HEARTSTRINGS: THE MUSIC OF ANITA MUI / Yoyo Wu & Wu I Ling / Review

 

HEARTSTRINGS: 

THE MUSIC OF ANITA MUI 

Yoyo Wu Deng Kai, Cello 

Wu I Ling, Piano 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Sunday 25 May 2025 

Honestly, I know nothing about Anita Mui except that she died from cervical cancer. So an invitation to attend a concert of her music by a cellist named Yoyo had me piqued. Anita Mui (1960-2003) was a foremost Hong Kong singer and actress who was hailed the “Queen of Cantopop” and the “Madonna of Asia”. She was also known for her activism in democracy and social causes, such as raising funds and awareness for SARS epidemic relief in 2003, the year she passed. 

Anita the Diva.

Anita the Activist.

The concert’s organiser, Adrian Cheong of The Philharmonic Winds, was such a passionate fan of hers that he attended in various countries four of eight of her farewell tour concerts, besides dedicating a full tribute concert by The Philharmonic Winds and this one to her memory. 

Anita Mui did not write her songs, instead made the melodies of her composers, many of whom most listeners will not be familiar with, well-known. And these melodies, judging by the transcriptions made for cello and piano by Taiwanese pianist Wu I Ling, are mellifluous and tuneful. The cellist Yoyo Wu Deng Kai (note there is no hyphen in his nickname, unlike his hero) is excellent, producing a wide and healthy tone that is pleasing to the ear. The duo, which performed so idiomatically, would also do well in Schubert song transcriptions, which I hope is on their radar sometime. 

As with instrumental transcriptions of Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms et al, there is a high chance of inducing post-prandial somnolence, and that was exactly what happened. Just close your eyes for a moment, and you are sent to slumberland until the next applause. The songs, listed as Intimate Lover, Debt of the Heart, Crimson Doubt, A Devoted Heart, Autumn Upon Autumn et cetera are all very pleasant, but there was a sameness that pervaded much of the concert’s first half. At least I got a good rest. 

I found the concert’s second half more interesting, especially with the introduction of Lim Jit Hui on the drum-set. The works sounded edgier and revitalised, not least in the Anita Mui Hits Medley (Temptress, Breaking The Iceberg, Flaming Red Lips and Fiery Tango) which was given a boost of musical Viagra. There were also jazzy elements mixed with classical tropes. Moonlight opened with Beethoven’s eponymous sonata and then morphed into something thematically unrelated. All the works were accompanied by colourful and sometimes psychedelic stage illuminations which added to the spectacle. The concert was attended by a relatively large audience, comprising different age groups, many of whom would no doubt be familiar with the songs. 

Finally, I recognised a melody, and that was Woman Flower. So that had been its title, having heard it countless times while in Hong Kong without knowing what it was. It had subliminally crept into my consciousness somewhere along the way. Yes, I enjoyed it despite not being by Schubert or the other Austro-Germans. This and the final number, Sunset Melody, had been ardently applauded by the audience. There were two encores, and those were very pleasing as well. 

So, did I enjoy the music of Anita Mui? Yes, because great melodies, whatever their inspirations may be, will never die.

Now watch this video of 

Anita Mui's Woman Flower

with Yoyo Wu and Wu I Ling:

...and here is the original:

MAHLER'S RESURRECTION / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

 

MAHLER'S RESURRECTION

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Saturday (24 May 2025) 

This review was first published in Bachtrack.com on 27 May 2025 with the title "A Mahler Resurrection in Singapore to remember".

Every performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony in Singapore is an occasion. This has never changed since its premiere here in June 1994, with Singapore Symphony Orchestra led by billionaire publishing magnate turned specialist Mahler conductor Gilbert Kaplan. Those were the claustrophobic days of packing over 250 performers onto the cramped stage of Victoria Concert Hall. Since 2003, Esplanade Concert Hall has played host to multiple Mahler Seconds, conducted by Lan Shui, Chan Tze Law and the late John Nelson. The last of these was in 2019, marking Shui’s farewell at the end of his 22-year tenure as SSO music director. 

