FINDING FINLANDIA / Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute / Review

 

FINDING FINLANDIA 

Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute 

Conservatory Concert Hall 

Saturday (25 January 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 27 January 2025 with the title "Orchestral institute's young musicians offer invigorating read of Sibelius".

It seems there is not a time in history when Russia is not oppressing a smaller nation. The turn of the 20th century saw Finland flexing its own nationalist muscles as it slowly but surely found its independence from the faltering Tsarist empire. 

This concert by the Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute focused wholly on two major works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) which encapsulated that yearn for freedom. Led by guest conductor Ken Lam, director of orchestral studies at the Tianjin Juilliard School and resident conductor of the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra, the concert opened with the imposing but popular tone poem Finlandia (Op.26) of 1899. 

Photo: Ong Shu Chen

Choruses of stirring brass are pivotal for this masterpiece, and from the outset, the young musicians boldly proved themselves with a lack of timidity. Intonation was spot on for most part, paving the way for the familiar Finlandia Hymn, known to most churchgoers here as Be Still, My Soul. Woodwinds followed by strings laid on the self-belief with shovel-loads of fervour. 

Photo: Ong Shu Chen

Contrary to popular belief, this was not a melody derived from folk sources but a Sibelius original, which first appeared in his Press Celebrations Music entitled Tableau VI: Finland Awakes. 

With the patriotism dialled up to the nth level, what followed without intermission was Sibelius’ Second Symphony in D major (Op.43) of 1901-02. Virtually cut from the same fabric, its opening was however more subtle. Strings provided the feeling of warmth, amid a gripping narrative seemingly illustrative of Finland’s dense woods, wintry lakes and granitic landscapes. 

Again, no folk material was quoted, instead listeners were led through the dark recesses of oppressiveness with open ears. This was best felt in the slow second movement, where pizzicato strings opened and a pall later descended on the music. At its bleakest and most desolate moment, the luminous glow of a solo trumpet registered a ray of hope. 

Photo: Ong Shu Chen

All of this heady nationalism to come was implicit, concealed for obvious reasons, yet one could feel it in the bones. By the third movement’s thrall of agitation, where accurate string prestidigitation ruled, anticipation was already in the air. 

Photo: Ong Shu Chen

This clear-headed interpretation from Lam meant one could easily follow the orchestra through difficult journey from darkness to light. The moment when nebulous D minor turned into glorious D major, it was as if billowing clouds cleared to reveal the reality of sunshine. 

With warmth returning and turned on full blast, this was the rallying cry for emancipation which the Finns needed to hear, and more importantly, feel. The young musicians responded accordingly. Needing no further encouragement, they played as if their lives depended on it and were accorded the rightful audience acclamation. 

This listener remembered the first time the Singapore Symphony Orchestra performing it, during the early 1980s, and this youthful reading felt all the more invigorating. Can one call this progress?

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, September 2016)

BRAHMS Sonata for 2 pianos

SCHUMANN Piano Quintet

CYPRIEN KATSARIS 
& HELENE MERCIER, 2 Pianos

Piano 21  044-N / *****

In the homes of 19^th century and fin de siécle bourgeoisie, before the advent of radio and gramophones, musical entertainment took the form of the pianoforte and arrangements for multiple hands on the keyboard. 

Here are two classics of chamber music, heard in versions for four hands or two pianos. Johannes Brahms' Sonata in F minor Op.34b for two pianos is the better known, because it has exactly the same music as his popular Piano Quintet. One simply does not miss the strings here, as Brahms' conception was more symphonic rather than texture-based.

The duo of French-Cypriot Cyprien Katsaris and French-Canadian Helene Mercier are totally musical throughout, yet able to summon the forces of passion for the tempestuous Scherzo and the 4^th movement's final showdown. 

A true rarity based on another popular work is Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet in E flat major Op.44 in a transcription for piano four hands by his wife Clara Schumann. She was the bona fide piano virtuoso of the couple, and the result is so idiomatic such that one wonders why this is not played more often. Here is a gem of a disc that deserves many listens.     

SIBELIUS The Symphonies

Lahti Symphony / OKKO KAMU

BIS 2076 (3 CDS) / *****

Longing for a symphony cycle by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra? This is the closest thing to it. SSO's Finnish Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu has recorded all seven symphonies in his homeland with the Lahti Symphony, where he is Principal Conductor. It is a magnificent set that truly captures Sibelius' heroic and often rough-hewn music.

A way of listening is to follow his progression from first-time symphonist to that of a visionary. Symphony No.1 (1900) on Disc 1 follows from Tchaikovsky's model, then cut off to Disc 2 for the popular Symphony No.2 (1902) as he is established as Finland's patriot. 

This is followed by Symphony No.5 (1919) which shares its bluster and rhetoric. Disc 3 brings together the lightly-textured Symphony No.3 (1907), Symphony No.6 (1923) and the compact Symphony No.7 (1924), which is the shortest symphony comprising his longest single movement.

