NAFA ORCHESTRA / Concert Series 24 February 2022 / Review

NAFA ORCHESTRA

Lee Foundation Theatre, NAFA

Thursday (24 February 2022)

 

It has been several years since I last witnessed the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Orchestra in concert. Pre-pandemic, it was led by Lim Yau, then-Dean of the School of Music at NAFA, but these days, his son cellist-turned-conductor Lin Juan has taken over the baton. They have very different stage personas; Lim’s dominating presence and exuberance is contrasted with Lin’s more low key and retiring demeanour. Nevertheless, the younger Lin proved himself to be no less of a perceptive communicator.

 

This NAFA Orchestra concert opened with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor (K.466) with Christopher Guzman, visiting professor of piano from Penn State University, as soloist. The first of two piano concertos (out of 27) in a minor key, its study of sturm und drang (storm and stress) was well demonstrated. The orchestral introduction, while not luxuriant in string sonority, bristled with quiet intent, leading to Guzman’s clear and plain-speaking entry.

 

It was Mozart’s way to begin in a subdued manner and then gradually crank up the tension to climactic highs, with Guzman responding in kind. There were some hair-raising moments but he kept his cool, unflinching in resolve and then surprising the listener by not playing the customary Beethoven first movement cadenza. Instead he chose the romanticised offering by German composer Carl Reinecke (student of Schumann, Mendelssohn and Liszt), an unusually interesting choice as it alternated between seriousness and levity while throwing in as many virtuosic devices possible.

 

The Romanze was taken at a slightly brisker than usual pace, the effect of which was to make the turbulent middle section less of a contrast, but here was the music revealed at its lyrical best. The storms and stresses returned for the finale, which had an electric air about it aided by the orchestra’s alert and sensitive partnership. Another surprise came in Guzman playing Ferruccio Busoni’s equally romanticised cadenza, always a refreshing change from the usual, as the concerto wound to a joyous conclusion in the major key.

 

The orchestra’s strings came into their own in Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. It would seem that the 27 musicians (two ensembles of 18 + 9) be overmatched by this “choral” classic beloved for its cathedral sonorities, but not so. Despite a tentative start, the players got more assured and steadily built upon its layers of sound. The intonation was generally good and the volume generated soon surpassed initial expectations to reach breathtaking highs. The quartet of soloists, drawn from the larger ensemble, acquitted themselves very well and it was clear that all involved have been well schooled and drilled. For the orchestra, this represented the high point of the evening.

 

Respighi’s neoclassical suite The Birds (Gli Uccelli) closed the concert. Strings were joined by winds, brass, harp and celesta, and here the full ensemble could have done with more rehearsals. Respighi’s music, even in works for chamber forces, calls for more fastidious attention to detail and texture, virtuoso playing and balance of ensemble. What was lacking in refinement was made up by passion and enthusiasm, which can never be faulted.

 

The opening Prelude sparked with life, essentially a precis summation of the bird-inspired movements to come. The solo oboist in La Columba (The Dove) did his job pretty well, while a pecking pulse was maintained in La Gallina (The Hen), a chirpy reworking of Rameau’s La Poule, perhaps its best known movement. Toughest to bring off was L’usignuolo (The Nightingale), with tricky parts for flute, piccolo and French horn, which came out more sturdy than alluring. Little subtlety would be expected in Il Cucu (The Cuckoo) and so it proved as the work reprised its opening bars for a cheery close.

 

For the record, the last time I heard Respighi’s The Birds was back in the mid-1990s by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in an avian-themed concert conducted by Lim Yau. Now that his son Lin Juan has followed in his footsteps by introducing good music to Singaporeans is another cause for celebration.