ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE:
WALTON & BRAHMS
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory
Orchestral Institute
Conservatory Concert Hall
Saturday (9 September 2023)
This review was published in The Straits Times on 12 September 2023 with the title "Thrilling glimpse into classical ensembles' future".
It cannot be overestimated how Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has impacted and transformed the face of classical orchestral music in Singapore. Scores of music students who graduate every year have joined the rank and file of the Singapore Symphony and Singapore Chinese Orchestras, Orchestra of the Music Makers, re:Sound Collective, T’ang and Concordia Quartets, besides forming the nucleus of Red Dot Baroque. Whoever thought that one alumnus, Kahchun Wong, would become the chief conductor of the Halle and Japan Philharmonic Orchestras?
It has been fascinating to observe the conservatory’s orchestra perform over two decades, first led by Chan Tze Law, later Wang Ya Hui and now its present conductor Jason Lai. The Orchestral Institute, as the ensemble is known, performed a rare programme of Walton and Brahms, names not often juxtaposed in concert. Conductor Lai explained that the works were united by a quality of soulfulness besides having quiet and sublime endings.
20th century English composer William Walton’s Cello Concerto (1957) was considered unusually conservative for its time, a period of obligatory atonalism and avant-garde experimentation. Over a gently throbbing accompaniment, soloist Zhu Zeyu coaxed out its lyrical melody, imbued with nostalgia and sorrowful reflection, through long-breathed lines.
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| Photo: Chan Chen |
The transparent and chamber-like orchestration was well-observed, and Zhu’s virtuosity and control began to shine through, becoming more apparent in the mercurial and acerbic central movement. Its dissonances were no more spiky than Prokofiev or Shostakovich, and the cellist as nimble vocalist and untiring athlete was truly put to the test. Zhu passed with flying colours into the finale’s Theme and Improvisations, calling for even more imagination and colour. He duly delivered with neither pretension nor apology all through to its ethereal close.
Brahms’ Symphony No.3 in F major (Op.90) is the “Cinderella” of his four symphonies, by virtue of it being his least celebrated. Opening expansively, its main subject was inspired by a motif from his late mentor Robert Schumann’s First Symphony.
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| Photo: Chan Chen |
Despite deploying a smaller orchestra, the ensemble created an all-round big sonority, impressing at the outset and later storming through the development with real passion. By contrast, the second movement ambled by leisurely without slackening on its vital pulse.The lilting third movement was the very embodiment of nostalgia, and while its central section dragged a little, a French horn solo gratefully marked the return of what must be one of Brahms’ most memorable melodies.
The finale began furtively but then sprung into life, tautly marshalled by conductor Lai. Its narrative was also thrillingly whipped up to a tumultuous climax. Eschewing a blazing conclusion, a final brass chorale heralded the symphony’s opening theme, now retiring to a calming close. For this symphony, the young orchestra demonstrated emphatically that less means more.
Curious about what Singapore and Southeast Asia’s future orchestras might look and sound like? Go to Kent Ridge and watch this space.
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