Then return to Disc 1 to conclude with the enigmatic Symphony No.4 (1911), the bleakest of utterances that ponders the future, as if staring into an abyss. Sibelius' conception revolutionised the 20^th century symphony form, in the manner that Beethoven did a century before.    

SSO Concert: RACHMANINOV: THE FIRST SYMPHONY / Review

 

RACHMANINOV: THE FIRST SYMPHONY

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Friday (3 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 6 August 2012 with the title "Thrilling rush from Rachmaninov".

It is unusual to attend a concert where all the music performed is in the same key signature. Even rarer if that happens to be sombre D minor, a favourite of Sergei Rachmaninov, that Russian purveyor of doom and gloom. Yet there was nary a hint of monotony in a programme which began with the Scherzo in D minor, Rachmaninov’s first orchestral work composed at the age of just 14.

Crisp chirpy woodwinds opened this light Mendelssohnian jaunt which flitted around a little Slavic melody, a delightful bit of counterpoint at play. The Singapore Symphony responded like a well-oiled dynamo, generating a perpetual motion that wound its way for just five brief but eventful minutes.   

The major work was the underrated First Symphony, which Rachmaninov discarded after its disastrous premiere in 1897 thus plunging him into a deep depression. Its main subject was the Dies Irae, the medieval chant of death and judgement, which in turn was prefaced by his own “Vengeance” motif, one that recurs like a Wagnerian curse. Despite being his most original music, it was savaged by the critics, including one who referred to it as the Seven Plagues of Egypt.

Conducted from memory by SSO Music Director Shui Lan, its heart-wrenching pathos and violent mood swings made Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique Symphony sound jolly by comparison. Shui has become a master of musical manipulation, whether teasing out tear-jerking woodwind solos or riding imperiously over defiant marches. The slow third movement, in particular, was a masterclass of bringing out these brutal extremes.

Brilliant brass heralded the finale’s wild ride, whose sense of inevitability fuelled the performance to a feverish climax and its Mahlerian conclusion. Only Shostakovich in his Fifth Symphony (also in D minor) had milked such excesses of emotional catharsis with equal vehemence. This breathtaking view of the symphony, last performed here in 1987, was well worth the wait.  

In between both Rachmaninov works was Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with Qian Zhou, Head of Strings at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, as soloist. Her slender and diminutive frame belied a commanding presence and voluminous sound coaxed from her 1757 J.B.Guadagnini violin. From a mere whisper in the still opening to the fortissimos of slashing cadenzas, her reading was a cataclysmic meeting of fire and ice.

There was risk-taking aplenty in the finale’s romp, which almost threatened to fly off the ledge, but isn’t thrill-seeking and a sense of danger what makes live performances memorable? Her generous encore of Halvorsen’s Passacaglia in duet with SSO Principal violist Zhang Manchin was icing on the cake. G minor also made for a nice change on this D minor dominated evening. 

SEPARATED AT BIRTH? Composers and their Lookalikes

How funny it is for a Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore to cause a complete cessation of musical life in the city. As it is Esplanade, venue of my last five concert reviews, will be closed for the entire duration of the race and more. So here's spending some time in fooling around: I've been on a lookout for musical personalities who look like other people in popular culture and the like. Separated at birth? Here's the first group of looklalikes.

Credit goes the the stylist of German conductor Claus Peter Flor, who has made him look like the splitting image of a certain Ludwig van Beethoven. Flor will be conducting Beethoven's First and Third Symphonies on 29 September, probably the closest we will get to seeing Beethoven conducting his own symphonies.

Still a sceptic? Here's another look at the coiffs of Beethoven and Flor.

Look who's recently completed his cycle of Beethoven piano concertos? Its none other than Dutch pianist / fortepianist Ronald Brautigam paying tribute to his musical idol. Does anyone remember the fact that Beethoven's ancestors were actually Dutch?

Hair plays a part in French pianist Cyprien Katsaris, looking very much like Franz Liszt. Do check out his phenomenal recording of Liszt's transcriptions of the nine Beethoven symphonies.

Carry on Composing is the comedy movie never made where Sid James plays the part of Benjamin Britten about frolics on a Suffolk beach. Maybe it should be called Carry on Decomposing...

Britten's Girl Friday was Imogen Holst, daughter of the composer of The Planets, who herself has a following, being the triplet sister of Miss Grundy (Archie Comics) and Irene Ryan, the granny of Ella Mae Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies.

Both of them are Russian. But has anyone noticed the resemblance between the young Sergei Prokofiev and the former Russian premier Vladimir Putin?

Finally, now we know why Finnish composer Jean Sibelius did not write any other new symphonies in the last forty years of his life. He was busily playing Uncle Fester in The Addams Family.

