NATIONAL PIANO & VIOLIN COMPETITION 2025: ARTIST FINALS / Review

 

NATIONAL PIANO & 

VIOLIN COMPETITION 2025

Artist Category Finals

Victoria Concert Hall

Saturday (29 November 2025) &

Sunday (30 November 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 December 2025 with the title "Biennial competition uncovers promising young pianists and violinists".

Once every two years, the National Piano & Violin Competition (NPVC), organised by the Singapore Symphony Group, identifies the top young pianists and violinists in Singapore. Its track record has been telling, as many past winners have gone on to play vital roles in Singapore’s musical life.

Over two concerts, six young artists performed full-length concertos with the NPVC Orchestra (the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in all but name) led by Joshua Tan. On Saturday evening, the Piano Artist Category final became a mini version of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, as all three finalists had elected to perform concertos by Frederic Chopin.

Opening the show was Goh Kai Cheng in the First Piano Concerto in E minor (Op.11). His was a reading of power and poetry, the opening movement’s martial subject balanced by a fine cantabile and singing tone, evident in the slow movement’s Romance. The finale’s animated Polish dance seemed inexhaustible, buoyed by his boundless energy.

There were two performances of the Second Piano Concerto in F minor (Op.21), which was actually composed before the First but published later. A shorter work with a more exposed solo part, there was more scope to emote. That was what Chen Xing-Chi from Taiwan exploited to the fullest. It went swimmingly until the finale’s round dance, where he came unstuck after which he never fully recovered. At least he never stopped playing.

It was left for Toby Tan Kai Rong, combining the best qualities of both preceding pianists, to do full justice in the same concerto. It was not just about playing the right notes accurately at the right time. Sensitive and musical to the hilt, he lived the work’s ecstasies and tragedies, showcasing Chopin’s passions in best possible light.

The international jury awarded first prize to Tan, with Goh netting the second while Chen receiving the third. All three were students of Albert Tiu at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. With further learning and progress, it is a matter of time that Singapore will finally be represented in Warsaw.

Despite his students' sweeping win,
Albert Tiu has mixed feelings.

Violin concertos by three different composers figured in the Violin Artist Category final held on Sunday afternoon. Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor (Op.64) was given a clean and well-disciplined account by Madeline Goh Anyi, who is presently studying in Salzburg. Much attention was paid to beauty of tone, clarity of phrasing and articulation.

Grace turned to grit for Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor (Op.47), the star vehicle for Low Peng Guan’s cool-headed and understated virtuosity. Not even the music’s thorniest moments could faze this young man, a figure of total concentration and composure.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major (Op.35) was the longest and most exposed work of the three. Tainted by familiarity, it could easily degenerate into a performance by auto-pilot. Not so from Ernest Syu Cheng-Yi, Taiwanese student at the Conservatory, who pulled out all stops to make it sound freshly minted.

Whether one was encountering this for the first or hundredth time, one would still be struck by his impressive technique and overall engagement, which garnered the loudest cheers from the audience. Joint second prizes were awarded to Goh and Low, while Syu took home the coveted first.

The $5000 Christopher and Rosy Ho Audience Prize was awarded to both pianist Toby Tan and violinist Angela Wu Yueer (1st prizewinner of the Violin Junior category), who gave a stunning performance of Henryk Wieniawski’s Scherzo-Tarantella at the prize presentation ceremony. Very bright musical futures beckon for all these shining young talents.