The last Mahler Resurrection,
in January 2019, marking Lan Shui's farewell.

A pair of Resurrections closed 2024-25, penultimate season for present music director Hans Graf. Graf will be remembered for overseeing the difficult pandemic years and transforming the orchestra into a very convincing vehicle for the symphonies of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. In epic canvasses such as this Mahler behemoth, he is a master of breadth and scale. At 82 minutes, it was neither the swiftest of readings, nor the most protracted. It was just nice. 

Nice does not begin to describe the meticulous thought and care for detail and effect invested. There was no showboating, like conducting without a score, and there was no doubt who was fully in control. The declamatory opening over string tremolos for the first movement’s funeral rites (an earlier single-movement with the same music was titled Todtenfeier) was stirring, even arresting but not overdone. The sense of tragedy was not projected in-your-face but gradually built up over the movement’s course. The vista of pastoral bliss and alpine meadows in quieter bits would be subverted by the inexorable march to come, and the pay-off was well worth the wait. 

The five-minute pause between the first two movements was not observed, just barely a minute to allow latecomers to settle in their seats before the Andante moderato’s graceful Ländler lilt. Here was the only respite in the symphony’s troubled trudge from death to life, with a delightful interplay of strings in counter-melodies. The final run of the main theme with plucked strings (held like lutes or guitars) seemed like a nod to another Viennese master’s Pizzicato Polka. 

No Mahler symphony would be complete without a movement examining the morbid or macabre, and the Scherzo quoting his Wunderhorn lied Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredikt (Saint Anthony of Padua’s Sermon to the Fishes) served as that ponder on the futility of life. The rhythm established by the timpanis, punctuated by rustling ruthe (bundle of rods tapping a bass drum’s frame), over which a slithering melody on the strings held sway. The shriek of anguish at its end (echoing the First Symphony’s “cry from the wounded heart”) foretold the tumult to come. 

The fourth movement’s orchestration of another Wunderhorn song Urlicht (Primal Light) ushered in the beautifully mellow voice of mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner. Her utterance of Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott (I am from God and would return to God) provided the reassurance before the final movement’s life and death struggles. 

Breathtaking might just summarise the symphony’s last half-hour, its magnificent brass chorales, pitched battles with offstage brass and percussion, and choral contributions. Friedrich Klopstock’s Die Auferstehung (The Resurrection) was intoned with all singers seated, and soprano Maria Bengtsson’s pristine voice wafting ethereally above a group of sixteen sopranos was a moment to remember. 

Then the 186 singers of the Singapore Symphony Chorus, Singapore Symphony Youth Choir and Symphonia Choralis (Eudenice Palaruan, Wong Lai Foon and Chong Wai Lun, choral directors) got on their feet, bringing the symphony – and occasion – to a triumphant close.

Star rating: *****

Here is the review on Bachtrack.com:

A Mahler Resurrection to remember 

in Singapore

ZHANG HAOCHEN Piano Recital / Review

 

ZHANG HAOCHEN Piano Recital 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Friday (23 May 2025)

Zhang Haochen was the reason how I got to attend the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. He was awarded joint first prize (tying with Nobuyuki Tsujii) at the 2009 competition, and had been engaged in 2011 to perform two concerts presented by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. As a member of SCO’s Artist Committee, I was afforded tickets to attend the 2013 competition, where I witnessed first-hand the rise of Vadym Kholodenko and Beatrice Rana, who have since become pianistic icons in their own right. 

Now at 35, Zhang Haochen is no longer the bright-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears post-wunderkind rookie but a seasoned stage veteran with several high-profile recordings (including a highly-rated Beethoven piano concerto cycle with the Philadelphia Orchestra on BIS) behind his name. His first solo recital here since 2011 was a sober affair, with just two major sonatas and none of the virtuoso fodder that pleases audiences and typically draws large crowds. That itself is a sign of maturity. 

