DUO SENSES: HARP & PIANO / Laura Peh & Azariah Tan / Review

DUO SENSES: HARP & PIANO

LAURA PEH Harp Recital

AZARIAH TAN Piano Recital

Esplanade Recital Studio

Friday & Saturday 

(29 & 30 November 2019) 

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 December 2019 with the title "Home-grown talents shine in harp and piano recitals". 

Kris Foundation has been presenting young Singaporean musical talents in recitals over the last decade, and this year’s two soloists were distinctive in different ways. In 2013, Laura Peh was established as the first Singaporean to perform a solo harp recital, while Azariah Tan became Singapore’s first hearing-impaired concert pianist.

Peh’s recital was a showcase of mostly French virtuoso pieces representing the “Golden Age of the Harp”. Opening with the etude-like Au matin (In The Morning) by Marcel Tournier, its sunlit pages radiated a warm glow and ethereal aura. Her art was the pursuit of gentle scintillation, with the 1^st movement from same composer’s Sonatine sounding just as persuasive, a heady reminder of the Belle Epoque.

Harp-fanciers will also recognise the names of Gabriel Pierne, Felix Godefroid and Elias Parish-Alvars, the latter two being hailed as the Paganini and Liszt of the harp. Despite being finger-twisters, their pieces also evoked the lyricism of bel canto and Chopin. Scarlatti’s Sonata in B minor and Debussy’s Clair de lune (from Suite Bergamasque) were originally conceived for the harpsichord and piano respectively, but these translated well on the harp too.

Artist & Composer:

Laura Peh with Lim Kang Ning

Also significant was the world premiere of young Singaporean composer Lim Kang Ning’s Cornish Tides, evocative and impressionist picture postcards of the wind-swept Cornwall landscape. The first movement was redolent of Debussy, with whole-tones sprinkled liberally, while the second was a whimsical scherzo which playfully involved rhythmic tapping of the harp’s wooden frame.

Pianist Azariah Tan’s programme comprised just two works, Beethoven’s Sonata No.30 in E major (Op.109) coupled with Johann Sebastian Bach’s mighty Goldberg Variations. This tandem worked a treat because of related thematic material, which Tan eloquently explained and demonstrated pre-performance.

Both works were regarded as spiritual journeys, with their requisite ups and downs. Opening quietly and closing in serenity, there was to be much activity and angst encompassed in between. The late Beethoven sonata received a supremely musical reading, culminating in the final movement’s set of variations on a hymn-like theme.

The descending bass notes to an aria was the subject of Bach’s fantastic variations, which comprised 30 in total but laid out as ten groups of three. As Tan explained, every three variations included a dance, a technically demanding study and a canon. His performance was highly assured and clear-headed as his preamble, and shorn of idiosyncracy or stylistic quirks.

As he chose to omit all repeats, the work clocked in just under 45 minutes, in effect a breeze. When the closing Aria breathed its last, a journey of transformation was complete. For most, that would  have been total satisfaction in itself, but Tan shared two lovely encores. A Chopin Prélude (Op.28 No.17) and an unpublished song by late Canadian pianist Vernon Duncombe were the extra treats.

Artist & Benefactor:

Azariah Tan with Kris Tan,

Founder of Kris Foundation.

Some Photographs from MUSIC AND MAKAN: WHAT LIES BEYOND

MUSIC & MAKAN:

WHAT LIES BEYOND

The Culture Story,

Thye Hong Centre

Saturday (2 December 2017)

The most recent Music & Makan was held not at home but at an art gallery. This was the first time its founder Beverly Hiong ventured outside of her family home, to host a M&M session at The Culture Story, a gallery space located in Thye Hong Centre, near Redhill. 

On this occasion, the participating artists were to craft their works in a collaborative spirit with the art pieces on display, and the results were revelatory. The choice of inviting a soprano, harpist and sonic alchemist was an interesting one, which produced a somewhat unusual concert - with two of the world's oldest instruments (voice and plucked strings) juxtaposed with electronic manipulation of sounds. This with the modern art in the background conjured a sense of the surreal.

There was wine, desserts and sweetmeats, and the socialising that have made Music & Makan enjoyable and hopefully enduring encounters.    

An audience gathers before the session begins

Soprano Ng Jingyun surprised everyone by making
a sudden appearance with
Georges Aperghis' Recitations 11,
which combines speech,song and melodrama. 

