A PIANO RECITAL NOT TO MISS: AN EVENING WITH RAVEL on 26 April 2025

 

AN EVENING WITH RAVEL 

If you love piano music, here is a super piano recital not to miss, showcasing the complete piano works of French composer MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937). No less than 22 pianists in Singapore – young virtuosos as well as concert veterans – will take part in this 150th anniversary commemoration of Ravel’s birth. This marathon event takes place at Victoria Concert Hall on Saturday 26 April 2025, starting at 7 pm (Please note the earlier timing!) 

Although Ravel was no piano virtuoso,
he wrote some of the greatest piano music ever.

Ravel’s virtuosic showpieces, like Gaspard de la nuit and Valses nobles et sentimentales, sit alongside his Impressionist scores – Jeux d’eau and Miroirs – and neoclassical favourites, such as the Sonatine, Pavane for the Dead Infanta and La tombeau de Couperin. Here is also a rare chance to hear his miniatures and excerpts from the ballets Mother Goose and Daphnis and Chloe as well. Two of Singapore’s well-known piano pedagogues Rena Cheung and Nicholas Ong also unite for a grand performance of La Valse. 

All the pianists (in alphabetical order): Isabelle Agethen, Libby Chan, Rena Cheung, Max Choo, Elizabeth Michelle Heryawan, Nicholas Ho, Samuel King, Dorotheus Koh, Lukas Franklin Lai, Enzio Lim, Lim Wei Xuan, Liu Xiao Miao, Ng Xin Yee, Nguyen Phuc Bao Tien, Luther Ong, Nicholas Ong, Ong Weng Yee, Michelle Purnomo, Kevina Tenggara, Teo Wei Syuen, Rebekah Too & Kseniia Vokhmianina 

Saturday, 26 April 2025 

Victoria Concert Hall, 7 pm 

Tickets available at: 

https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/an-evening-with-ravel-tickets-1207461272169 

Now watch these great videos: 

Ivo Pogorelich 

playing Gaspard de la nuit: 

Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire 

playing La Valse:

VOCALISE / Joost Flach & Nicholas Ong / Review

VOCALISE

JOOST FLACH, Oboe

NICHOLAS ONG, Piano

 

A vocalise is a song without words, usually rendered with a flowing mellifluousness best examplified in the famous Rachmaninov number (Op.34 No.14). However, that song is not included in this very interesting collection of 20^th century vocalises performed by Dutch oboist Joost Flach and Malaysian pianist Nicholas Ong, both esteemed faculty members of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore).

 

Opening the anthology is the sole Singaporean contribution, Zechariah Goh Toh Chai’s Romance (1991). Just one of two works specifically written for oboe and piano, its simplicity is matched by its melody. There is sadness and nostalgia on show, the plaintive quality of the oboe fully exploited.

 

The best known work of the collection is Prokofiev’s Five Melodies Op.35 (1920), originally written for high voice, but now a favourite with violinists. These sound perfectly idiomatic for oboe, a svelte and creamy tone brought out by Flach being every bit as beguiling. Its counterpart is the Little Suite (Vocalises) from 1952 by Dutchman Marius Flothuis (1914-2001), five varied movements (originally for soprano) which display a myriad of moods from meditative pensiveness to jollity. Unsurprisingly, versions for clarinet, soprano saxophone and trumpet also exist.  

 

The vocalises by Olivier Messiaen and Aaron Copland come from their earlier years. Messiaen’s Vocalise-Étude (1935), originally for high voice and from the same period as his better-known Theme et Variations (for violin and piano), is simply haunting for its exoticism, as if emanating from somewhere in the Far East.  Aaron Copland’s Vocalise (1928/1978), written as a commission from the Paris Conservatory (several years after his studies with Nadia Boulanger), sounds far more academic, dominated by a series of scale passages. Hardly vintage Copland. Albert Roussel’s Aria (1930), at just two minutes long, makes for a pleasant pastoral diversion.

 

The style of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen (1939-2021) evolved through the years, espousing neoclassicism, serialism and minimalism amongst others. His very early Sonatine for oboe and piano (1955), in three short movements, is unpublished and a true rarity. This might even be its first recording. According to Flach’s programme notes, the original manuscript had been lost (confirmed by Andriessen himself) and this performance was from a facsimile copy. In traditional fast-slow-fast form, it is very eclectic, and when heard in parts, influences by the likes of Stravinsky, Hindemith, Milhaud, Poulenc and Messiaen may be discerned. Andriessen’s deep admiration of compatriot artist Piet Mondrian is also reflected in the album’s cover design.

