pianomania: THE COMPLETE CHAMBER MUSIC OF MAURICE RAVEL PART I / Yong Siew Toh Conservatory / Review

THE COMPLETE CHAMBER MUSIC

OF MAURICE RAVEL (PART I)

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory

Conservatory Concert Hall

Tuesday (30 September 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 October 2025 with the title "Rocky start, big finish in engaging rendition of Ravel".

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Renowned for his orchestral works Bolero, La Valse and ballet Daphnis and Chloe, he also wrote a small body of chamber music. All of these were performed by faculty, students and alumni of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory over two concerts.

The first evening opened eventfully with his Sonata for Violin & Cello (1920-22), performed by violinist Qian Zhou and cellist Wang Zihao. Stage lights had not been turned on and the duo played under dim lighting for much of the first movement. Vigorous pizzicatos and bowings in the second movement led to a dislocation of one of Qian’s strings. An abrupt pause and a quick re-tuning put the music back on track, the duo making most of the music’s quirky charm and use of pentatonics drawn from folk music and jazz for a compelling reading.

A rarity was Three Poems of Stephane Mallarme (1914), sung by mezzo-soprano Priscilla Fong partnered by two flutes (Eric Lamb and Cheryl Lim), two clarinets (Ma Yue and Yang Jin Liang), string quartet (T’ang Quartet) and piano (Lim Yan).

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

Symbolist poet Mallarme is well known for L’Apres-midi d’un faune (Afternoon of the Fawn), famously set by Claude Debussy in his orchestral Prelude. Fong’s French diction and phrasing were excellent, while the impressionist hues conjured by the instruments were dreamily vivid. The very committed performance made for an unusually luscious treat.

Not so rare is Ravel’s Tzigane, his popular gypsy rhapsody from 1924. Violinist Zuo Jun’s extended opening solo was arresting in delivery and pianist Liu Jia’s scintillating solo part simulated the rapid repeated notes of a Hungarian cimbalom (dulcimer). Together, they romped home with a blaze of fireworks.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

Following the intermission was the evening’s guilty pleasure, the Introduction et Allegro (1905) scored for harp, flute (Evgueni Brokmiller), clarinet (Ma Yue) and string quartet (T’ang Quartet). Harpist Vanessa Irwanto was the star in this lushly scored work, which began on a gentle note, but following a cadenza, morphed into an elegant dance of true Gallic charm.

The concert’s longest work was the Piano Trio in A Minor (1914), one of the 20th century’s most important trios. Singapore’s “Million Dollar Trio” of violinist Qian Zhou, cellist Qin Li-Wei and pianist Albert Tiu brought out enthralling performance clear in its delineation of themes and one rich in nuance. The opening was taken at moderate tempo, its lilting main theme later appearing in various guises in all the other movements.

Photo: Lucas Kwai Ming Yang

The animated second movement, Pantoum, took its name and form from a Malay pantun, while the slow Passacaille brooded over a steadfast ground bass built on Tiu’s piano. Even if one did not catch the cyclical form at first listen, the Finale provided a glorious homecoming for the said theme, closing on an invigorating and spirited high.