1943: THE MUSICAL EVENINGS AT CHANGI / Phan Ming Yen et al

 

1943: THE MUSICAL 

EVENINGS AT CHANGI

Talk by Phan Ming Yen et al

National Library Building

Saturday (27 September 2025)

After Singapore fell on 15 February 1942, thousands of civilians became subject to the Imperial Empire of Japan. While the local Chinese were brutally suppressed, their Western counterparts including British / European / Australian were in incarcerated in Changi Prison. Over-crowded conditions meant that thousands were housed in spaces meant for hundreds. What was life like in Changi, and what sort of music did the prisoners get to enjoy? That was the subject of this interesting illustrated talk by historical researcher and general polymath Phan Ming Yen.

The 1st floor space of the National Library
was a conducive spot for this public talk.

Assisted by actor / dramaturg Aaron Lee who did readings and pianist Natalie Ng performing excerpts from piano pieces, this was an absorbing hour-long presentation that captured the imagination, and there was never a dull moment.

The source material came mostly from The Changi Guardian, a self-published periodical started by the prisoners to report on and document happenings that took place there and then. Extracts from May 1942 to September 1943 gave an idea as to what the prisoners went through.

Despite straitened circumstances, there was humanity in Changi. Through the good graces of a certain Lieutenant Okasaki, the captives were allowed to mount musical concerts to entertain themselves. Using captured pianos, those who could perform (and there were hundreds) did so and this meant a lot to those in attendance. 

The diagram behind shows the plan
of Changi Prison in 1943.

The concerts took place twice a week in an unlikely venue: the prison’s laundry area, amid the noise of operating machinery, flushing WCs and people at work. Not exactly Dame Myra Hess at The National Gallery.

One piece heard during the New Year period was Auld Lang Syne, which also existed in its Japanese version, Hotaru no Hikari (Glow of a Firefly), hence it was not proscribed. Also performed were works by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Rachmaninov, all of which would have been familiar and played at home. One name stood out among the performers, Gordon van Hien, who in 1938 founded the Singapore Musical Society, which would be active post-War till the 1970s.

One asks the question, “Why does music matter?” One was the opportunity for silence, away from the mundane noises of the day, except for music and the laundry itself. Besides the music, there was also “Changi University”, a reference to the 4000 books that the internees had access to. By 24 September 1943, the population in Changi had numbered 3194.

All this had to end sometime. In September 1942, an illegal wireless transmitter radio was found in the possession of a prisoner, and music stopped. 57 men were interrogated and tortured at the hands of the Kempeitai; 15 died and the others were sent to Thailand’s Death Railway. It was a cruel way to end, but this was war after all. The last issue of The Changi Guardian was published in 12 October 1943. In 1946, the Singapore Musical Society that survived the war resumed its concerts.

Attending the talk were the WAGs.

The full article was published in BiblioAsia Vol.22 No.2 / Jul-Sep 2026:

Musical Evenings in Changi Internment Camp | BiblioAsia

SINGAPORE'S YOUNGEST MUSIC CRITIC AMELIE SEE (11 years old) reviews PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024

 

A MUSICAL REVELATION:

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024

Review by AMELIE SEE (11 years old)

Amelie See is a cellist and pianist,
seen here with Mischa Maisky & Han-Na Chang

Very few concerts unveil a World Premiere, let alone a work crafted by a Singaporean composer. Yet that was precisely what unfolded at Piano Extravaganza 2024, previously known as the Young Virtuoso Recital Series.

The evening commenced with a mesmerizing rendition of two lieder by Schubert transcribed by Frederic Meinders, expertly performed by Natalie Ng. These pieces, Ave Maria and Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen (Hail Mary and Litany for the Feast of All Souls), had never graced Singapore's shores until now, challenging the pianist with their intricate left-hand composition. Natalie's mastery shone through, her voicing imbued with rich depth and emotion.

Following this captivating start, Natalie Ng and Geoffrey Lim took the stage in perfect harmony for Schubert's Fantasy in F minor, D. 940. Their synergy was so seamless that it seemed as if a single virtuoso commanded the keys. This rendition was notably tight, each motif bursting with vibrant hues, and Geoffrey's tone sparkled with crystalline clarity.