 

Joost Flach represents the hallowed Dutch school of oboe playing, which emphasises clarity of articulation, silvery singing tone and a mercurial violin-like sheen. His playing is simply ravishing, sensitively partnered by pianist Nicholas Ong who does not get relegated to the background. The recorded sound is lovely, and despite its short playing time of just over 40 minutes, there is no shortage of good music and great playing.  

 

NANYANG PIANO ACADEMY Opening Gala Concert / Review

NANYANG PIANO ACADEMY

Opening Gala Concert

Lee Foundation Theatre,

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Thursday (17 January 2019)

The first ever edition of the 3-day long Nanyang Piano Academy opened with a gala concert featuring members of its faculty, which included pedagogues from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and visiting professors from several renowned music education institutions. It was a mini piano festival wrapped up within a two-hour long recital.

The recital opened with Singapore’s own Shaun Choo, now pursuing his Masters degree at the Salzburg Mozarteum, in Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor. A more confident and convincing performance would be hard to fine, with each of its very short variations carved out with lapidary care and finesse.

Next was a duo with NAFA Head of Piano Studies Lena Ching and her former student, the Juilliard-trained Nellie Seng in Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor. This has to be the greatest of hausmusik ever conceived, a work of utmost beauty yet imbued with a sense of dramatic seriousness. It was a good performance from the duo, however one wished for more a gemütlich feel in their reading, which pursued many notes with a grim determination albeit punctuated by moments of levity.

Nigel Clayton from London’s Royal College of Music closed the first half with Debussy’s Estampes and a selection from the George Gershwin Songbook. He was the only pianist to give a short preamble before the works, which was well-appreciated by the audience of young people and their parents. The contrasts in Pagodes, La Soiree dans Grenade and Jardins sous la pluie, representing the Far East, Spain and France were also well-brought out.

There was to be no improvisations in the Gershwin shorts, crafted like preludes, but Clayton took some liberties with repetitions, especially of melodies that were too nice to be heard just once. The clearly enthused audience was hit for six: I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise, The Man I Love, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, Someone Loves Me, Do Do Do and I Got Rhythm.  

The longest work of the evening was Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, almost half-an-hour in duration, performed by Claudius Tanski, a German professor from the Salzburg Mozarteum. Clearly he has a firm grasp of its epic scope and architecture, knowing exactly where the music inexorably leads, and the wherewithal to conquer its multitudes of octaves and chords. Any performance of this behemoth runs the risk of being overwrought, and there were some brief lapses, from which he recovered well to complete the arduous journey.

The final solo came from Shaun Choo, where he let it rip in Chopin’s First Ballade. This was a most accomplished performance, and an individual one which benefited from his extrovert personality. Clearly a showman, he also did a bit of acting leading up to the evening’s communal encore, Albert Lavignac’s showboating Galop Marche for 8 hands, where he was joined by Lena Ching, Nellie Seng and Nicholas Ong making a brief cameo. It was a harmless bit of fluff, vulgar and filled with horseplay. Whoever said that serious classical pianists should not have a bit of fun? 

RAVEL TONIGHT! / The Philharmonic Orchestra / Review

RAVEL TONIGHT!

The Philharmonic Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (28 October 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 1 November 2018 with the title "Ravel showcase of exquisite colour".

The Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lim Yau continued with its Composers Tonight series of concerts with a tribute to the French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Ravel was renowned for his skill of orchestration, creating orchestral works of original and exquisite instrumental colour, and all three works on the programme  reflected that gift.

Beginning with the song cycle Sheherazade, with three movements inspired by the tales of the Arabian Nights, the emphasis was on conjuring up an exotic tonal allure. While not quoting Middle Eastern or Asian themes and melodies, the music exuded an aroma of perfumed incense which immediately cast a spell on the imagination.

China-born Soprano Su Yiwen, singing in French the words of Tristan Klingsor (obviously a nom-de-plume, but one with a Wagnerian persuasion), played a large part in the aural magic. Her voice was sufficiently sensuous, and strong enough to carry across the occasionally over-enthusiastic orchestral playing. The opening song Asia set the mood, followed up by excellent solo flute playing which prefaced and closed The Enchanted Flute, and a final tease in The Indifferent One.

Totally different was Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, a work unique that it incorporated Basque influences with those of New World jazz. Malaysian pianist Nicholas Ong was a most persuasive soloist, one who perfectly judged its idioms, pacing and nuances.

