PRIMARILY PIANO: DEBUSSY'S PRELUDES / Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Piano Studio / Review

 

PRIMARILY PIANO: 

DEBUSSY PRELUDES 

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Piano Studio 

YST Conservatory Orchestral Hall 

Tuesday (2 April 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 4 April 2024 with the title "Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Students tackle Debussy's Preludes with care".

The two books of Preludes by French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) are landmarks of twentieth century piano repertoire. These 24 pieces (12 in each book) represented a departure from cultivated tonal formalities of the age by embracing nebulous forms and ambiguous harmonies of the future. 

Debussy first wrote the pieces, and later added descriptive titles in French. These cemented his reputation as the musical “impressionist”, a sobriquet he disliked. 

It is rare to hear all the Preludes in a single sitting, previously undertaken here by visiting French pianists Philippe Cassard (2003) and Monique Duphil (2006). This evening’s well-attended recital was offered by 23 students from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory’s piano studio, students of Albert Tiu, Ning An and Lim Yan. 

Kuo Lyu-Cen

Chen Bo-Yu

Venus Chai

Book I (1909-10), the more popular and often-performed, opened with Danseuses de Delphes (Dancers of Delphi), Voiles (Veils) and Le vent dans la plaine (Wind in the Plain), three works which encapsulated Debussy’s delicately crafted sound world. Deft pedalling, sensitive balancing of treble and bass voices, and feathery lightness were keenly observed by Kuo Lyu-Cen, Chen Bo-Yu and Venus Chai. 

Soh Wei Qi

Wang Chien-Jou

Cheryn Pandora

Debussy’s most fancy titles, such as Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir (Sounds and Scents Mingle in the Evening Air) and Book II’s Les fées sont d’exquises danseuses (The Fairies are Exquisite Dancers) and La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune (Terrace for Moonlight Audiences) were also his most impressionistic in feel and texture. These received imaginatively evocative readings from Soh Wei Qi, Wang Chien-Jou and Cheryn Pandora. 

Edenia Maureen

Wong Jean Ying

Liang Ray-Heng

Xian Ruofei

Darrell Lim

For contrasts in colour and mood, it was hard to beat the sequence leading from Les collines d’Anacapri (Hills of Anacapri), Des pas sur la neige (Footsteps in the Snow), Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest (What the West Wind Saw), La fille aux cheveux de lin (Girl with Flaxen Hair) through to La cathédrale engloutie (Engulfed Cathedral). Within a matter of minutes, one experienced jollity, desolation, violence, innocence and monumentality through the capable hands of Edenia Maureen, Fong Jean Ying, Liang Ray-Heng, Xian Ruofei and Darrell Lim. 

Lee Ann

Vernis Chua

Goh Kai Cheng

Rhythmic patterns defined La sérénade interrompue (Interrupted Serenade) and Book II’s La puerta del vino (The Wine Gate) and Les tierces alternées (Alternating Thirds), the first two influenced by Spanish music. The Hispanic spirit came alive through Lee Ann and Vernis Chua, while Goh Kai Cheng gave the smoothest possible account of the tricky etude-like latter number. 

Panyakorn Lertnimitphan

Ashley Chua

Toby Tan

Papan Lertchanvit

The art of syncopation and jazz informed Book I’s La danse de Puck (Puck’s Dance) and Minstrels, and Book II’s Général Lavine – excentric and Homage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C., portrayals of comedic or ethnic-African characters. Panyakorn Lertnimitphan, Ashley Chua, Toby Tan and Papat Lertchanvit were alert and sympathetic to their rhythmic thrust without resorting to caricature. 

Lin Sin-Yue

Maw Li Awng Mi

Chakrit Khanonvej

Lin Shih-En

Book II (1912-13) had the more complex pieces, with Debussy using three staves instead of two in scoring. The most impressionist were Brouillards (Mists) and Feuilles mortes (Dead Leaves), which saw Lin Sin-Yue and Maw Li Awng Mi bring out an array of colours and shades. For sheer simplicity, Bruyéres (Heaths) and Canope (Canopic Jar) were spare in keyboard writing yet loaded with poetry. Chakrit Khanonvej and Lin Shih-En had the honour of unlocking their secrets. 

Cheryl Pandora

The final prelude

Cheryl Pandora (Cheryn’s elder sister) was the lucky pianist assigned to play two preludes, including splashy Ondine, guardian of the watery realm and the most spectacular piece of all, the closing Feux d’artifice (Fireworks), which literally swept across the entire keyboard. This kaleidoscopic two-hour long piano excursion had it all.

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