SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION 2026: GRAND FINALS / Review

 

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL 

VIOLIN COMPETITION 2026

GRAND FINALS

Esplanade Concert Hall

Saturday (7 February 2026)

This review was published by The Straits Times on 10 February 2026 with the title "Ukraine's Georgii Moroz wins Singapore International Violin Competition 2026".

The Grand Finals of the Singapore International Violin Competition (SIVC) 2026 was a culmination of two weeks of intense violin virtuosity. Arguably the best final concert in four editions, three 20th century violin concertos were performed in partnership with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joshua Tan.

Organised by Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and judged by an international panel of ten violin pedagogues and performing artists, it was fortuitous that two of three grand finalists were either past or present students of the Conservatory. One can only conclude that good teaching here is a catalyst for great artistry and superior results.

Zou Meng (China), presently residing here, performed Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor (Op.47, from 1904-05), literally a re-run of his triumph at the 2023 National Piano & Violin Competition. If anything, he has progressed. 

Sculpting a robust and gritty tone for this granite-hard score, intonation was never an issue. A wider palette of colours enabled him to generate warmth in the central slow movement and later focus with laser-intensity in the thrilling and rhythmic finale.

Georgii Moroz (Ukraine), who graduated here in 2023 and now based in Berlin, upped the ante several notches for Bela Bartok’s Violin Concerto No.2 (1937-38). Influenced by Hungarian folk music, Moroz had the full measure of its lusty and gutteral voice. Also completely natural with its dissonant idiom, he mastered and overcame the accompaniment’s thorny textures with aplomb.

Photo: Jellal Koay

In the slow movement’s theme and variations, Moroz conjured a sense of fantasy and mystery despite its elusiveness. Nothing was ever routine, and in the rambunctious finale, he raced away with orchestra in tandem and never glanced back.

Michael Germer (Denmark) looked to dominate in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No.1 (Op.99, 1947-48), now a staple of competitions worldwide but like the Bartok, heard for the first time here. Its very wide dynamic range suited Germer to a tee, brooding in bitterness for the opening Nocturne, and then furiously duelling with the winds in the Scherzo.

Photo: Jellal Koay

The third movement’s Passacaglia was a tour de force of building an arch-like edifice before climaxing in a cruelly-taxing cadenza. The Klezmer-influenced finale was a wild race to the edge of a precipice, with neither soloist nor orchestra yielding a step till its brilliant and breathless close. Cue an outburst of applause.

Fine margins separated Moroz and Germer, who were awarded first and second respectively, a fair decision, with Zou bagging third place. Fourth, fifth and sixth places were awarded to Karisa Chiu (USA), SongHa Choi (South Korea) and Qingshu Weng (China). The special prizes, for performances of J.S.Bach, Eugene Ysaye, chamber music, violin and piano recital and the commissioned set piece, David Loke’s Soliloquy, were shared by the top three.

Michael Germer and Georgii Moroz
find out their fates.

This might have been the most impressive finale in the competition’s short 12-year history but a question hangs over the SIVC’s future. Will it survive in this form? Only time will tell.

MOZART'S THE MAGIC FLUTE / Singapore Lyric Opera / Review

 

MOZART’S THE MAGIC FLUTE

Singapore Lyric Opera

Saturday (20 December 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 December 2025 with the title "Well-rounded cast shines in SLO's The Magic Flute".

Singapore Lyric Opera’s pre-Christmas production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute seemed awfully late in the year but it was worth the wait. Incidentally, it was with this opera that SLO, then known as Singapore Lyric Theatre, made its 1991 debut at the now-repurposed Kallang Theatre in a semi-staged production.

In the latest iteration, British stage director Harry Fehr opted for an update to the near present, with an ageing Brotherhood needing fresh blood in the form of the opera’s hero Tamino. This did little to disguise the whole enterprise as Freemasonry in all but name.

Emanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812), the German actor-playwright / librettist and original Papageno who commissioned the opera, and Mozart were freemasons themselves. The opera with its story of chivalry, bravery and rituals, and music of solemnity and pageantry, was a celebration of the secretive cult, then outlawed by the Habsburgs.

The set and lighting design by Dorothy Png, costume design by Gianti Giadi favoured mostly black and white with very little shades in between. The industrial-looking set, while austere and forbidding, deftly separated the cast as “upstairs and downstairs”, a dichotomy between powers-that-be and those whom they look down upon as they seek to manipulate and control.

