3rd Singapore Flute Festival / Denis Bouriakov Flute Recital

Looks like this is the weekend for flute concerts. The 3rd Singapore Flute Festival, organised by the Flute Studio and Goh Tiong Eng, was taking place at the School of the Arts. Meanwhile, local talent Jed Huang was also giving his debut solo recital at the Esplanade Recital Studio, in a totally unrelated event. Although I was not reviewing concerts in this year's Flute Festival (that honour goes to Professor Geoffrey Benjamin, who is a flautist himself), it was still a great experience to hear great flute music beautifully played,

The main draw and keynote speaker for this year's Flute Festival is the Russian-born Denis Bouriakov, now the Principal Flautist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He performed a solo recital on Friday evening (24 August 2012) and will be a soloist with the Flute Festival Orchestra on Sunday (26 August). I was not disappointed, as he is truly one of the great flautists in the world today. His beautiful tone is allied with an effortless virtuosity that is usually associated with violinists rather than wind players.    

The concert began with Bach's Double Concerto in D minor (BWV.1043), originally for two violins. Here Denis Bouriakov is joined by his Korean wife Erin. This version for two flutes sounds perfectly natural and idiomatic.

The concert also included Villa-Lobos's Jet Whistle and Demesseman's Oberon Fantasy.  

The second half began with Debussy's Prelude a l'apres midi dun faune, with its famous sinuous opening flute solo. This was followed by the concert's tour de force, Saint-Saëns's Third Violin Concerto in its flute version. I dare say the slow movement sounds even better for the flute. Pianist Aya Sakou was also pushed to the limit, but this made for an unforgettable show of flute and piano fireworks.

Well-deserved applause and cheers for Denis Bouriakov and Aya Sakou. By the way, did you know Bouriakov also recorded Sibelius's Violin Concerto for the flute?

WILLIAM BENNETT Gala Concert / 2nd Flute Festival Singapore 2011 / Review

WILLIAM BENNETT GALA CONCERT
2nd Flute Festival Singapore 2011
The Chamber, The Arts House
Saturday (13 August 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 15 August 2011 with the title "Seamless songs from the heart".

An indication of how the music scene in Singapore has progressed may be measured by the number of instrumental festivals that have sprouted on the landscape. The Flute Festival Singapore 2011 is the fifth this reviewer has had the pleasure of attending this year, following those showcasing chamber music, the guitar, piano and saxophone.

The centrepiece of the flute platform was a concert by renowned British flautist William Bennett, who has a long and distinguished career as soloist and player in groups like the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Symphony and English Chamber Orchestras. He was partnered by local string players, mostly from the SSO.

The opening work saw Bennett joined by festival director and former student Goh Tiong Eng in Telemann’s Concerto in B flat major for two flutes. Written as an entertainment, the duo revelled in its delightful interplay and counterpoint, breezing through alternating slow and fast movements to a lively conclusion.

Bennett’s youthful way with the flute, his creamy rounded tone and mercurial reflexes belied an artist well into his seventies. There were never less than total commitment and dedication to his craft, especially in an extended work such as C.P.E.Bach’s Concerto in D major, originally conceived as a keyboard concerto.

Its three movements were that of a conventional classical concerto, complete with orchestral tutti, aria-like slow movement and a nimble finale capped with a cadenza. Bennett made it sound like a masterpiece, in the manner of the better-known Mozart concertos.

The most familiar works on the evening were both by Mozart, his Flute Quartets in D major (K.285) and C major (K.285b), composed for a surgeon in the Dutch East India Company. Although Mozart was known to have disliked the flute, there was neither lack of invention nor inspiration in these creations.

The central movement of the former saw pizzicato strings accompany Bennett’s seamless song from the heart, a short but ingenious diversion. For the second movement of the latter, a minuet-like dance was subject to a marvellous set of variations, each more florid than the last. The quartet of musicians on stage was clearly enjoying themselves, with the camaraderie palpable.

There were no encores for an enthused audience, but the enjoyable fare had more than satisfied the senses.

Flute Festival Singapore 2009 / Review

FLUTE FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2009
Competition Final
Young Musicans’ Society Auditorium
Sunday (14 June 2009)

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 16 June 2009.

Given the frenetic activities of the Singapore Arts Festival, one could be forgiven for missing out on Singapore’s first ever Flute Festival, organised by former SSO flautist and National Music Competition winner Goh Tiong Eng. The 4-day long event of concerts, masterclasses and demonstrations culminated with the Finals of a flute competition that featured local talents and those as far flung as Korea, Russia and South Africa.

There were six finalists each in both Junior (18 years and below) and Open (above 18) Categories and the standard of performance was uniformly high, comparable with the best at the National Piano and Violin Competitions. Only in such an event will one get to enjoy French organ virtuoso Charles-Marie Widor’s Flute Sonata in its entirety, its four movements shared by 12-year-old Hongkonger Jasmine Ng and 30-year-old South African Scott Douglas Walter.

The former was merely the second youngest performer, trumped by the nonchalant but fearless 6-year-old Korean Nikolai Song (below), who charmed his way into 2nd prize with two delightful pieces on the piccolo, Spanish Dance of Mercedes and Journey to the Sky. His innocence and confidence was simply infectious. The 3rd and 1st prizes were awarded to two Singaporeans, 18-year-old Tay Yun Song and 16-year-old Daniel Lim, with movements from sonatas by Poulenc and Hindemith respectively. The Young Artist Award fell to the graceful 13-year-old Russian Liya Vergazova who impressed in pieces by Kuhlau and Monti.

6-year-old Nikolai Song with his accompanist

and jury member Karin Undritz (seated).

The age-gap did little to separate participants in the Open Category, where 20-year-old Singaporean Huang Jia Jia netted the top prize of $2000 with a highly self-assured account of the first two movements from Mozart’s Flute Concerto No.2. His limpid and pearly tone sealed a cultured mastery of the music, which included an impeccably crafted cadenza. 19-year-old Singaporean Jeremy Lim displayed virtuosity and nuance in Theobald Boehm’s showpiece Grand Polonaise, which garnered a well-deserved 2nd prize.

The foreign entrants were led by 3rd place Walter, whose intensely musical performances were matched by those from Jakkrit Maliwan (Thailand) and Leung Yuk Man (Hong Kong); their readings of Prokofiev and Reinecke also remained long in the memory. Witnessed by a small but highly enthusiastic audience, the Flute Festival – which runs again in September next year – surely deserves a higher profile and bigger stage.

Finalists of the Open Category 

with jury member Anders Norell.