Coming up: Conductors & Pianists and their Lookalikes

SSO Concert: The Sibelius Symphonies Nos.1&3

THE SIBELIUS SYMPHONIES: NOS.1 & 3
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Tuesday (20 September 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 22 september 2011 with the headline "Pianist's triumphant return"

It is rare for Singapore Symphony Orchestra concerts to take place on a Tuesday evening. Brought forward because of this weekend’s F1 Grand Prix, the hall was however well filled despite horrendous traffic disruptions and parking strictures. Many had come to witness formerly-exiled Singapore-born British pianist Melvyn Tan’s long-awaited debut with the SSO.

He literally glided onto the stage, and while seated a long distance from the piano, made himself completely at home. His performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 in A major (K.488) was a total joy from the word go. Crafting a very light and limpid sound that miraculously transcended the orchestra’s support, he made the piano sing, living up to Mozart’s direction of “flowing like oil”.

There were moments where he decided to broaden tempos and smell the flowers, such as in the first movement’s cadenza and the seemingly timeless central Adagio. Such liberties breathed life and meaning into the music, beyond the routine black and white of the score.

The finale was taken at a sprightly clip, picking up further velocity as both pianist and orchestra raced toward the checkered flag. Tan was clearly enjoying himself as he stepped on the gas, with the ensemble gamely keeping up at every turn. It was simply exhilarating, made ever more enjoyable with a sublime encore, the Schubert-Liszt Serenade (from Schwanengesang).

The Mozart had followed Sibelius’s classically proportioned Third Symphony in C major, the short-winded and arguably least memorable of his seven symphonies. Restraint and cool emotions were the order of its half-hour, even if its procession-like ending attempted to drum up some adrenaline to little avail.

Far more eventful was the First Symphony in E minor, which received a fine and polished reading under Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu’s experienced guiding hands. A pity that many in the audience had cleared the hall post-Melvyn Tan, leaving gaping lacunae in the stalls. Further insult came when Li Xin’s magical opening clarinet solo was marred by some thoughtless Esplanade usher speaking very audibly into her walkie-talkie. Aren’t these people paid to maintain silence and decorum rather than to create a ruckus?

Through its emotional highs and lows, the performance was perfectly judged with svelte strings matched by burnished brass, all through to its big melody and final Tchaikovskyan climax. The balance of four Sibelius symphonies will be heard in two concerts next year, events to make time for.

ERIK T. TAWASTSTJERNA Piano Recital / Review

ERIK T. TAWASTSTJERNA Piano Recital

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concert Hall

Thursday (17 September 2009)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 19 September 2009.

The piano music of the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is hardly ever heard in these parts, so it was a pleasure to have his compatriot and authority Erik T. Tawaststjerna present these in concert. Unlike in the symphonic works, the pianistic Sibelius was best as a miniaturist. His salon-like morceaux are masterful character pieces, filled with simple charm and unusual colour.

Tawaststjerna’s selection of three varied Impromptus (from Op.3) displayed a variegated palette of shades, from solemn chords projected with an organ-like sonority, through folk-like rusticity to scintillating finger work recalling some limpid brooklet. The repeated note technique in the Caprice (Op.24 No.3) also suggested Sibelius might have been familiar with Moszkowski’s Caprice Espagnol.

Perhaps better known is the Romance in D flat major (Op.24 No.9) with its hymn-like melody, brilliant cadenza and epic climax, which Tawaststjerna delivered with great aplomb. Sibelius’ (left) own piano transcription of his biggest hit Finlandia was probably fiscally motivated. The heavy chords, rumbling tremolos, cascading arpeggios and dizzying trills could never replicate its orchestral glory, but its central chorale (Be Still My Soul or Finland Awakes, whichever language one sings it) had a touching poignancy.

The Scandinavian first half closed with Grieg’s early Sonata in E minor (Op.7), which sounded overlong by half, but salvaged by a lovely slow movement that had the same innocent and timeless quality as his Lyric Pieces.

The Chopin selection was the least successful part of the recital. While dark clouds and an inner rage distinguished the Nocturne in C sharp minor (Op.27 No.1), its counterpart in G major (Op.37 No.2) sounded stodgy and laboured. Lapses and missed notes blighted the three Waltzes (of Op.64, including the supposedly facile Minute Waltz), ample proof that there is no such thing as easy Chopin.

Liszt fared better; the Third Consolation displayed clear lines and a certain nobility, while St Francis Walking On The Waves (from Two Legends) thundered imperiously in its heroic but effortful strides. For the final word in simulated bravura, Manuel de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance reveled in mesmerising trills and stamping chords.

Sonic gold dust returned in the sole encore, with The Spruce (Op.75 No.5) by the man of the hour, none other than Sibelius. Simply delectable from Tawaststjerna’s hands, one wished more of this Finnish finesse.