LIVING THREADS
Performers(‘) Present 2026
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory
Conservatory Concert Hall
Thursday (22 October 2026)
The opening concert of the triennial Performers(‘) Present conference / festival organised by Yong Siew Toh Conservatory was an extraordinary event. It was refreshingly different, and one which included Singapore premieres of two rather unusual instrumental concertos conducted by Lien Boon Hua.
The 80-minute concert without intermission opened with the Green Tea Concerto (2021) by Japanese composer Dai Fujikura (born 1977). This 19-minute single movement concerto was originally written for traverso (baroque flute) and a small ensemble of strings and harpsichord. Eric Lamb was the excellent soloist on modern flute, with a virtuoso part that took ideas from Debussy’s Syrinx and Prelude to the Afternoon of the Fawn.
That was just the start point for a journey of fantasy which was inspired by Fujikura’s family experience of planting and harvesting green tea. At points, the ethereal instrumental colour relived those of Toru Takemitsu’s chamber works. While strings and harpsichord (played by Chiu Pin-Hsin) spun a web of busy activity, Lamb’s flute solo remained steadfast and unfazed, symbolic of the resilience of the tea shrubs all through to the close of this exquisitely beautiful work.
There was a short 6-minute interlude by Balinese gamelan exponent Wayan Rachman on gender wayang, a one man gamelan metallophone tuned to the Pelog scale. The intricate blend of melody and counterpoint wrought by just two mallets was totally intriguing. It was little wonder how its sound so entranced composers like Debussy at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, and spawned new directions of musical composition.
Orientalism might have been the inspiration for the four-movement Piano Concerto (1983-85) by American composer Lou Harrison (1917-2003). This featured a much larger ensemble of strings, two harps, three trombones and percussion with the zaniest of piano solos helmed by Albert Tiu. This work was written for and premiered by Keith Jarrett no less, a far cry from his solo jazz musings. The music is tonal and modal, with the ensemble tuned to some antique (Kirnberger II) system, which hovered between C major and G major.
The first two movements were extended sonata movements, the first sounding a lot like Chinese music with heterophony from the accompanying instruments. Tiu obliged with resolute octaves and lots of scurrying around the scalic notes. The piece de resistance was its second movement, titled Stampede. Riot (bringing to mind the recent events in France) was more like it, with repeated crashing forearm clusters and further flourishes from octave-long cluster felt-lined board. It was for most part a pitched battle between piano and Christian Borres on drums while others fell silent.
The third movement seemed almost apologetic, its hymn-like countenance was like a prayer, easily the most beautiful moments of the concerto. The finale was short-winded, with piano accompanied by tinkling percussion for a happy and joyous (no longer riotous) close. The audience erupted with loud enthusiasm for all the performers, a sign that new music that is accessible and intelligible will always be welcomed.
