BEETHOVEN THE COMPLETE 32 PIANO SONATAS, PART ONE / MIKKEL MYER LEE, Piano / Review

 

BEETHOVEN – THE COMPLETE 

32 PIANO SONATAS, PART ONE 

MIKKEL MYER LEE, Piano 

School of the Arts Concert Hall 

Tuesday (3 December 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 December 2024 with the title "Piano prodigy is gifted, but needs time to mature".

After the stupendous feat of performing two Frederic Chopin piano concertos in a single sitting last year, one wondered what 12-year-old Mikkel Myer Lee would do next. The answer was the 32 piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a journey that would normally occupy a pianist for a lifetime. 

Photo: Nathaniel

The first instalment showcased four sonatas, three of which were from Beethoven’s early period, dating before 1801. Lee chose to open with the ambitious Sonata No.11 in B flat major (Op.22) in four movements. Straight off, he had all the many notes within his fingertips, playing completely from memory with neither faltering nor hesitation. 

Photo: Munster

Admirable as this was, especially an at age when most children are preoccupied with toys, such facility had drawbacks. Being able to speed through three fast movements was mightily impressive, but one needed to ally that with deeper thought processes. However, it was in the less frenetic slow movement that had sparks of inspiration which would reveal themselves later. 

He took a middle-of-the road approach to Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor (Op.27 No.2), famously known as the Moonlight Sonata because of its dreamy opening slow movement. Some choose to step on the sustaining pedal and murkily swim around the notes, while others posture about with protractedness. 

Thankfully he did neither, instead letting the notes speak for themselves. The folksy Allegretto central movement seemed too fast, but the Presto Agitato finale was perfectly judged, stirring up the tumultuous storm that showed he fully understood the stakes. He was just getting warmed up. 

Photo: Nathaniel

The best performance was in Sonata No.6 in F major (Op.10 No.2), the earliest and shortest of the four. He simply reveled in its implicit humour, the opening chords delivered with a nice bounce, qualified by a nonchalant shrug of a reply. The playful finale, with its chattering fugal voices, was a joy to behold. He was now fully in the groove. 

Photo: Munster

One questions the inclusion of Sonata No.31 in A flat major (Op.110) from 1821, part of Beethoven’s famous final trilogy. Surely Lee has yet to achieve the maturity to convincingly pull it off. In that respect, the jury is still out. The opening movement’s lyricism was well handled, but there was little differentiation in the Scherzo’s two themes, based on popular folksongs, which flashed across with blinding speed. 

The third movement possessed the right gravitas, and there should have been a gradual build-up to the noble fugue (and its inversion) to close the work. Instead, he rushed headlong into its contrapuntal thickets, coming out gloriously unscathed. 

Photo: Nathaniel

Clearly the audience, which annoyingly applauded between every movement of all the sonatas, enjoyed it. They were rewarded with six varied Chopin Preludes as encores. Already an old hand in these, Lee was now unimpeachable. Here is a rare generational talent who is still a work in progress. With time and further study, he will become a world-beater.

Photo: Munster

RUDOLF BUCHBINDER - BEETHOVEN / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

RUDOLF BUCHBINDER – BEETHOVEN

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Friday & Saturday 

(8 & 9 December 2023)

Sunday (10 December 2023)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 12 December 2023 with the title "Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder scores hat-trick in mini-Beethoven festival".

If there were one composer whom music-lovers never tire of, that would be Ludwig van Beethoven. Archetype of the long-suffering and tormented artist, he lived and died for his music to the detriment of all else. Also a virtuoso pianist, his five piano concertos and 32 piano sonatas defined the genre itself.

 

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s mini-Beethoven festival was helmed by Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder leading from the keyboard. Four piano concertos were performed, the omission being the Fifth Concerto (the "Emperor"), presumably because Beethoven never played it in public having become stone-deaf by the time. 

