YONG SIEW TOH CONSERVATORY CONCERTO COMPETITION: SINGAPORE'S BEST-KEPT SECRET

 

YONG SIEW TOH CONSERVATORY’S 

CONCERTO COMPETITION: 

SINGAPORE’S BEST-KEPT SECRET 

Saturday (15 March 2025), 6 pm

Everybody knows where the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory is, and how its students and faculty regularly serve up top quality performances, yet one of its best-kept secrets is its annual concerto competition. In an institution that consistently produces the soloists who shine in concerts, this annual event is de rigeuer in finding the top soloists of tomorrow. I had the rare opportunity of attending one of this year’s concerto competition evenings and had a real treat. 

Over two evenings, ten young soloists (representing the best in high strings, low strings, piano, woodwinds and brass, and voice) displayed their prowess in ten repertoire works. And it was free to attend. I had missed the first evening (which included Liszt and Brahms piano concertos, a Prokofiev violin concerto, a Scandinavian brass concerto and Samuel Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1915) so I was determined not to miss the second. And I was not disappointed. 

The audience was small but enthusiastic and attentive, willing to share in whatever that gets served up. How often does one get to hear a rarity as Wolfgang Erich Korngold’s single movement Cello Concerto? It will never get as popular as his Violin Concerto but soloist Chen Pei-Yi (with Liu Jia on piano) does a very good job, lapping up its lyrical lines with relish while negotiating its knotty counterpoint (who doesn’t fancy yet another fugato?) very capably. Hers was a very confident reading and now let’s hear it with orchestra for real the next time around. 

Another rarity for concertgoers is Carl Nielsen’s Clarinet Concert, a more austere work with a really quirky opening theme, almost an earworm. Chua Jay Roon’s performance was arguably even more impressive as she coped very well with its manifold twists and turns, never missing a beat, and making the cadenzas sound like child’s play. Another good reason was to witness pianist Clarisse Teo virtuosically substitute for the orchestral part, and the twosome handled the thorny bits (there were many in its four movements played as one continuous run) with great aplomb. Looking forward to witness the orchestral version sometime soon. 

Did I mention that every soloist performed their parts wholly from memory? That’s the lot of young professional musicians these days – they must know alltheir music by heart, and with no fumbling around with scores. The rest of the concert was on more familiar ground, beginning with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, which received a sumptuous if not revelatory reading from cellist Liu You-Yu with Liu Jia on piano. She has a good feel for its Romantic impulses, and ardour was well captured in many lyrical lines, and when it came to the more virtuosic variations, her technique held up and she delivered with aplomb. A very satisfying reading all around. 

The only vocalist this evening was soprano Zhou Wenyue (with pianist Choi Hye-Sion) in Mozart’s popular motet Exsultate Jubilate. The famous part is the Alleluia at its end but the aria and recitative that came before it was well worth hearing too. Her clear articulation of the words was admirable, even if her runs were not always immaculate. There were no extraneous gestures or hand movements, just her voice and no other distractions, and when it came to the final Alleluia, she was confident and made the best case possible. 

After a short intermission, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was the longest work on show. Over-familiarity has tainted this masterpiece, but Syu Cheng-Yi (with pianist Ge Xiaozhe) tried his best to keep it fresh. His technique had held up for most part, with the particularly treacherous first movement cadenza well handled. The most memorable part was in the Canzonetta in G minor, the slow movement’s melancholic mood very well judged, before leading into the Allegro vivacissimo finale where all stops were pulled, providing a riproaring close to the concert. With a few tweaks here and there, and he will be ready to take part in this year’s National Violin Competition. 

It was an enjoyable show all around judged by a panel of three international jurists, and if compelled to pick a performance I would like to hear again with an orchestra, that would be the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with Chua Jay Roon doing the honours. Came later this year or next, my wish might just come true.

Encore, please!