Knowing when to act coy, then ratcheting up the temperature in insistent syncopations for the opening movement, and settling down with Mozartian clarity in the slow movement was all part of the game. The exciting prestidigitation of the Presto finale brought down the house, which was rewarded with Ong’s solo encore, the stately Minuet slow movement from Ravel’s Sonatine.     

All through this drama, there were also many taxing solo parts for the orchestral musicians, all of whom readily stepped up to the plate. The harpist had a demanding cadenza of her own and woodwinds, so critical to the music’s sound palette, also were excellent. Even the percussionist who operated the whip (essentially two pieces of wood smartly snapped together) was spot-on.

The concert closed with Bolero, one of Ravel’s most popular works, which he famously declared “a work without music. As repetitious as it might have been, there was no denying the hypnotic power of this infamous crescendo, with solo instruments and various combinations piling on layers of sound over a snare-drum’s obstinate beat.

Visually it was also a spectacle, with a sole percussionist centrestage leading the parade while string players strummed out pizzicato beats like a massed group of guitars. Notably absent was the concert series’ usual master of ceremonies William Ledbetter, but Ruth Rodrigues’ comprehensive and semi-interactive programme notes made up for it, if one was bothered to read. All in all, it was an enjoyable 80 minutes of one’s Sunday afternoon well spent.

INTERNATIONAL PIANO ISLAND FESTIVAL / Review

INTERNATIONAL PIANO 

ISLAND FESTIVAL 2018

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Tuesday & Thursday 

(9 & 11 January 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 13 January 2018 with the title "Delicious sounds at new piano festival".

In the 25^th year of the well-established Singapore International Piano Festival (due later in June), a new international piano festival has emerged. Founded by Singaporean pianist Wang Congyu, the week-long event included a competition for youngsters, masterclasses, lectures and piano recitals by members of its international faculty.

There could not have been a more varied programme than Thursday night's offering by young Portuguese pianist Vasco Dantas. Opening with Schumann's Kinderszenen (Scenes Of Childhood) and closing with Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, this was a recital of contrasts, from arch simplicity to a vivid play of exotic and sometimes disturbing visions. 

He possesses the technique and endurance to master the sprawl of these canvasses, the imagination and palette to colour and characterise each of the 28 short pieces within. In between, Liszt-student Vianna da Motta's delightfully rustic Portuguese Scenes and the fearsome Guido Agosti transcription of three movements from Stravinsky's The Firebird provided further delicious piques for the ears.

A standing ovation from the audience was a just result. Tagged on like encores were Gershwin's Three Preludes, teasing with rhythm and blues, and Dantas' own improvisation on the hit song I Got Rhythm with motifs from Jingle Bells cheekily inserted.

Earlier in the evening, Michael Bulychev-Okser (Russia/USA) held a lecture-recital that centred on the art of transciption. The Bach-Busoni chorale prelude Ich Ruft Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ, Glinka-Balakirev The Lark and Kreisler-Rachmaninov Liebesleid (Love’s Sorrow) were familiar enough, but it was his selection of rarities that stood out.

Eduard Schütt's transcription of Brahms' Wiegenlied (Lullaby) was a showpiece guaranteed to keep babies (and audiences) awake. The lilt of Tirindelli-Liszt Mazurka No.2 was simply disarming while the Arensky-Siloti At The Fountain shimmered brilliantly through the underlying melancholy. Two Earl Wild etudes on Gershwin songs (Someone Like You and The Man I Love) and Rachmaninov's coruscating Floods Of Spring sealed a totally enjoyable virtuoso showcase.  

Held on Tuesday evening was a four-hands recital by locally-based husband-and-wife duo of Nicholas Ong (Malaysia) and Kim Bo Kyung (South Korea). Debussy's graceful 4-movement Petite Suite conjured visions of the Belle Epoque, from the gentle lilt of En Bateau (Sailing) to the final Ballet's exuberance. These paradigms of gentility were soon trumped by the waltzing tritones and dancing skeletons of Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre, a witty celebration of things that go bump in the night.

On his own, Ong gave a scintillating reading of Schumann's Allegro in B major (Op.8), a rarity in recitals simply because it is so difficult to play. The duo resumed in the second half with Six Morceaux (Op.11) of Rachmaninov, varied short works that included a barcarolle, scherzo, waltz, romance, Russian song and Tsarist anthem. The interactive tension, delicate interplay and impeccable musicianship displayed are reasons why live performance will always be more exciting than any reproduced recording.