 

This semi-cycle opened with Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major (Op.19), chronologically the earliest. Also the shortest and lightest, its debt to Mozart’s classicism was most palpable. However Beethoven packed in far more notes in its sub-30 minute duration besides also upping the level of virtuosity.

 

Buchbinder’s vision was one of litheness and verve, yet unafraid of projecting above the orchestra’s volume without resort to banging. Lyricism and elegance were hallmarks of the first two movements, while skipping syncopations of the Rondo finale never failed to raise a smile.   

 

By the time of Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor (Op.37), Beethoven had entered into his “Middle Period”, characterised by blazing Romanticism and passionate outbursts. The only minor key concerto, Buchbinder relived drama and tension of the Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) movement, culminating with possibly Beethoven’s most difficult solo cadenza of all.  

 

Amid the angst, there were moments of repose, such as in the slow movement’s chorale-like theme, voiced with clarity and beauty. The finale alternated between pathos and joy, but the latter won out with its C major coda of unfettered ebullience. Buchbinder’s encore was the finale from the Tempest Sonata in D minor (Op.31 No.2), played with an irrepressible spirit confirming one was well and truly in the Romantic era.

 

The second evening began with Piano Concerto No.1 in C major (Op.15), a later and more expansive work than the Second Concerto. Buchbinder kept its textures light and buoyant, the first movement’s climax culminating with a descending octave scale instead of the sweeping glissando favoured by others. He also chose to play the less often heard cadenza No.1, tidily finishing off what Beethoven had left incomplete.

 

The five solo bars that opened Piano Concerto No.4 in G major (Op.58) were plain-spoken, but the inexorable music built up to yet another mighty cadenza, where Buchbinder held a surprise up his sleeve. By altering one single note, he also shifted the tenor of the narrative. There were no histrionics to the slow movement’s Orpheus taming the Furies, and the rollicking Rondo that completed both concertos were pure expressions of joyous elation. His encore of the Pathetique Sonata's finale was a sneak preview of the following day's recital. 

 

Sunday’s matinee showcased four piano sonatas including the three most popular with nicknames. Many piano students will toil over the Pathetique (Op.13), Moonlight (Op.27 No.2), and Appassionata (Op.57) Sonatas, and most will get the notes right. However few truly capture the spirit of Beethoven – his loves, passions, tragedies and consolations – all of which Buchbinder breathed into these hackneyed classics. The concluding movements, in particular, were imprinted with the thunderous finality of wills and testaments. As a bonus, Beethoven’s little Sonata in G major (Op.14 No.2), which bore no nickname, showed the gruff German also had a sense of humour.

 

Buchbinder’s final encore was not by Beethoven, but Soiree de Vienne by Alfred Grunfeld, a delectable medley of Johann Strauss melodies. Four concertos and four sonatas over three concerts showed why the septuagenarian Buchbinder is regarded the echt-Beethovenian of our time.

 

REIMAGINE: BEETHOVEN & RAVEL / INNA FALIKS, Piano on Navona Records / Review

REIMAGINE:

BEETHOVEN & RAVEL

Inna Faliks, Piano

Navona Records 6352

 

It is curious to find Beethoven in 1825 crafting miniatures for the piano, so soon after his masterpieces Missa Solemnis (Op.123) and Ninth Symphony (Op.125), and before his late great string quartets (Op.127, 130 to 135). If truth be told, his Six Bagatelles (Op.126), which appear like shavings from a master’s work bench, are of a pithy and autumnal quality not unlike the shorter movements from his late piano sonatas (Op.101, 109 and 110). These are the foundation of Ukraine-born American pianist Inna Faliks’ recital album, where she invites six of her UCLA colleagues to compose responses to each of the Bagatelles.

 

Each new work precedes the original in the recordings. These are interesting by imaginatively transforming melodies, harmonies and rhythms, adding new asides and offering insights, while retaining some form and spirit of the originals. In Peter Golub’s Bagatelle, the original (No.1) is immediately recognisable before whimsically going off on a tangent. Tamir Hendelman’s etude-like Bagatelle uses a recurrent 4-note motif of the original (No.2), transforms and toys with it like a spinning top.