His recital opened with Schubert’s Sonata in G major (D.894), sometimes referred to as Fantaisie. This was not the Wanderer Fantasy but a large-scale sonata that precedes the famous final trilogy (D.958-960). It ought to be better known, but the lack of showiness and inordinate length (almost forty minutes) militate against that. The sonata opens with a sigh, a long-breathed motif that is at odds with the emphatic statements made in succeeding sonatas. Sustaining this and capturing attention over the lengthy first movement’s broad vistas is difficult (although Sviatoslav Richter did it gloriously), which was why Zhang omitting the exposition repeat was an astute move. He kept this retiring music moving along, and while giving the development section an earlier chance to flex its muscles. 

The slow movement was Lieder at its purest and melancholic, contrasted by a vigorous Menuetto and Trio, which were most musically rendered. The finale was a delight, its opening almost a retort to the first movement’s sigh before launching into possibly Schubert’s jolliest and most carefree music. I have frequently joked that this was Schubert’s ragtime (akin to Beethoven’s boogie-woogie in the variations of Op.111), its and infectious lightness and levity perfectly handled by Zhang all the way to its happy close. Much as I loved this reading, it will not efface memories of Melvyn Tan’s smiling, dancing and prancing his way on a fortepiano way back in 1989. 

The other big work was Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, arguably the greatest single movement of piano music ever conceived. I felt Zhang’s introduction of the first three motifs to be cut and dried, but there was a reason for this, soon to be apparent. Extreme clarity was to define his performance, making sure that every theme, motif and note to be heard without smudging or textures, nor drowned by that refuge for multiple sins – the sustaining pedal. How often lesser technicians would hide digital inadequacies behind sostenuto, but Zhang would have none of that. The rampaging octaves were as clean-cut and precise as one could possibly hope for, leading to the fourth motif – the memorable wide-striding Grandioso. 

Photo: Pianomaniac

As musical architecture goes, Zhang had its full measure, clearly delineating when one “movement” ended and the next began without disrupting the flow. While the first was an expository sermon of fire and brimstone, the central “movement” in F sharp major was a contemplation in prayerful repose, and how he made each section truly matter. That is the essence of Romantic playing, by bringing these wide contrasts into the consciousness of his listeners by force of persuasion and eloquence, not knocking their heads into submission with virtuosic devices and gestures. 

The final "movement", beginning with the surreptitious fugato, was again a beacon of clarity. The climactic pages with octaves and chords were voluminous, achieved without banging, before the sonata’s beatific close with the first motif of descending bass notes. There was nearly a half-minute of silence before a most tumultuous audience response. 

Zhang’s four generous encores, alternating between slow and first, constituted another recital of its own. How he contrasted the colours and nuances in Debussy’s La fille aux chevaux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair) and Horowitz’s Carmen Variations (with his own personal rubatos and touch-ups) was itself worth the price of entry. This was followed by Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor (Op.posth), the Lento con gran espressione in its alternative version, and Liszt’s epic Chasse Neige (Transcendental Etude No.12) with its snow blizzards sending a chill down the spine. Zhang Haochen’s return to Singapore cannot come soon enough.

Photo: Pianomaniac

All photos by Ung Ruey Loon.

Zhang Haochen's piano recital 

was presented by Altenburg Arts.

I've got all of Haochen's CDs
and am still collecting!
Photo: Peter Chng

IN FULL BLOOM / THE ONE THING / The ROS Singers / One Chamber Choir / Review

 

IN FULL BLOOM 

The ROS Singers 

Esplanade Recital Studio 

Friday (16 May 2025)

THE ONE THING 

One Chamber Choir 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Saturday (17 May 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 19 May 2025 with the title "ROS Singers and The Chamber Choir flex vocals in accessible concerts".

It is hard to believe that Resonance of Singapore (ROS) is just celebrating its third anniversary, considering its prominence as the nation’s first charitable organisation helmed by a professional choral ensemble. All its eight singers (two each of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses), led by Young Artist Award recipient Toh Ban Sheng, are mature professional singers and vocal teachers. 