There will be competition performances and recitals till the closing evening on Monday. 

THE TROUT / NAFA Music Faculty / Review

THE TROUT

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Music Faculty

Lee Foundation Theatre

Thursday (12 January 2017)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 14 January 2017 with the title "Chamber music with lots of heart".

Chamber music is the most pleasurable activity for musicians and listeners alike. Originating from works written for royal court musicians, this later evolved into hausmusik (house music), played by members of 19^th century middle-class households for their own entertainment. A collegial spirit exists in chamber music performance, hopefully allied by excellent techniques and refined tastes.

There were strong doses of all that in this concert featuring faculty of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Music Department. It opened with 20^th century Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski's Trio D'Anches for woodwinds, written during the dark years of the Second World War. Far from being a sombre work, oboist Joost Flach, clarinettist Tang Xiao Ping and bassoonist Aw Yong Tian gave a lively and ebullient reading.

There were dissonances aplenty, and a spicy brand of humour ran through its ten minutes. The fast outer movements were tautly delivered with pin-point cues and accents, contrasted with a slow and doleful central movement, housing a canon where the oboe carried its tune. A dance-like finale with a witty end completed a fine reading.

Further contrasts came in the four-movement Horn Trio by Johannes Brahms, a well-known but not often performed work here. Its paucity is due to a lack of willing French horn players and a strenuously acrobatic piano part. Thankfully hornist Marc-Antoine Robillard was a total natural. Shaping the instrument's singing lines and possessing accurate intonation are often taken for granted.

Pianist Nicholas Ong's role was jumping through musical hoops, especially in the fast 2^nd and 4^th movements, accomplished with no little confidence. Violinist Foo Say Ming completed the threesome, which galloped through the “hunting-call” finale with a fearless panache. Anything slower would have been lead-footed, so their natural impulses were to go for broke. This was very well received by a noisy audience which had far too many fidgety children for its own good.

Too many children behaving poorly and treating
Lee Foundation Theatre like their private playground.
Their parents should be sent for re-education.
Photo taken during the intermission.

Foo was joined in the second half by violist Janice Tsai, cellist Lin Juan, bassist Wang Xu and pianist Lena Ching for Franz Schubert's popular Piano Quintet in A major, nicknamed the Trout Quintet. The performance was by no means note-perfect, but it possessed that pre-requisite of chamber music: lots of heart.

A smart and brisk pace rightly dictated the 1^st movement, helmed by Ching's incisive playing that was anything but mechanical. There were lots of moments to heave a breath and savour the scents, and Ching was always alert to her partner's notes and nuances. The alternating fast and slow movements were contrasted to good effect; the 2^nd movement's congenial indolence found a foil in the punchy rhythms of the 3^rd and 5^th movements.

The work's heart was the 4^th movement, based on Schubert's lied Die Forelle (The Trout, hence the concert's title), which unfolded beautifully with each variation. Here the heart throbbed, and the warmth of camaraderie filled the hall with a glowing presence. That was, simply, the true essence of chamber music.   

GLORIA! / NAFA Orchestra & Chorus / Review

GLORIA!

NAFA Orchestra & Chorus

Victoria Concert Hall

Tuesday (19 April 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 April 2016 with the title "A moving evening of Poulenc".

An all-French programme was the culmination of an academic year's work for the School of Music at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Conducted by British conductor Nicholas Cleobury, presently Head of Opera at Brisbane's Queensland Conservatorium, there was a striking synergy and symmetry that united all three works in the concert.

Beginning with Maurice Ravel's ballet Mother Goose, the young orchestra crafted a very strong narrative thread through its movements (each retelling a tale from Charles Perrault's collection) and intervening intermezzos. The playing was sensitive and evocative, with excellent solos from woodwinds, particularly oboe, flutes and piccolo which conjured an imaginatively fabled atmosphere.

Strings were well disciplined and homogeneous in texture. The opening of The Fairy's Garden was beautifully played, and concertmaster Guo Xingchen's violin solos confident and impressive. In the pentatonic paradise that was Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas, harp, celesta and assorted percussion helped paint an indelible portrait of the Orient, filled with dizzying gamelan sonorities.

That was the vital link to the next work, Francis Poulenc's popular Concerto for Two Pianos, where he used keyboards to simulate the tintinnabuli and clangour of the gamelan orchestra. Soloists Lena Ching and Nicholas Ong, both of the piano faculty, navigated their tricky and intricate parts with razor-sharp reflexes and witty aplomb.