 

Richard Danielpour is arguably the most recognisable name among the six composers. His Childhood Nightmare begins innocently enough, with the Cantabile e grazioso description of the original (No.3) working itself into something darker and more sinister. The insistent earworm that is Beethoven’s Bagatelle No.4 is worked to perfection in Ian Krouse’s Etude 2A – Ad Fugam on a Non-Octave-Replicating Mode, the title of which is almost self-explanatory. Mark Carlson’s Sweet Nothings is a bluesy musing on the genteel original (No.5), a cantabile in stark contrast with the funhouse distorting mirrors of David Lefkowitz’s Bagatelle (after No.6), which brings the cycle to a scintillating close.

 

Another semi-recital takes place with three works, also commissioned by Faliks, inspired by Ravel’s masterpiece Gaspard de la nuit. Listeners would already be familiar with the triptych (not included on the disc) and might recognise the responses taken in the new creations even if nothing from the original is quoted. Responding to Ondine, Paolo Prestini’s Variations on a Spell comprises two movements. Water Sprite relives the fluid realm without obvious Lisztian influences, while Bell Tolls – Golden Bees, essentially a funeral march, already looks ahead to the bleakness of Le Gibet.

 

Timo Andres’ Old Ground, at over 15 minutes, is the longest and most minimalistic piece in the collection. A tolling ostinato rhythm pervades its entirety, casting a hypnotic spell but without the fear and dread of the original. The iconic first three notes of Scarbo are alluded to in Billy Childs’ Pursuit, a coruscating number that evokes genuine edginess, described by the composer like “a black man is being pursued by a slave catcher, KKK lynch mob or modern day police”. Inna Faliks is a brilliant pianist whose instinctual approach to music, makes these new works relevant, and just as importantly, come to live.

You can sample / download / purchase this recording at:

Reimagine – Navona Records

BEETHOVEN TRILOGY 2: CHILDHOOD / See Siang Wong, Piano / Review

BEETHOVEN TRILOGY 2: CHILDHOOD

See Siang Wong, Piano

London Philharmonic / Sir Roger Norrington

RCA Red Seal 19439883152 / TT: 79’11”

 

The second album of Swiss-Chinese pianist See Siang Wong’s Beethoven Trilogy, in celebration of the German composer’s 250^th year, focuses on his childhood and teenaged years. Almost all the music heard here was composed before 1790, when still a student in his hometown of Bonn. The keyboard smasher of Vienna had yet to arrive. The works also fall under the WoO (Werke ohne Opuszahl or Works without Opus number) catalogue and virtually nothing will be familiar to most concert-goers and record collectors. For completists, however, every note here by the proto-Beethoven is essential.  

 

For starters, the three Kurfürstensonaten (Prince Elector Sonatas) WoO.47 from 1782-83 give a good idea what was on the mind of the pre-teen Beethoven. These are short three-movement works, much in the spirit of Haydn and Mozart’s earlier sonatas, filled with fire in the belly but not lacking in lyrical charm especially in the slow movements. The second sonata in F minor, with a slow and serious introduction, provides a foretaste of his Pathetique Sonata of 1798. The two-movement Sonata in C major (WoO.51) from 1790 is even shorter, with a harp-like elegance unusual elegant for the brusque and brash young man.

 

The piece de resistance is the Piano Concerto in E flat major (WoO.4) from 1784, not the Emperor and sometimes designated No.0. Its three movements, playing for some 25 minutes, only existed as a piano solo with orchestral parts adapted from a second piano reduction. Wong performs the edition by Dutch pianist Ronald Brautigam and adds his own highly idiomatic cadenzas. Although derivative in parts, this nonetheless shows immense promise and a flair for the flashy. His model were not Haydn or Mozart, but rather Johann Christian Bach, the keyboard virtuoso also known as the “London Bach”. The mercurial finale also has a minor key “Turkish episode” at its centre, then a rage in contemporary musical fashions.   