Jingyun and harpist Laura Peh performed
melodies by Debussy and Fauré

On her own, Laura performed
Alphonse Hasselman's La Source.

The tools of sonic alchemist Mervin Wong
included his viola and a laptop with
fancy programmes that generate and morph music.

The audience was entranced by Mervin's creations,
including Reveries, Ab Aeterno, Aphelion and
Enter The Void which were "composed" in
response to various artworks.

The performers take a bow after the hour-long concert.

Music & Makan founder Beverly Hiong
addresses the audience.

With the music completed,
here's the makan segment!

Music celebrities like SSO Principal Cellist Ng Pei Sian
also attended, seen here with his friend Michelle and Beverly.

The audience mingling after the concert.

LAURA PEH & CATRIN FINCH / Harp Recitals / Review

SECRETS OF THE MAGIC AVIARY

LAURA PEH, Harp Recital

Play Den, The Arts House

QUEEN OF HARPS

CATRIN FINCH, Harp Recital

University Cultural Centre Theatre

Sunday (6 September 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 September 2015

It was an uncanny happenstance that a promising young Singaporean harpist and one of the world's most renowned harpists held their recitals on the same day of the year. Thankfully, several hours separated the events and one was just able to attend the first in completion and then make it on time to enjoy the second.  

Laura Peh recently graduated from London's Royal College of Music, and her recital was to involve several other young Singaporean artists. Dancers Hoi Siu Yan and Khoo Hong Kei shared the stage in Marcel Tournier's Dance Of Russian Peasants, part of his Images Suite No.4. Their slender forms and graceful movements in Renee Daphne Leong's choreography mirrored that of Peh's gentle and cultivated playing.

Violinist Wilford Goh joined Peh in Saint-Saens' Fantaisie Op.124 and Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in the Mirror), the last a haunting minimalist number which was accompanied by a short film by Lee Min-Wei that was a quiet celebration of all things Singaporean in the nation's golden jubilee year. Scenes of daily life provided a familiar and loving backdrop to the sensitive music-making. For the balance of her programme, Peh also performed short character pieces by Tchaikovsky and Tan Dun.

If Peh is at the opening chapter of her musical career, Welsh harpist Catrin Finch has already written several volumes. Her recital was the climax of the HarpFest V organised by indefatigable local harp-entrepreneur Katryna Tan. Finch has enough virtuosity, personality and wit to sustain an entire concert on her very own.

The first half was a mini-tour of the European nations, beginning with English harp-composer Elias Parish Alvars' scintillating Introduction, Cadenza and Rondo. French elegance in Faure's Chetelaine In Her Tower was contrasted with the German austerity of Hindemith's Sonata. Prokofiev's wry little Prelude led to a spectacular transcription of Bedrich Smetana's symphonic poem Die Moldau, a showpiece which brought out Finch's mastery of orchestral textures on a single instrument.

Her second half was Welsh, tinged with a Latin accent. William Mathias' Santa Fe Suite was atmospheric in its first two movements, Landscape and Nocturne, before breaking out in the frenetic Sun Dance. John Thomas, royal harpist to Queen Victoria, was represented by a heartfelt folksong while Finch, herself once royal harpist to Prince Charles, lit up her original composition Aurora with sequences of shimmering glissandi.

Piazzolla's infectious Libertango was vociferously received by a trigger-happy audience which could not wait to applaud every variation of Felix Godefroid's Carnival Of Venice, which got increasingly showy as the work progressed. For her two encores, Finch wheeled in an amplified harp on which she performed another Welsh folksong and her own Clear Skies, with an ear-teasing resonance.

It would be safe to say that the audiences to both recitals, pardon the poor pun, left harp-ily ever after.

LAURA PEH Harp Recital / Review

HARP RECITAL

LAURA PEH, Harp

Esplanade Recital Studio

Friday (23 August 2013)

Piano and violin recitals are fairly rare occurrences in Singapore, so what more a harp recital? Of course there are concerts by the indefatigable Katryna Tan and her lovely I-Sis Trio, and the HarpFest (also organised by Katryna), but beyond that, a harp recital is a positive rarity. So there is cause for celebration when a teenager takes up that challenge. 19-year-old Laura Peh, a student of Katryna, is the first Singaporean to be accepted as a harp student at the famed Paris Conservatory. She has been there for two years and studies with Isabelle Perrin.

