THE AMERICAN FOUR SEASONS WITH ROBERT MCDUFFIE / Yong Siew Toh Conservatory / Review

 

THE AMERICAN FOUR SEASONS 

WITH ROBERT MCDUFFIE

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory

Conservatory Concert Hall

Wednesday (1 October 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 October 2025 with the title "Violinist Robert McDuffie draws out warmth in Brahms and delights in virtuosity in Glass".

It was a stroke of serendipity that rainy weather that drove people indoors early in the evening was greeted by Johannes Brahms’ Violin Sonata No.1 in G major (Op.78) which opened the chamber recital by American violinist Robert McDuffie.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

This most retiring of the German composer’s three violin sonatas was nicknamed Regenlied or Rain Song as its third movement is a reworking of a lied (Op.59 No.3) of the same title. The piano’s repeated notes and shimmering textures were also thought to resemble the pitter-patter of raindrops.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

Pianist Albert Tiu was the ever-responsive partner to a performance which emphasised beauty and warmth rather than outright virtuosity, with the violin’s lyrical lines eagerly lapped up by McDuffie. When stakes were raised in the first movement’s development, the temperature rose accordingly. The slow movement also emoted, while the finale’s undercurrent of intensity finally drew to a quiet and understated close. This lack of a big show was how expression of passion is often sublimated, a reminder of Brahms’ maturity.

The concert’s main work was American minimalist composer Philip Glass’ Second Violin Concerto (2013), also known as The American Four Seasons. This was commissioned, dedicated to and premiered by McDuffie, who has described Glass as America’s Vivaldi. The reference was to Italian baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi, who had composed the four violin concertos that became classical music’s biggest hit: The Four Seasons.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

Joined by the Cave Quartet, formed by conservatory students violinists Viktoria Marinova and Xu Zhuorui, violist Caitlin Chin and cellist Ren Zhiyi, backed by bassist Loewe Lim, and Tiu on synthesizer (replacing the harpsichord), this was supposed to replicate the instrumentation of the original Seasons.

Each movement representing a season was preceded by a solo, beginning with a Prologue where McDuffie laid the groundwork for the music to come. G minor was the key of Movement 1, with lively staccato ostinatos accompanying the violin which crafted what could be a comedic scene in some movie.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

The tonality was more ambiguous in Song 1, its series of arpeggios suggesting constantly shifting landscapes and weather changes, ushering in Movement 2 which found its place in A minor. Glass is the absolute master of the three notes which make up a musical triad, with its multiple repetitions and gradual transformations. Here, the skies colour darkened and the thermometer reading cooled.

The level of dissonance peaked in Song 2, but Movement 3 was now firmly entrenched in A minor, bouncing with increased energy and kinesis. Song 3 delighted with double stopping, before the fourth the final season romped home breathlessly in terminal velocity to the audience’s delight.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

Glass had not titled each of the movements, thus leaving the listener to play “guess the season” with the music. From the compelling evidence on show, one would surmise the 40-minute sequence to have been Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. This was the perfect game to play on a rainy night.