John Williams' Star Wars
soundtrack. That was another guilty pleasure few would regret.
 |
| Pianist Tengku Irfan with OMM Music Director Chan Tze Law. |
Watch Tengku Irfan perform the finale of Rach 3 with OMM here:
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