Straight off, let me say that this serious-looking and thoughtful young lady is a wonderful musician with the makings of a true artist to come. Her 70-minute programme was varied and interesting, even though there was a preponderance of music from the 20^th century and France in particular. Although the harp has existed since biblical times, harp repertoire truly took wing in the 19^th century, and it was the French and Belgians who led that renaissance. I am no expert in this area, but Laura’s very encouraging performance made me wish I were.

Laura Peh is a figure of grace and concentration.
(Photograph by courtesy of Katryna Tan)

She began with the music of Bach, a transcription of his Lute Suite in E minor (BWV.996), which begins with a French overture followed by a series of ancient dances. She gave a very spirited display of the fast movements, contrasted with the aria-like Sarabande which breathed an air of elegance. 

Then came three French works. Jacques de la Presle (1888-1969) is a new name for me. His Le jardin moulle (The Wet Garden) has the same impressionist colourings as Debussy’s more famous scores, and the use of the whole tone scale gave it that exotic feel. The pitter patter of the rain as suggested by the music was on a whole gentler than the windswept pages of Debussy’s Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain), just to compare two pieces on a similar subject. The music reached an impassioned climax before closing quietly.

Laura, performing completely from memory, was confident and sensitive throughout. This continued into the more modern Bamyan by Philippe Hersant (born 1948), inspired by the stark Afghan landscape and Buddha statues destroyed by the Taleban (the inbred mongrels). Here she adopted a different sound palette for its mysterious and more desolate (but still tonal) idiom. Its quiet opening was contrasted with a more dramatic and starkly surprise close.

The stage was shared with excellent young flautist Cheryl Lim for Bernard Andrés’s Narthex, which presented this euphonious combination in a series of linked musical tableaux inspired by biblical sculpture in French cathedrals. Special effects were employed in this work, requiring Laura to use the tuning key to slide down the tuning pins, hitting the wood of the harp, rattling a tuning fork against the strings and the like. She seemed to produce these items at will, reaching behind her with a conjuror’s sleight of hand. Cheryl, for her part produced a curious glissando by sliding a finger through the flute’s head joint, which sounded like some lascivious wolf whistle. This is a curious but entertaining work to say the least, one which has some currency, as it will be heard again later this week at Jin Ta and Gulnara Mashurova’s recital at the Conservatory.

The programme was completed by Hindemith’s three-movement Sonata (more melodious than one would have expected from this master of musical astringency), Heinz Holliger’s Sequenzen uber Johannes I,32 (the only truly atonal work in the concert, one requiring the services of a screwdriver) and Ekaterina Walter-Kuhne’s Fantasy on Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. The last has the same music and sequence as the Paul Pabst Fantasy for the piano, with the main focus on the Waltz and Lensky’s Aria, but without the magical sequence uniting the two melodies. It is a sparkling work of great virtuosity, one in which taxed Laura to the fullest of her abilities. There were some awkward moments with the widely spread chords of the Waltz, which almost came unstuck at one point, but she ultimately held the work together to close the recital on a high.

Laura Peh does not stun you with flashy showmanship, but moves one by her musicianship and sincerity, which are far more enduring qualities. She is still young, and will undoubtedly go on to further heights in the long road that is being a professional musician. She has accomplished much for her tender years, and the sky’s the limit for one who shows dedication to her art. I look forward to hearing more of her in the near future.     

Note: According to the Singapore Harp Society, Laura Peh is the first Singaporean to give a solo harp recital in Singapore. (Katryna Tan, her teacher, was born in Malaysia but is now a Singapore permanent resident.)

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, November 2012)

 

MICHELANGELI

The Early Recordings 1939-1948

Naxos Historical 8.111351 / *****

The legendary Italian Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) was one of the great enigmas among modern-day pianists. His extra-musical exploits could fill a book, including stints as medical student (he graduated), wartime pilot, member of the anti-fascist resistance and sometime Ferrari racing-car driver. These early recordings from His Master’s Voice (Italy) and Telefunken reveal a different personality from the cool and clinical persona of his later Deutsche Grammophon recordings. Bach’s Italian Concerto (recorded in 1943) finds him generous and whole-hearted. Hidden voices are revealed and he even doubles with quite outrageous octaves in its final Presto.