 

The Rondo in B flat major (WoO.6) was the discarded original finale for Beethoven’s next piano concerto, in B flat major (now beloved as his Piano Concerto No.2, Op.19). There is a famous 1963 recording on Deutsche Grammophon by Sviatoslav Richter with Viennese forces under Kurt Sanderling, but this modern one tops it all. The London Philharmonic is sympathetic throughout both concertante works, in what must be one of Sir Roger Norrington’s last recordings before his retirement.

 

There are two sets of variations as delightful extras. Dressler Variations in C minor (WoO.63, 1782-83) and Variations on a Swiss Song in F major (WoO.64, 1790) are ultimately inconsequential, but show more facets of young Beethoven’s oeuvre. Wong lavishes nothing less than love and care for all of Beethoven’s juvenilia, his innate musicianship shining beyond the routine. This album is self-recommending, and Volume 3 of Wong’s Beethoven Trilogy is keenly awaited.

BEETHOVEN 250 / TANG TEE KHOON & LUCA BURATTO / Review

BEETHOVEN 250

TANG TEE KHOON, Violin

LUCA BURATTO, Piano

Esplanade Recital Studio

Sunday (9 January 2022)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 12 January 2022 with the title "Historic take on Beethoven's 10 violin sonatas".

 

History was made when Singaporean violinist Tang Tee Khoon and Italian pianist Luca Buratto performed all ten of Beethoven’s violin sonatas in four concerts over two evenings. This was a belated commemoration of the German composer’s 250 birthday, deferred from 2020 by the global Covid pandemic. All previous cycles presented here involving local musicians were shared by multiple violinists and pianists.

 

The sonatas were played in chronological order, with Sunday’s two concerts showcasing the Sixth to Tenth Sonatas, representing Beethoven’s maturity. The Op.30 trilogy, vastly contrasted works from his “Middle Period”, were performed first. The chemistry developed by violinist and pianist over the years was apparent from the outset, and steadfastly upheld all through the five works.

 

Tang’s violin tone was a voluminous one, easily filling the hall, even challenging the primacy of the piano. At the time of composition, Beethoven’s sonatas had given both instruments more or less equal billing, by being less piano-centred than before. This worked to the advantage of the music, as stresses and tensions were shared by both performers. For his part, pianist Buratto was no less than a most sympathetic and equally virtuosic collaborator.

 

The A major Sonata (Op.30 No.1) which opened the evening was all congeniality, with lyrical beauty shining through the first two movements before the finale’s smiling set of variations. This was starkly contrasted with the C minor Sonata’s (Op.30 No.2) turbulent upheavals, even bordering on violence. Loud and rude piano chords alternated with uncharacteristic daintiness, which made this work unsettling as it dug deep under one’s skin.

 

The G major Sonata (Op.30 No.3) is perhaps the best known of the three. Its sunny and light-hearted disposition was a balm for frazzled nerves, before a crisply articulated finale in fast tarantella rhythm closed the set on a exciting high.    

 

The Ninth Sonata in A major (Op.47), popularly known as the Kreutzer Sonata, is also Beethoven’s longest. The Magnum Opus of the genre opened with an exposed violin solo, one which Tang handled with much alacrity before plunging headlong into the gripping Allegro main section. Time stood still for variations that formed the central movement’s longeurs, leading into another tarantella finale, trickier and more thrilling than the last.

 

After the Kreutzer’s exertions, the Tenth Sonata (Op.96) in G major from Beethoven’s “Late Period” seemed almost apologetic by comparison. Mellow and unassuming for most part, it found a reading that probed spiritual realms with its show of equanamity. Even the leisurely finale had its share of humour by toying with listeners about when it was going to end.     

 

End it did, eliciting the loudest of applause at the close of the cycle. As if the sonatas were not enough work, the duo pleasured the appreciative audience after each session with violin transcriptions of lieder, including those by Schubert (Gretchen am Spinnrade), Richard Strauss (Morgen!) and Brahms (Wie Melodien zieht es mir). It was the first concert of the year, but had one just witnessed the year’s best concert?

