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

 

RENCONTRE MUSICALE 2025

Chua Lik Wuk (Violin), 

Selena Lai (Oboe) & 

Goh Aik Guan (Piano)

SOTA Concert Hall

Saturday 15 November 2025

Rencontre 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.

Henry Thia gave the trio
a standing ovation.

Below are post-concert photos of reunions of old friends and classmates. See how many people you can recognise!

The Catholic High School reunion:
with Goh Tiow Hua & Andrew Soh

Selena and Oeij Hui Chuan
were fellow music students at RJC.
You see, music keeps you young.

Lik Wuk & masked composer Tan Chan Boon
were violinists in the Singapore Youth Orchestra.

Everybody remembers Aik Guan fondly.

Watch the Japanese leg of 

Rencontre Musicale 2025 here:

J.S.BACH-GOUNOD Ave Maria

(arr. A.G.Goh)

J.S.BACH Concerto for violin & oboe 

in D minor, BWV.1060

BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata 

in A minor, Op.23

MOZART Sonata in E minor, K.304

GRIEG Violin Sonata No.3 

in C minor, Op.36

J.S.BACH Air on G string
(Arr. A.G.Goh)

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2017 / Ensemble de la Belle Musique / Review

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2017

Ensemble de la Belle Musique

Esplanade Recital Studio

Monday (18 December 2017)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 20 December 2017 with the title "Ensemble's debut is a sugar plum fairy party".

Imagine going to a buffet and heading straight for the desserts to face an array of pastries, cakes, puddings, jellies, ice-creams and a chocolate fountain. Ensemble de la Belle Musique's (EBM) inaugural concert was the musical equivalent of a sugar plum fairy orgy, made more apparent by its Christmas theme.

The philosophy of EBM – founded by twin-pianists/composers Low Shao Ying and Shao Suan and Emmy-nominated composer Joseph Curiale - was to promote and perform only tonal and aurally beautiful compositions. Consciously rejecting atonalism, serialism, avant-gardeism, the idea was to present music players love to perform and audiences want to hear.

There was none of the bland soppiness associated with André Rieu, Richard Clayderman and their ilk. There was also no need for listeners to swallow an entire cheesecake whole as the pieces were short and palatable, each lasting from three to eight minutes. The ensemble comprising 22 musicians led by conductor Leonard Tan premiered 11 works by 11 composers from Singapore, Australia, United States of America, Denmark and Spain.  

There were two commissioned works, Dane Martin Åkerwall's The Snow Queen and Spaniard Ricardo Molla's Dulcinea. The former conjured a soundscape redolent of fairy-tale film music in two movements, while the latter played up contrasts in Chua Lik Wuk's violin and Eddie Sim's cello, its title highlighting the knight Don Quixote's unattainable dream.

The Australian Daxter Yeo had two works performed, Belle Reveries being a slow waltz for piano and strings while La Vie Est Belle unfolded sumptuously like a Mahlerian slow movement, a crescendo building up to a big climax before receding to quietness. Here is a composer who deserves to be heard again.

Fellow Australian Paul Kopetz's Island Christmas Dawn had Jonathan Lim's soprano saxophone rising to accompanying strings like a nascent sun, while American Michael Winstanley's The Ice Palace Waltz was an upbeat number more in common with waltzes from Shostakovich's Jazz Suites than Johann Strauss. American Kari Medina's Christmas Reveries shifted from moody minor to cheery major keys, closing with an effusive expression of warmth and happiness.

What about the five Singaporean composers represented? Yvonne Teo's Christmas Waltz opened with a “Once upon a time” introduction before a wistful and casually-paced three-quarter rhythm ensued. Germaine Goh's Christmas in June generated a feeling of mystique, but instead of snow there was sunshine, unleashed by the brass – Dixie De Souza's French horn, Kenneth Lun's trumpet and David Wong's trombone - for a big melody at its close.

Twin sisters Evelyn and Frances Goh's Please Think Of Me This Christmas (arranged by Jason Shahul) resonated like a K-Pop ballad before ending in totally agreeable C major. One suspects the final work, Around The World In One Night by Jon Tho, will be played the most. This was a jazzy big band romp alluding to popular Christmas songs in a most irrepressible of Santa sleigh-rides. There can be no better call to bring out the bubbly.

The star-studded ensemble included former SSO violinists
Yew Shan and Chua Lik Wuk, and the
twin sister-act of Low Shao Ying & Shao Suan.

Young composer Jon Tho speaks while
the Goh sisters look on.