There is grandeur and warmth in the Bach-Busoni Chaconne (1948), and this thread of high-flying virtuosity continues in Brahms’s Paganini Variations (1948). Here he combines both books, drops a few variations and closes splashily with the latter half of the 14^th Variation of Book One in a single sweep. Only he can get away with such liberties, and convincingly too. One pleasure of this anthology is his way with miniatures; four Scarlatti Sonatas and rarities by 18^th century Italians, Pellegrino Tomeoni and Baldassare Gallupi are lovingly included. There is also special place for Spanish shorts by Albeniz, Mompou and Granados. Has the latter’s Andaluza (Spanish Dance No.5) received a more tantalising or teasing performance? On the strength of this disc, Michelangeli was truly one of the immortals.   

YOUTHFUL MUSING

MATTHEW SUPRAMANIAM, Treble

Orchestra of the Music Makers / ****

You can only be young once, and when that time passes, one can look back either in regret or gratitude. The latter definitely applies to fourteen-year-old Singaporean treble Matthew Supramaniam, presently a musical scholar at Eton College (Windsor), who was the indisputable star in Mark Chan’s Flight of the Jade Bird at this year’s Singapore Arts Festival. His voice has just broken, but this album of nine songs recorded just a few months ago at The Arts House captures the purity and innocence of evanescent youth.

Some Christmas favourites such as Adolphe Adam’s O Holy Night and Franz Xaver Gruber’s Silent Night lend the selections a festive flavour. These he sings with much love and thoughtfulness, his high registers ringing with a sonorous beauty especially for Mendelssohn’s anthem Hear My Prayer (O for the Wings of a Dove). His voice is also well-suited for the lyrical simplicity of Mozart, as in the Agnus Dei (Coronation Mass) and Voi che sapete (The Marriage of Figaro). In the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria and John Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You, he is partnered by Cultural Medallion winning violinist Lynnette Seah and sensitive young harpist Laura Peh. The recorded sound is very reverberant and gives the proceedings a dreamy feel.   

This CD is available at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra Esplanade pushcart on concert evenings. Proceeds go to the Community Chest, SINDA and restoration of the Victoria Concert Hall pipe organ.

MAHLER 1: MEMORIES OF YOUTH / Orchestra of the Music Makers / Review

MAHLER 1: MEMORIES OF YOUTH
Orchestra of the Music Makers
Victoria Concert Hall
Sunday (3 January 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 January 2010.

After a year of over-achieving, the Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM) has hit the ground running in the new decade. In what resembles a promising beginning to a Mahler symphony cycle, the young musicians put on a show of instrumental prowess that beggared belief.

The evening began in the manner which the Vienna Philharmonic closes its celebrated New Year Concerts, with Johann Strauss the Younger’s Blue Danube Waltz. Gossamer light tremolo strings ushered in the opening horn solo, which unfortunately did not have the mythical quality of sounding from afar. The brass chorale also lacked subtlety, making for a bumpy first half-minute. However as soon as the waltz rhythm got underway, it was plain sailing, even affording the luxury of several tantalising rubatos.

The Viennese theme continued with Mozart’s lovely Concerto in C major (K.299) for flute and harp. A work of exquisite craftsmanship rather than inspirational genius, it showcased two young ladies who were also members of OMM. Flautist Cheryl Lim was the more confident, projecting a tone of crystal-like clarity and seamlessness throughout. Harpist Laura Peh, a tender 16, had several awkward moments with wrong notes, but held her own with composure and grace. Together, the music alternated between lyrical beauty and scintillation, ably supported by the unobtrusive orchestra.

The test of the pudding was surely in Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony (composer left), nicknamed The Titan. Its opening pianissimo hum of nature was a feat of control from the strings, and woodwind solos also distinguished, notably clarinetist Vincent Goh’s cuckoo impressions. While the solo French horn had issues with flubbed passages, the massed group of eight horns was a force to behold.

It was this selfsame unity of spirit that galvanised the ensemble as a whole, rendering an invigorating performance that was greater than the sum of its disparate parts. The dance and funeral march of the middle movements were suitably earthy and raw, nuances that so coloured Mahler’s world of banalities, skillfully brought out by conductor Chan Tze Law.

If there were moments that simply blew one away, these would be the finale’s agonising “cry from the wounded heart”, a 20-minute journey from tragedy to final triumph. These youngsters, for whom nothing is impossible, certainly know the meaning of “titanic”.