For this fund-raising concert, the ROS Singers performed a light and accessible programme comprising popular songs from musicals and operas. Its singers trooped in with The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha (1965), with each voice standing out before coalescing into a pleasing whole. To demonstrate versatility, the next number was something more contemporary, For Good from Wicked (2003). 

The ability of this vocal octet to master wide-ranging repertoire with highly idiomatic and authentic performances was a major strength. More proof was provided in John Rutter’s I Will Sing with the Spirit (1994), Leonard Bernstein’s Make Our Garden Grow from the operetta Candide (1956) and Elton John’s Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King (1994). 

In between, its individual singers shined in solo items, soprano Charmaine Tan in Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid (1989), soprano Suzanna Pua in O mio babbino caro from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (1918), tenor Tseng Wen-Yu in George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm (1930) and bass Wong Yang Kai in Out There from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). All the songs were accompanied by pianist Matthew Mak. 

Guest performers including violinist Lynnette Seah, jazz singer Reggie Pryor with his team (Fabian Lim (saxophone) and Mei Sheum (piano)) and British operatic soprano Kezia Robson added to the variety and allure of the occasion. Over twenty-one thousand dollars was raised by silent auction for charitable and educational causes. 

One Chamber Choir led by Lim Ai Hooi was established in 2009, but its 38 singers are wholly young working adults. The diverse programming showed how comfortable they were singing in multiple different languages. First was Latin in Jacobus Gallus’s Musica Musarum Germana (Music, Sister of the Muses), a six-part madrigal where polyphony was negotiated with clarity and tonal beauty. 

The many consonants sung in Chinese of Xia Yanbin’s Xuan Huang (Black and Yellow) and Tian Jing Sha: Qiu Si (Autumn Thoughts) were matched by skillful portamenti (bending of pitches). The repetitive notes in Japanese composer Ko Matsushita’s Hashiru (Running) were quickfire, breathless but exciting. 

Local colour and nostalgia were injected in the calypso beat of Singapore Town (1967) by The Sidaislers and the Xinyao of Eric Moo’s Kopi-O (1985), conducted respectively by their arrangers Cherie Chai and Ang Yi Feng. 

All facets of choral excellence came together for a few crowning minutes in South African composer Franco Prinsloo’s Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Mother). Here, tenderness, gentility and cinematic colour found their equals, closing with the final word “salve” left hanging in the air. 

Two school choirs led by conductor Lim, from Eunoia Junior College and Hwa Chong Institution, showed exactly where choral discipline begins - in the classroom. One will not find more polished performances respectively of Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus or Felix Mendelssohn’s fugal Tag fur Tag sei Gott gepriesen (Day By Day, Praise Be To God), later topped with two more Matsushita songs. 

All three choirs got together for a final sing-along in The Clouds Give Way, Indonesian folksong Soleram, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Rest and Filipino Ryan Cayabyab’s hip and hilarious Da Coconut Nut. Both these varied but very satisfying concerts showed that one cannot be too young or not-so-young to make good music together.

A PIANO RECITAL NOT TO MISS: ZHANG HAOCHEN on Friday 23 May 2025

Here is a piano recital not to miss. The young Chinese pianist ZHANG HAOCHEN has made waves after sharing joint first prize at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He was the first ever Chinese pianist to garner this accolade, and at the age of 19 was the youngest pianist to do so as well.

He has performed in Singapore with the Singapore Symphony and Singapore Chinese Orchestras including Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto (2012), Mozart's Piano Concerto No.24 (2019) and The Yellow River Concerto (2011). His first solo recital in Singapore since 2011 sees him perform two great sonatas of the Romantic repertory: 

SCHUBERT Sonata in G major, D.894

LISZT Sonata in B minor

Friday, 23 May 2025

Victoria Concert Hall at 8 pm

Tickets available at SISTIC:

https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/haochen0525

Zhang Haochen with his teacher
 at Curtis Institute, Gary Graffman,
who also taught Lang Lang & Yuja Wang.

Watch this video of

Zhang performing

Liszt's Transcendental Etudes:

Zhang Haochen's piano recital

is presented by Altenburg Arts.