All photographs by Clarence Aw, courtesy of Chamber Music & Arts Singapore.

BEETHOVEN TRILOGY 1: FANTASIA / See Siang Wong / Review

BEETHOVEN TRILOGY 1: FANTASIA

SEE SIANG WONG, Piano

with Wiener Singverein

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony / Leo Hussain

RCA Red Seal 19439800512 / TT: 61’02”

 

To commemorate the 250^th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Swiss-Chinese pianist See Siang Wong has released the first of three tributes focusing on the German composer’s lesser known piano music. Beethoven’s piano music can hardly be considered obscure these days, but Wong’s juxtaposition of the four works on this disc makes total sense. It is a celebration of the “fantasy form” or simply a free form unfettered by compositional constraints of the sonata form.  

 

This hour-long album opens ironically with the two Op.27 sonatas. Both carry the description Sonata quasi una fantasia, or “in the manner of a fantasy”. The better known is the so-called Moonlight Sonata (Op.27 No.2, in C sharp minor). Following the direction of senza sordino (without dampers), Wong steps on the sustaining pedal throughout the opening movement, creating the hazy, spectral and dream-like effect which publisher and poet Rellstab likened to “moonlight over Lake Lucerne”. The ferocity of its finale, performed with extreme vehemence by Wong, might have persuaded others to call it Sonata Romantique or Sonata Appassionata (thus predating Op.57).

 

The E flat major sonata (Op.27 No.1) has less fantastical elements but is unusual with its linked movements and marked mood transitions. A singular distinctive feature is the brief recollection of the slow movement’s theme near the end of the finale, a kind of reminiscence which Beethoven did not attempt in his earlier sonatas. He would do this again in the Op.110 sonata, and most famously included quotations of earlier movements in the Ode To Joy of the Ninth Symphony. Wong’s performance rightly brings out an aching sense of nostalgia.

 

Beethoven’s Fantasy Op.77 is without doubt his strangest piano piece, bringing the meaning of fantasy to nether reaches. Its apparent formlessness, elusive tonality and almost schizophrenic shifts (flights of fantasy being a most apt description) are never more apparent. The glissando-like descending scale at its outset, which punctuates the work, is unusual and unprecedented, later spoofed by Shostakovich in his First Piano Concerto. The banal melody which receives an equally banal short set of variations is also Rossinian in its sheer kookiness. Was this supposed to be a serious work or ein musikalische spass (a musical joke)? Wong milks it for what it is worth, with tongue lodged firmly in cheek.   

 

That ushers in the Choral Fantasy Op.80, another curious experiment but one that has become hugely popular. The piano plays unaccompanied for a long stretch, like an improvisation or a cadenza to some piano concerto, before orchestral strings surreptitiously joining in more than three minutes later. The chorus sings only in the work’s final four minutes. The main theme is a close first cousin to the Ode To Joy, often regarded as preparatory work for the Ninth Symphony’s finale. Now that would become Beethoven’s ultimate fantasy. Wong and the Austrian orchestral and choral forces give a masterly performance that lacks nothing in passion and fervour, comparable to some of the best on record (one thinks of Barenboim, Brendel, Kissin and Pollini).

 

Aided by an excellent interview article, Wong’s advocacy works wonders and this programme is a whole-heartedly recommended enterprise.

 

CD Review (The Straits Times, June 2017)

BEETHOVEN Symphonies Vol.2

Symphonies Nos.5-8

Copenhagen Phil / LAN SHUI

Orchid Classics 100059 (2 CDs) / *****

Ever wondered what a Beethoven symphony cycle from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra might sound like on compact disc? 

In a crowded world of recorded Beethoven symphonies, SSO Music Director Lan Shui's vision with his Danish orchestra, the Copenhagen Phil (he was Chief Conductor from 2007-2015), stands out. Its spirit of freshness and vitality most resembles that of the 1990s ground-breaking cycle from his mentor David Zinman and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra (initially released on Arte Nova, but now reissued on Sony Classical).