Geoffrey Lim then took center stage for Chopin's tempestuous Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52, delivering a performance marked by effortless poise. The piece's hidden variations and tumultuous finale were navigated with finesse and flair.

The concert then took a contemporary turn with Jonathan Shin's Three City Ballads, where the composer himself brought these poetic compositions to life. From bustling Funan to the humble journey of an ant, each ballad evoked vivid imagery and dynamic storytelling. Personally, the third ballad resonated deeply, capturing the ant's industrious movements amidst the flow of city life.

After the intermission, Lin Xiangning graced the stage with Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses, her impeccable technique and clarity holding the audience spellbound. This was followed by a rare treat: Lin Xiangning and Jonathan Shin's dynamic rendition of Stravinsky's Concerto for Two Pianos, a Singapore premiere that crackled with energy and passion.

After Geoffrey Lim performed Debussy’s picturesque L’isle Joyeuse with clarity and brilliant technique, the evening continued to soar as Geoffrey and Natalie breathed life into Astor Piazzolla's Soledad and Libertango, arranged by Pablo Ziegler. Soledad's melancholic strains contrasted beautifully with the fiery, passionate rhythms of Libertango, captivating the audience with every note.

In a grand finale, all four pianists returned to the stage for Kelly Tang's Symphonic Suite on a Set of Singapore Tunes (transcribed hands by Bertram Wee), an exhilarating medley of Singaporean melodies performed on eight hands. Cheeky nods to John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Beethoven, and even Singapore's National Day songs peppered the suite, delighting the audience with its inventive blend of tradition and homage.

Photographs by Pianomaniac.

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024 Photographs

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024 has come and gone! The showcase for young Singaporean pianistic talent took place on Saturday (13 July 2024) at the School of the Arts Concert Hall, on an evening when there were lots of other music (including Mahler's Sixth from OMM) going on. There was a decent enough house to witness almost two and a half hours of piano decadence - from Schubert to Kelly Tang - on one, two, four and eight hands.

Enough text. Here are the photographs!

Natalie Ng opened with two Schubert lieder
transcriptions, Ave Maria and Litanei,
 for left hand by Frederic Meinders.

Natalie by joined by Geoffrey Lim
in Schubert's Fantasy in F minor.

Geoffrey Lim on his own
in Chopin's Ballade No.4 in F minor.

Jonathan Shin speaks about his 
Three City Ballads,
receiving its world premiere.

Lin Xiangning steals a page from Yuja Wang
in Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses.

Geoffrey Lim in Debussy's L'isle Joyeuse.

Xiangning waxes lyrical about
what she and Jonathan will perform next.

Here it is, the Singapore premiere
of Stravinsky's Concerto for Two Pianos.

Natalie and Geoffrey perform two 
Astor Piazzolla tangos, Soledad and Libertango.

The grand finale, with all four pianists on stage.

A Singaporean work to close the evening.

Kelly Tang's Symphonic Suite on a Set of
Singapore Tunes, arranged by Bertram Wee.

Take a bow, 
Jonathan, Xiangning, Natalie & Geoffrey!

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024 

Read Mervin Beng's review 

in The Straits Times here:

Concert review: Four pianists, two pianos and 10 works make an ambitious performance | The Straits Times

A PIANO RECITAL NOT TO MISS: PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024 on 13 July 2024

If you enjoy the sheer diversity of piano music, and do not care so much for Mahler, here is a multi-piano piano recital you should not miss!

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024 is the latest edition of the annual piano recital that celebrates young Singaporean piano talent and piano music. This year's concert showcases four wonderful musicians - Lin Xiangning, Natalie Ng, Jonathan Shin and Geoffrey Lim - in music for piano on one hand, two hands, four hands and eight hands.

The diverse repertoire includes works by Franz Schubert, Frederic Meinders, Frederic Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Astor Piazzolla, Kelly Tang (transcribed by Bertram Wee) and the world premiere of Jonathan Shin's Three City Ballads.

