NAFA ORCHESTRA / Review

NAFA ORCHESTRA

Lee Foundation Theatre

Thursday (29 October 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 31 October 2015 with the title "Two tales of Romeo And Juliet".

There is a Romeo and Juliet tragic love story in every culture, and this concert by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Orchestra conducted by Lim Yau brought together the Chinese version with Shakespeare's in two hours of music. It was a good example of concert programming bridging the East and the West.

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, better known as the “Butterfly Lovers”, is a well-loved and enduring Chinese tale. The concerto jointly composed by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao of 1959 was originally scored for violin and western symphony orchestra, but the Chinese have rightfully laid claim to their heritage by scoring it for huqin solo and Chinese instruments.

This evening's version was a composite featuring gaohu and western instruments. The soloist Sunny Wong, head of Chinese instrumental studies in NAFA, has a claim to fame. His father Wong On Yuen was the pioneer in playing the concerto on the gaohu during the 1970s. This “ownership” was immediately apparent by the way his instrument sang through the concerto.

The gaohu approximates the high human operatic voice in a way the violin cannot. The tonal inflexions, slurs and slides of Beijing opera is often elusive to non-native musicians, and here Wong made it sound totally natural. His playing alternated between moving plaintiveness, like a Chinese version of bel canto, and dazzling pyrotechnics. The use of dizi, played by Sun Rui, instead of the flute also added an element of authenticity. Wong's duet with cellist Li Jingli as the lovestruck couple met provided tender moments.   

The orchestra, whose part is unabashedly sentimental, backed this enterprise to the hilt, and there were plenty of cheers from the full-house audience after its conclusion. Very soon, the ensemble had to switch gears for 13 movements from Prokofiev's popular ballet Romeo and Juliet. These were extracted from three orchestral suites which the Russian composer had devised, and performed in the order of appearance in the ballet.

Thus the narrative of the story was not jumbled or lost, beginning with the dissonant cacophony and heavy plodding that is the feuding families Montagues And Capulets. The emotional roller-coaster provided by the sequence of scenarios and dances was well handled by the young orchestra, augmented by faculty members and guest players from Taiwan's National Dong Hwa University.

Strings were very disciplined, casting a fine sheen in sweeping lyrical moments, which were many. Brass and woodwind were somewhat exposed in the Minuet, but made up by fine showings elsewhere. As a group, the highly dramatic and violent Death Of Tybalt, contrasted with the rapturous Romeo And Juliet Before Parting became the score's emotional high points.

Even celesta and piano had their say in the gentle tinkling that was in the Aubade. With Romeo At Juliet's Grave, the final number, an hour of passion had passed by all too swiftly. The NAFA Orchestra has much to recommend, and its regular concerts – now requiring no tickets for admission – are to be keenly anticipated. 

ELIZABETH BASOFF-DARSKAIA Violin Recital with JONATHAN SHIN (Piano) / Review

ELIZABETH BASOFF-DARSKAIA 

Violin Recital with 

JONATHAN SHIN, Piano

Lee Foundation Theatre

Sunday (26 July 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 28 July 2015 with the title "Violinist and pianist display solid technique".

There are so many incredibly talented young violinists studying in conservatories around the world that it is impossible to count them all. Just witness the Singapore International Violin Competition in January, where margins separating each artist were so fine that the decisions to reward some and eliminate others seemed almost arbitrary. So count oneself lucky to have even heard any of them perform, and the same would apply to young Russian-American violinist Elizabeth Basoff-Darskaia who made her Singapore debut this evening.

Her teachers are a Who's Who of the instrument, including Ruggiero Ricci, Aaron Rosand, Pamela Frank and Boris Kuschnir. Perhaps one of them might have advised on her sequence of programming, because it is murder to open a recital cold with Brahms' demanding Violin Sonata No.3 in D minor (Op.108). Both performers and listeners have yet to fully warm up, and the results could be half-cooked or disappointing.

Thankfully, she had the technique to sustain its four movements with a sweet and somewhat slender tone on the 1745 Carlo Bergonzi violin on loan from the Rin Collection. The faster outer movements fared best while the slow movement came across as prosaic, and the playful scherzo on the staid side. By the time of Saint-Saëns' Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, she had fully warmed up and pulled out all stops for a virtuoso display.

For her unaccompanied segment, Paganini's Caprice No.19 sounded exposed at its fastest bits, where the running notes were a blur. Much better was the Bach Chaconne in D minor which confidently opened the second half, with a more fulsome tone, perfect intonation and masterly pacing. This was the work she should have begun her recital with.

What followed was a lovely reading of Mozart's Sonata in B flat major (K.454), which displayed sensitivity and utmost sympathy for the Rococo style. Simplicity of form and beauty of lines ruled here. By now, one would have wondered who the pianist in the recital was. Young Singaporean pianist Jonathan Shin was every bit an equal partner in Mozart, Brahms and Saint-Saëns, a solid rock upon which the recital stood. So why was he referred to as just an accompanist and his biography not included?    

The recital closed with the Carmen Fantasy by Hungarian violin virtuoso Jenö Hubay, a refreshing departure from the frequently-heard Sarasate and Waxman incarnations. This version was more improvisatory, had more showy cadenzas, and included the Fate motif, Micaela's Air and Toreador Song before romping home with the scintillating Bohemian Dance.