Photo: Singapore Lyric Opera

While no outright Masonic symbols were visible, the symbolism provided by the clearly-displayed gears and cogs of machinery was obvious. The gulf between the men and women, attired in business suits and housemaid costumes, was as stark as the divides between authority and servility, senility (evident by an inordinate number of walking canes) and youth, good and evil, all evident in this clever production.

Tamino, Papageno
with the Three Ladies.
Photo: Singapore Lyric Opera

What about the singing and acting? Tamino played by Peruvian tenor Oscar Ruben Alarcon Ore was fresh and youthful, but the show was stolen by Korean soprano Renata Hann’s Pamina, who stood tallest as a paradigm of virtue and innocence. The comic relief was provided by Korean baritone Edward Kim as the bumbling bird-catcher Papageno, much later joined by British soprano Kezia Robson’s Papagena as his longed for partner.

Papageno & Papagena
Photo: Singapore Lyric Opera

Joyce Lee Tung's Queen was scary!
Photo: Singapore Lyric Opera

The Queen of the Night’s imperious coloratura was helmed by local soprano Joyce Lee Tung, who never disappointed in her portrayal of villainy opposite her geriatric nemesis Sarastro, ably sung by Austrian baritone Benedikt Berndonner. The smarmy Monostatos (Kee Chun Kiat) and the conniving Three Ladies (Cherie Tse, Lin Renyue and Rebecca Chellappah) completed the well-assembled main cast.

The story-telling took the form of singing in German and conversation in English, all made easier with effective surtitling in both English and Chinese. The SLO Chorus (Terrence Toh, chorusmaster) was its usually buzzing self, always aware and alive to the action. All this would come to nought if not for Mozart’s sparkling and life-affirming music, composed within his final year, performed with love and attention by the SLO Orchestra conducted by Joshua Tan.

This has been an extraordinarily productive year for SLO, with this and April’s very successful take on Bizet’s Carmen. Puccini’s Madama Butterfly has been projected for July next year. All eyes and ears point to a revitalised SLO to come.

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.

DISNEY FANTASIA IN CONCERT / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

 

DISNEY FANTASIA IN CONCERT

LIVE TO FILM

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Thursday (7 August 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 August 2025 with the title "SSO and Disney's Fantasia make a great introduction to classical music". 

Ever since movies incorporated the new dimension of sound, it did not take long for Walt Disney to dream up the ultimate marriage of animated films with classical music. Fantasia (1940) was the result, in his famous collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. 

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s pops concert, led by Joshua Tan, united favourite segments from the original movie and its sequel Fantasia 2000, including new animations and musical selections.

The first movement from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony opened the two-hour concert, accompanied by geometric patterns of the letter V taking the form of butterflies. This abstract interpretation was contrasted with the more earthy programme of Greek mythological creatures frolicking to the final three movements from his Sixth Symphony, the “Pastoral”. Its Merry Gathering of Peasants, Thunderstorm and Cheerful and Thankful Feelings After The Storm were a breezy and enjoyable romp.

Following that were six popular dances from Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker. What may have appeared amusing to American audiences in the 1940s, its Chinese Dance, with kowtowing red mushrooms with gill slits as eyes, now comes across as a crass racial stereotype.

The famous film of dinosaurs battling extinction to Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring was not included. However excerpts from the Russian’s The Firebird covered a similar theme, with the Khorovod (Round Dance), Infernal Dance of King Kashchei, Berceuse (Lullaby) and Finale symbolising Mother Earth’s regeneration following volcanic destruction.

After Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune (Moonlight) in Stokowski’s gorgeous orchestration, the second half of the concert came across as more comedic. Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda may not be often heard these days, but there was no forgetting surreal scenes of ostriches wearing bows, elephants blowing bubbles, hippopotami in tutus and prancing alligators in its delightful choreography.

Common to both movies was Disney’s singular feat of animation genius, Mickey Mouse’s iconic appearance in Paul Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Here, Liu Chang’s solo bassoon did the honours in portraying the broomstick drawing water from the well and causing an almighty deluge. The orchestra’s timing in this timeless classic was spot on.

Speaking of floods, a mash-up from three of Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Marches formed the basis of Donald and Daisy Duck’s biblical act of herding all the planets’ animals into Noah’s Ark. Amid this chaos, there was even time for a touching romance.

Closing the concert must have been the most surprising and imaginative animation of all, Ottorino Respighi’s The Pines of Rome accompanying a family of gravity-defying humpback whales caught in a sea of icebergs. A welcome encore took the form of the rollicking finale from Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals, with a flock of pink flamingos getting tied up in a yo-yo.

Sometimes fantasy gets the better of reality, which is why Disney’s Fantasia may just be the perfect introduction to classical music for the young and young at heart.