Here's a preview from the pages of The Straits Times:

Singaporean piano music in the limelight during Piano Extravaganza | The Straits Times

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024

Saturday 13 July 2024

SOTA Concert Hall, 7.30 pm

Tickets available at:

PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA 2024 (bookmyshow.com)

Here are some photos from the rehearsals:

The fabulous foursome
playing Kelly Tang's Symphonic Suite
on a Set of Singapore Tunes
(arranged for 8 hands by Bertram Wee)

Xiangning & Jonathan

rehearsing Stravinsky's Concerto for Two Pianos.
They will be giving the Singapore premiere.

Natalie & Geoffrey playing
Schubert's Fantasy in F minor.
They will be also performing Piazzolla's
Soledad and Libertango on two pianos.

Music for the left hand.
Schubert-Meinders' Ave Maria & Litanei
from Natalie.

Geoffrey plays Chopin's Ballade No.4
and Debussy's L'isle joyeuse.

REFRACTING RITUALS / Quinnuance / Review

REFRACTING RITUALS

Quinnuance

Esplanade Recital Studio

Wednesday (27 May 2015) 

This review was published in The Straits Times on 29 May 2015 with the title "Synchronised laughter, random acts".

In Refracting Rituals, the intrepid group of local composers and performers called Quinnuance attempted to redefine the way people perceive of musical performances. Viewing through its distorting mirror and prism, a concert was no longer just an aural experience but one involving elements of performance art, theatre, acts of randomness and audience interaction.

Music of four composers was showcased, beginning with serial atonalist Bernard Lee Kah Hong's The Unfathomable Being Of Vengeance Spiral In The Existential Light Of Nucleus. This was an unusual setting of Sylvia Plath's poem A Lesson In Vengeance, read by a kebaya-clad Natalie Ng with Clarence Tan scraping a double-bass centrestage. They were joined by violinist Nanako Takata, violist Jeremy Chiew and trumpeter Christopher Yong Lin who played from the wings and then proceeded to parade onstage as a gesture of discord, symbolic of mankind's propensity for vengeful violence. Lee's dodecaphonic music continues to provoke and challenge listeners, including trying to remember the titles of his works.   

Terrence Wong was represented by two works for brass. Pentasy, compacting the words “pentatonal” and “fantasy”, for bass trombone and piano, was a conventional concert piece that stretched trombonist Jasper Tan's technique to the fullest. Accompanied by pianist Gabriel Hoe, the unremittingly tonal music hinted of the Orient, coursing through pensive moments and emotional highs before a sedate close.

The more theatrical Choices for solo trumpet saw a return of Yong, this time donning the feathered headdress of a Native American Indian and moving between stations on stage. One technique he employed was polyphonics, that was producing two different sets of notes, from the trumpet as well as gutteral vocalising. This dichotomy represented metaphorically the paths of good and evil. Putting it more simply like in those cowboy Westerns of old, were the Injuns good guys or baddies?

In between was Alicia De Silva's In Our Last for flute, soprano and piano, a contemplation of death through the Roman Catholic requiem mass. The first part, In This Darkened Valley, soprano Evelyn Ang's  sprechgesang (hovering between speech and singing) was in tormented conflict with Paul Huang's flute, which represented a soothing, even seductive prospect of death. The final acceptance of death came in the second part, Eternal Song, where both flute and voice played in unison and chanted the words, “May eternal rest and perpetual light shine upon them.”    

Completely visual was American Mark Applebaum's Tlön for three conductors which comprised six and half minutes of virtual silence. Conductors Tan, Wong and De Silva, with the aid of click tracks and ear pieces connected to a laptop, crafted an elaborate act of choreography, that of directing three imaginary orchestras before taking their bows in front of an imaginary audience.

Those in the bemused but well-behaved audience had a chance to join the the finale, which was Lu Heng's Laughter Propaganda. Here nine performers including conductor Tan were engaged in synchronised laughing, which was eventually extended to the audience. This exercise begged the question about laughter: is laughing a truly spontaneous act? Or are we programmed in our minds to laugh only at certain jokes, words or acts, and only when it is deemed appropriate? 

Between plotting retribution and unapologetic bellyaching, Quinnuance has turned the traditional concept of the concert upon its head. That is what the experience of new music is all about.