Both performers received the loudest cheers and rhythmic applause. As there was no pre-prepared encore, Basoff-Darskaia emerged from the wing sans violin to play Chopin's Étude in F minor (Op.25 No.2) on the piano flawlessly and with teasing rubato. Further cheers brought out pianist Shin and the finale from the Brahms sonata was reprised. This time it sounded well done, and close to perfection.

A meeting of Russian virtuosos:
Elizabeth Basoff-Darskaia with
former SSO Concertmaster Alexander Souptel. 

GIOVANNI CULTRERA Piano Recital / Review

GIOVANNI CULTRERA Piano Recital

Lee Foundation Theatre

Tuesday (17 February 2015)

This review was published in  The Straits Times on 19 February 2015 with the title "Earthbound take on Chopin".

The eve of Chinese New Year's Eve is probably not the best day to hold a concert. About only 30 people were in the audience to witness this recital by Italian pianist Giovanni Cultrera at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. His hour-long programme of Romantic era works was a throw back to the repertoire favoured by legendary late Russian pianist Lazar Berman, who had spent his last years in Italy.

The third of Rachmaninov's Six Moments Musicaux (Op.16) opened the recital with big broad chords in the Russian's typically brooding and lugubrious  manner. Cultrera omitted the repeat and it ended almost abruptly when a reprise of the central march rhythm would have been welcome to flesh out the work.

Without waiting for applause, he then launched into the music of Liszt, which brought out his best qualities. The second of Two Legends, St Francis Of Paul Walking On The Waves brought out a torrent of sound, in broad striding octaves, chords and arpeggios. Equally thunderous was his account of Funerailles, with its central section of stampeding hoofbeats, often likened to the “Polish cavalry” episode of Chopin's Heroic Polonaise.

Clearly Cultrera has the requisite technique, physical heft and stamina to surmount these technical changes. However in the slender Consolation No.3 between the two behemoths, stolidity came in the place of warmth and tenderness. Likewise, his takes on two very familiar Chopin Nocturnes were surprisingly earthbound.

The posthumous C sharp minor Nocturne sounded cut and dried, while its counterpart in E flat major (Op.9 No.2) was plodding rather than dreamily conceived. The brief Prélude in E minor (Op.28 No.4) did however bring some semblance of pathos to his Chopin set.

A dramatic end to Mussorgsky's Pictures an an Exhibition.

Instead of performing the whole of Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, Cultrera chose to play only the last two movements, which was probably just as well. Baba Yaga's Hut On Fowl's Legs was a hit and miss affair conducted at high speed and top volume. This was saved by a truly clangourous Great Gate Of Kiev, with its series of tolling bells, bringing the recital to a rousing close. 

There was enough applause for him to offer three encores. A lapse in the middle of Tchaikovsky's Autumn Song (October from The Seasons) was unfortunate, but Chopin's Mazurka in A minor (Op.17 No.4) was the perfect salve. It was played with feeling and a true folk-like lilt, and there was a repeat of the Chopin Prélude heard earlier. At least it sounded better the second time around. 

Johnny Culture looks like a younger version
of American actor John Goodman!

NAFA ORCHESTRA / Review

NAFA Orchestra

Lee Foundation Theatre

Wednesday (31 October 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 November 2012 with the title "NAFA Orchestra at its best yet".

This reviewer has had the pleasure of witnessing the transformation and progress of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Orchestra under its Music Director of just ten months, Lim Yau. This evening’s concert proved its most demanding concert to date, not just because of the range of repertoire performed but its sheer familiarity.

Almost all regular concert-goers know Chopin’s First Piano Concerto. Its orchestral part is not particularly gratifying, subjugated mostly to support the scintillating piano solo. Despite this, the orchestra helped set the tone in the opening Allegro Maestoso (Fast and majestically) tutti, ushering in the confident Chinese pianist Wan Jing Jing to shine.

Although she was not note-perfect, Wan gained in composure as the work progressed, crafting a dreamy cantabile in the slow movement and springing to life in the final rollicking Rondo. Her steadiness in rhythm and digital dexterity was well-matched by the orchestra’s unity and taut direction.

Arguably more difficult to accompany was Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, where dense orchestral textures are likely to overwhelm the singer. Fortunately Indonesian soprano Isyana Sarasvati possesses a bright and youthful voice, flexible and capable of scaling the higher registers with relative ease. Her intonation was close to pristine and German pronunciation more than acceptable.

However one wondered how someone this young could identify with the autumnal nature of these late songs, their world-weariness and death-laden undertones. In this respect, her contemplations on the ravages of ageing was less convincing, but will have the benefit of growing and maturing with this music in time to come. The violin solo in the third movement Beim Schlafengehen (Going to Sleep) was lovingly handled by concertmaster Wang Hao.        

The concert closed with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. Here the orchestra came into its own. The introduction and Friar Lawrence segment was taken very deliberately, almost achingly so, but with no detail out of place. This was in order to contrast with the furious feuding of the Montagues and Capulets that followed.

The love theme came through well, thanks to the violas and cor anglais, and the tumultuous music that ensued upped than ante and raised the overall temperature. With arms and hair flying, conductor Lim drove his charges, which included students, faculty, alumni and guests players, to an exhilarating climax and dramatic close. More will be heard from this group next year, when NAFA marks its 75^th anniversary.