Its aromatic blend of orientalism, neoclassicism (the slow movement was pure Mozartean charm) and popular dancehall tunes wafted with the pungently intoxicating and hypnotic qualities of incense, a true riot for the senses. There was even a curious episode for two pianos and solo cello playing a melody in harmonics. Was this Poulenc's salute to the Javanese spiked fiddle?

After the frolicsome finale which closed with a brilliant show of pianistic hi-jinks, the second half comprised just Poulenc's Gloria for soprano, choir and orchestra. One of the most appealing and often-performed 20^th century choral works, it revealed diametrically opposite aspects of the composer – the sacred and profane, from saint and sinner.

The opening Gloria In Excelsis Deo, executed by excellent brass and percussion with righteous grandeur and pomp, also had an air of flippancy. The 86-strong chorus, meticulously drilled by Lim Yau, responded with corporate drollery, soon breaking out into an enthusiastic and sincerely felt Laudamus Te which made the proceedings all the more light and cheerful.

Cheerful would be an unusual adjective for a sacred work, but Poulenc did not hide behind feigned piety and supplication. Central to his exposition was Indonesian soprano Isyana Sarasvati, NAFA alumnus and now a media sensation of sorts, whose sweet yet unwavering delivery of Dominus Deus was an epitome of purity and poignancy.

The chorus' unison proclamation of Qui Sedes Ad Dexteram Patris was strong and fervent, setting into motion a truly moving finale. How often does one hear a Miserere Nobis (Have Mercy) sound this joyous? Sarasvati's sonorous Amen was a ringing declaration from high, an affirmation of answered prayers to which both chorus and orchestra concluded on a serene and sublime high.  

SOUL MUSIC / KAM NING Violin Recital / Review

SOUL MUSIC

KAM NING, Violin

NICHOLAS ONG, Piano

Lee Foundation Theatre

Thursday (28 January 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 January 2016 with the title "Violinist Kam Ning wins audience over in her solo recital". 

It has been opined that classical music is beneficial for infants and babies in utero. Singaporean violinist Kam Ning obviously advocates the idea, as she emerged for her solo recital in an advanced stage of gravidity. She amiably chatted with the audience before each work and that immediately made everyone feel at home.

The title “Soul Music” of her 75-minute recital performed without intermission pointed to the fact that every work was a feel good piece, hence good for the soul. J.S.Bach's music definitely fit that description, and his Chaconne in D minor (from Unaccompanied Violin Partita No.2) was as big as they come. Although she was performing on a modern instrument, she employed the period technique of minimising vibrato and carved out a lean and lithe sound for this classic.

Her intonation was impeccable throughout, and there was no stinting of dramatic impact in its build-up to a series of impressive climaxes. While Bach was serious, the next work, Sonata Representativa by baroque Bohemian violinist-composer Heinrich Ignaz Biber, made light of the violin's mimicry of nature and farmyard animals.

In 8 continuous movements, a panoply of violinist tricks delighted its listeners, including imitations of a nightingale's call, frogs croaking, henhouse noises and feline caterwauling. A military march where guest cellist Leslie Tan's instrument was turned into a cannon with the nifty use of paper, accompanied by Nicholas Ong on harpsichord, completed the special effects.

Completely different was Estonian composer Arvo Part's Spiegel Im Spiegel (Mirror In A Mirror), a meditative minimalist work built upon a series of arpeggiated triads on the piano and long-breathed sighs from the violin. Time stood still in this heartrending performance which was dedicated by Kam in memory of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. A case of better late than never.

Her idea of spirituality also took the form of her own improvisation of the Christian hymn Amazing Grace. In its variations, she employed the technique and idiom of bluegrass music and country fiddlers in a stupendous show of virtuosity that suggests Paganini making a trip to the Appalachians.

The concert closed with two gypsy-influenced pieces. Hungarian Jeno Hubay's Hejre Kati (Hello Katie) was slightly more traditional in the manner of gypsy rhapsodies, and if it sounded familiar, that was because its highkicking final pages was also used by Brahms in one of his Hungarian Dances. 

The outright showpiece was Ravel's Tzigane with its extended solo introduction and dizzying fast dance. Ong's sweeping piano part simulated the repeated notes of the cimbalom (Hungarian dulcimer) over which Kam's prestidigitation flew like the wind to a breathless close.

For her encore, cellist Tan returned to duet and duel in Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer's Limerock, another work-out of vertiginous country dancing which received prolonged applause. One surmises that what is good for the heart is also good for the soul.