The timings of the symphonies on both cycles are very similar, although Shui's very brisk view of the popular Fifth Symphony clocks in at just over 30 minutes. This and his account of the Seventh Symphony may be said to be breathtaking at near supersonic speeds. 

Arguably even better is the Sixth Symphony or “Pastoral Symphony”, where finer details come to the fore, notably in the serene Scene At The Brook and a most gripping Storm movement. The Eighth Symphony, with its four movements of clockwork precision pacing, comes across as brilliant rather than hectic or forced. Highly recommended.     

THE COMPLETE BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES (II) / The Philharmonic Orchestra / Review

THE COMPLETE 
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES (II)

The Philharmonic Orchestra

Esplanade Recital Studio

Wednesday (14 June 2017)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 16 June 2017 with the title "Satisfying rendition of Beethoven by home-grown orchestra".

Can one actually tire of Beethoven's symphonies? In a word, no. Good performances of his nine symphonies offer an inexhaustible source of inspiration and new insights. So soon after the all-Beethoven concert by the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, The Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO) led by Lim Yau held its own in the second of five concerts commemorating its 15^th anniversary.

It must not be forgotten that TPO was the first local orchestra to perform the complete Beethoven symphony cycle in Esplanade, way back in 2003. The orchestra, filled with mostly young musicians, is an even better ensemble than it was before. One factor remains constant: the tireless mind and steadfast hands of conductor Lim Yau.

In performing Jonathan del Mar's edition of the symphonies, he keeps in touch with the latest Beethoven performing traditions. There is no portentousness for its own sake, but the brimming vitality and unquenchable passion that the iconoclastic German brought to his music.

Just the declamatory opening chords of the Second and Third Symphonies served as statements of intent, both delivered with an unanimity of purpose. That this was going to be an absorbing evening was never in doubt, as the Haydnesque Second Symphony in D major (1802) was presented with lightness and vigour.

After a well-paced slow introduction, the main meat of the 1^st movement was projected with energy and virility, contrasted with the more rustic slow movement and final two fast movements. If only latecomers had not dawdled but settled to their seats in a more decisive manner, that continuous spell would not have been disrupted. Keeping the orchestra, conductor, audience and Beethoven waiting was the height of disrespect.

Even better was the orchestra's performance of the Third Symphony in E flat major (1804), also known as the “Eroica”. The punched-out chords that ushered in its 1^st movement were followed by a succession of similar defiant gestures and clenched fists which informed Beethoven's tribute to the memory of a hero (originally Napoleon Bonaparte, but later angrily withdrawn), hence its nickname.

The development to a climax of angst-filled dissonance was a thrilling one. The slow movement's Funeral March was imbued with genuine gravitas, its weighty procession made more poignant with oboist Veda Lin's significant solos. Past its climax, the listener was made sure not to miss the famous four-note Fate motif, uttered by the French horns, that would later famously surface in Fifth Symphony. One should not be too surprised since this movement was also in C minor. 

This continued without a break into a breakneck Scherzo, where the French horn trio of Christopher Shen, Lewis Chong and Luke Lim acquitted themselves well. The finale, a set of variations on a dance from Beethoven's ballet The Creatures Of Prometheus, romped joyously to its final conclusion.

That this concert by a local semi-professional outfit could generate as much enjoyment and satisfaction as last week's Orchestre des Champs-Élysées was an indication how things have progressed.

CD Review (The Straits Times, May 2017)

THE CHAMBER VERSIONS

CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.1        

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.4

SEE SIANG WONG, Piano

Gemeaux Quartet et al

RCA Red Seal 88875061442 / ****1/2

There are different ways of listening to piano concertos, either regarding them as orchestral works with virtuoso piano parts integrated within the formal architecture, or as chamber music with solo pianist in the driving seat. This interesting new recording by Dutch-Chinese pianist See Siang Wong seeks the latter viewpoint, with two popular piano concertos sounding like new works in the process.