CHUA LIK WUK & LIM YAN in Recital: Review

CHUA LIK WUK & LIM YAN IN RECITAL
Esplanade Recital Studio
Sunday (30 August 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 1 September 2009.

If a concert-goer were to pick only one chamber concert to attend within the duration of a year, this would be the one to choose. Like sightings of Halley’s Comet, performances by former Singapore Symphony Orchestra violinist Chua Lik Wuk are all too rare. However his once-a-year appearance with fellow Young Artist Award recipient pianist Lim Yan in recital is well worth waiting for.

Their journey through the world of violin sonatas will hopefully be one blessed with longevity, as this evening’s varied offerings was yet another supreme testament to their collaboration.

Beethoven’s early E flat major Sonata (Op.12 No.3) has a very busy piano part, one that Lim handled with utmost accuracy and sensitivity. With Chua’s 1711 Stradivarius entering the fray, the result was a potent mix, fuelling some vital life force that kept both musicians on edge from start to finish. Fine control and purity of sound defined the molto espressivo slow movement, with the Rondo’s hunt-like romp juggling between indulging in playfulness and reveling in intricate counterpoint.

The duo treading a tightrope through Ravel’s G major Sonata provided a different vista of their virtuosity. The blend of seemingly incompatible lines in the first movement was delicately handled, while the Blues movement delighted in its banjo effects, with pizzicati and portamenti aplenty. The final Perpetual Motion raced unapologetically with sparks flying and bowstrings fraying.

Effulgent romanticism was the key to Richard Strauss’ early Sonata in E flat major (Op.18) but the duo’s approach was more subtle than most would have expected. Instead of smothering with kisses of radiant sunshine, theirs was the view that illumination also casts its fair share of shadows. Passionate love was not to be worn heart-on-sleeve, instead insinuated or suggested.

The perfumed lyricism of the slow movement was song-like and soulful, the only concession for sentimentality. Heroic fanfares issued through dark chords in the Finale, and here it was no-holds-barred to the victorious end. The expression of desperate determination etched on Chua’s furrowed brow balanced by Lim’s leisurely but totally composed countenance made for a study of contrasts, but also a legendary partnership in the making.

Chua Lik Wuk & Lim Yan / Violin & Piano Recital: Review

VIOLIN & PIANO RECITAL

CHUA LIK WUK, Violin

LIM YAN, Piano

Esplanade Recital Studio Thursday (4 September 2008)

This review first appeared in The Straits Times on 8 September 2008.

It is the opinion of this listener that former Singapore Symphony Orchestra first violinist Chua Lik Wuk does not perform enough in public. Over 250 others also felt the same as they packed Esplanade's Recital Studio to witness his annual recital with pianist Lim Yan. The duo, both winners of National Arts Council's Young Artist Award, further cemented their highly successful collaboration with yet another blistering showing.

Chua is without doubt still among Singapore's finest violinists, one who combines a gorgeous string tone, stupendous technical control and an instinctual feel for all music he engages in. The varied smorgasbord presented in the demanding programme brought out every vista of his technique, beginning with plain-speaking Mozart's Sonata in C major (K.303) and then plumbing the depths of Prokofiev's Sonata No.l in F minor (Op.80).

The latter is one of the 20th century's greatest utterances in the genre, a dark introspective masterpiece that traverses multiple shades of grey, while indulging in vitriol and bitter ironies. Chua's evocation of "wind in the graveyard" in the outer movements was positively eerie, only matched by Lim's unfailing and ever steady partnership.

Hushed tones in the 3rd movement suggested that Prokofiev was a melodist equal to Rachmaninov, while the fraying of bow hairs in the rambunctious finale was proof that the hair-pulling intensity generated was for real.

The second half was even better, with Beethoven's Sonata in G major (Op.30 No.3) brimming with brio. Like Mozart, Beethoven designated his violin sonatas as sonatas for piano with violin, but there was no evidence of the pianist getting the upper hand as both performers blended seamlessly through its three movements. The slow movement's Tempo di Menuetto floated with grace and nobility.

Gabriel Faure's Sonata No.l in A major gave further opportunities for both musicians to soar, and Lim's fulsome opening solo set the tone for a performance that bristled with Romantic sweep and ardour. By now, raw passion was in full flow, coursing through without reserve the inward-speaking Andante, the playful game of tag that was its scherzo, and the valedictory finale.

There was no need for an encore, as the two hours of joyous music making had left little more to be desired.