pianomania: RECONTRE MUSICALE 2025 / Chua Lik Wuk, Selena Lai & Goh Aik Guan / A Short Reminiscence

RECONTRE MUSICALE 2025

Chua Lik Wuk (Violin),

Selena Lai (Oboe) &

Goh Aik Guan (Piano)

SOTA Concert Hall

Saturday 15 November 2025

Recontre Musicale 2025 was a union of three of Singapore’s finest musicians born in the year 1965. All three had been classmates and schoolmates of mine at different times of my academic life, and it was sheer pleasure and a thrill to see them doing what they love, making music together. This was the third leg of an East Asian tour which also included performances in Vung Tau (Vietnam) and Hiroshima.

Violinist Chua Lik Wuk was my classmate in Pr.5A at Catholic High School (1976). He sat at the front of the class and was often spotted carrying a violin case to class, no doubt going for violin lessons after school. His wife oboist Selena Lai studied at Raffles Junior College (1982-83) where she took Music as an “A” level subject. I had presented her at the RJC Arts Festival concert where she performed a Handel sonata (with Sharon Foo as accompanist). She also played softball. Pianist Goh Aik Guan was my classmate in Sec.2D at Raffles Institution (1979). Then already a virtuoso to be, he gave solo recitals at Yamaha Plaza Singapura and also introduced me to the pianistic pleasures of Martha Argerich.

Both Lik Wuk and Selena were former members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, while Aik Guan pursued Economics and held a very senior position in the Civil Service.

The trio’s concert opened with Aik Guan’s transcription of the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria, which besides playing on the C major Prelude (of the Well-Tempered Clavier), also cleverly interpolated the G major Prelude from the First Cello Suite. Violin and oboe took turns on Gounod’s beloved melody while Lik Wuk did all the cello figurations as counterpoint.

J.S.Bach’s Concerto for Violin & Oboe in C minor (BWV.1060) held a special place in my heart, having performed it in entirety at a Ministry of Health concert in 1993 with a violinist and flautist. The lovely slow movement was also played at our 1999 wedding (with violinist Yew Shan, oboist Elaine Yeo and pianist Phan Ming Yen). Lik Wuk and Selena have performed this with Mervin Beng’s The Chamber Players in the past, and this was no less fine, with Aik Guan being a responsive and sensitive “orchestra”. The contrapuntal lines held very well, and the melodies truly sung in this very satisfying performance.

Then Lik Wuk and Aik Guan worked on two major sonatas, the first being Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.4 in A minor (Op.23, the one that precedes the Spring Sonata). Its fiery opening reflected the Sturm und Drang of the German’s prickly personality while counterpoint was never too far away. Its three movements moved spirits as the duo were not just technically adroit but also supremely musical. Lik Wuk’s all too infrequent performances have been likened (by me) to sightings of Halley’s Comet, and here it came in full fruition. More to come later.

After the break, it was Selena’s turn in the limelight with Mozart's Sonata in E minor (K.304, originally for violin) for oboe and piano. This was Mozart’s only sonata in the minor key, imbued with all the pathos the musical genius could muster. Selena and Aik Guan delivered this with sensitivity and beauty of tone, and the second movement’s Theme and Variations possessed an elegance that was hard to resist.

Lik Wuk returned to give a spirited performance of Grieg’s Violin Sonata No.3 in C minor (Op.45), filled with nationalistic fervour and an overload of Norwegian dance rhythms. Again, his technique was unimpeachable, fully living up to the reputation of my generation’s finest fiddler. The slow movement were a few pages from Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, which truly sung and distinguished with further dance movements. The lively finale was no less virtuosic, capping a performance and concert to be remembered.

As solo encore, Aik Guan offered a simply lovely reading of the Schumann-Liszt Widmung (Dedication), which rolled back the years of our schooldays, when he first told me of this classic. The trio reunited for the final encore of Aik Guan’s sublime transcription of Bach’s Air on G String, which was a great way to close the evening.