PULSE / Shane Thio, Nicholas Loh, Yiang Shan & Eugene Toh / Review

PULSE

Shane Thio & Nicholas Loh, Pianos

Yiang Shan & Eugene Toh, Percussion

Esplanade Recital Studio

Tuesday (14 February 2023)

 

I cannot write with authority about contemporary music, so I will not try to, except to share what I got from this interesting programme of new music for two pianos and percussion. The performers this evening may be considered veterans in the field, having surveyed established classics of the repertoire, including Bela Bartok’s very well-known Sonata for two pianos and percussion and a work for this combo by George Crumb.

 

Every work on this Valentine’s Day evening (which I came sans wife, she will be compensated later, with another concert), especially the ensemble works, might have been Singaporean premieres. I am not certain but I cannot imagine anyone else with the abilities to master these works and present them publicly in a convincing way.  

 

Percussionists are vital in any orchestra, the reason being they provide the pulse for music to move along (think Ravel’s Bolero!), and without them, things can grind into a sludge. There were two works for percussion alone, opening with Jaouen Rudolf’s Elescarf (2014) for snare drum and three crotales, performed by (Sng) Yiang Shan.

 

If one thought a percussive beat to be monotonous, think again, as hers was a multi-layered and involving performance, and when the crotales (or zimbeln, those tiny cymbals heard to magnificent effect near the end of Debussy’s Prelude l’apres midi dun faune), were struck, there was even semblance of pitch.

 

Just as absorbing was Yousif Sheronick’s Manhattan Avenue, a primer for frame drum solo performed by Eugene Toh. This work was performed standing, sitting, the drum struck by hand and brush, and also involved konnakol, a form of scat vocalisation in Carnatic rhythm, albeit conducted at a measured tempo.  

 

The works involving two pianos opened with John Adams’s Hallelujah Junction (1996), arguably the most familiar work on show, performed by Shane Thio and Nicholas Loh. In three movements, this was not an overlong minimalist work, but the sheer amount of notes to be performed in perfect synchronisation and without skipping a beat or loss of pace must be hell to accomplish. And yet they did, their sheer doggedness and resilience conquering the odds, seemingly with lots to spare.

 

In Steve Reich’s Quartet (2013) for two vibraphones and  two pianos, the tasks were now doubled. Reich’s earlier works have been maddeningly repetitive, but not so this work as its colours and textures were allowed a shorter duration of time to change and metamorphose, thus transforming the complexion the work.

 

The harmonies were strangely soothing and warm, and there seemed lot to enjoy through its three movements (fast - slow - fast) and 18-minute or so run. The slow central movement had a New Age feel to it but was all too brief, before the tempo picked up again for a vibrant close. The quartet of Sng, Toh, Thio and Low gave an enthralling performance, which I cannot imagine to be bettered in within this island state. This evening was more than just an hour well spent.