Richard Hofmann's transcription of Chopin's First Piano Concerto does not significantly alter the solo piano part. However there are surprises when the piano is heard with the string quintet (two violins, viola, cello and double bass) in the tutti sections.

Wong and his chamber partners play a radically different version of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto which combines Vinzenz Lachner's string reduction of the orchestra with a little-known piano score edited by violinist Franz Possinger, which was first performed at a private concert in 1807. The piano part sounds more improvisatory and virtuosic than the published version that listeners know today.     

The performances here are highly idiomatic and sympathetic, and even if they provide a mild shock to the senses, the departure to parts less trodden is well-worth the time.

BEETHOVEN HEROIC YEARS / Tang Tee Khoon Grand Series / Review

BEETHOVEN HEROIC YEARS

Tang Tee Khoon Grand Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (28 May 2017)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 May 2017 with the title "Beethoven in an informal and intimate setting".

Singaporean violinist Tang Tee Khoon is a one-woman chamber music festival. The series of  concerts which bear her name has reached its 10^th edition, its curatorship distinguished by astute thematic programming and the involvement of classy international soloists.

This year's first programme was headlined by Beethoven, highlighting his later “Middle period” compositions marking a maturity definitively influenced by his deafness. There were two parts to the programme. The first was an hour-long “Sharing Recital”, where about 75 listeners crammed the stage of Victoria Concert Hall to hear Italian pianist Luca Buratto and Taiwan-born violist Huang Hsin-Yun speak and perform.

The Sharing Recital in progress, as
Tang Tee Khoon (extreme right) looks on.

The session was informal and intimate, opening with the fiery Appassionata Sonata from Buratto's capable hands. It closed with the viola version of the D major Cello Sonata (Op.102 No.2), which was relative brief and finished with a fugue. Huang's viola had a deep sonorous tone but sometimes got submerged by the piano.

Beethoven, Ligeti, and Beatles, why not?

In between, both musicians mused about 20^th century Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti's free-spirited nature as a parallel to Beethoven's own trail-blazing streak. Huang played a movement of Ligeti's Viola Sonata, using natural rather than tempered scales for an earthy folk-inflected sound. Buratto delivered the complete Book 3 of Ligeti's finger-twisting Etudes with unnerving ease.

The Evening Concert showcased three great Beethoven works dating from 1810 to 1811, performed in order of publication. The String Quartet in F minor (Op.95), carrying the title “Serioso”, was an epitome of clarity and tautness. The parts of Kim Min-Young (1^st violin), Tang (2^nd violin), Huang (viola) and Adrian Brendel (cello) were clearly discerned whether in the unison, as in the arresting opening, or in the counterpoint of the slow movement's fugue.

Instrumental balance was excellent as was interplay, and this spirit prevailed in the urgent and moody Scherzo before relaxing in the Finale, where the fast-flowing narrative gave way to outright jollity in the comedic buffo-like coda, something which Mozart was also wont to do.

Tang was joined by Buratto in Beethoven's tenth and last Violin Sonata in G major (Op.96). Contrasted with the tension-laden string quartet, the sonata was more congenial with its four movements radiating mostly sunshine. The mood was maintained through Tang's lively interpretation and Buratto's crisply minted fingerwork, culminating in the finale's playful set of variations.

Duo became trio when Brendel joined in for the great “Archduke” Piano Trio in B flat major (Op.97), named after Beethoven's patron Archduke Rudolf of the Habsburg dynasty. This was a performance of nobility, the broad 1^st movement theme striding aristocratically with Brendel's generous cello tone being a key factor.

There were pizzicatos and smiles in the Scherzo, where lightness reigned before a hymn-like theme introduced by piano was subjected to sublime variations in the 3^rd movement. Within a bar's notice, the reverie turned into the Hungarian-flavoured finale, the infectious humour of which brought the evening's fare to a satisfying close.