WE REMEMBER PIONEERING SINGAPOREAN VIOLIST LIONEL TAN (1965-2026)

It was with great shock and sadness that we learn of the passing of Singaporean violist LIONEL TAN. He was a founding member of T'ang quartet, Singapore's first professional chamber group, formed in 1992. He leaves behind his partner Marcia, elder brother cellist Leslie, a younger brother Leroy and his parents. He was diagnosed to have oesophageal cancer in early 2025, and fought a good fight until his ultimate passing on 31 May 2026.

Playing for Jiri Heger

Lionel was the first viola student of the late Czech violist Jiri Heger (1946-2023) who was then the Principal violist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Lionel was a member of the Singapore Youth Orchestra, who later pursued his studies in London's Royal College of Music as a SSO scholar. I remember Lionel as a student of from the south wing of Raffles Institution who was regularly seen attending SSO concerts. Little did I know then the role he would play in Singapore's classical music scene as one of its greatest violists.

A more informal session with Jiri Heger

T'ang Quartet poster with a retro design

It was as a violist in the SSO when he teamed up with brother Leslie, and violinists Ng Yu Ying and Ang Chek Meng to form the T'ang Quartet. All four members left the SSO and pursued further studies in Houston's Rice University and won prizes at the Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition in Weimar. Thus began T'ang Quartet's international performing career.

I was fortunate to have been asked to write programme notes for the quartet's concerts and early international tours, and also for its first two commercial CD releases - The Art of War (Pavel Haas and Erwin Schulhoff quartets) and Made in America (Dvorak String Quartet and Quintet). I also did the editorial work for and appeared in a cameo in their four-part documentary No Strings Attached.

Many people have the misconception that musicians without a solo career end up performing in chamber music groups. That is a fallacy. The truth is you have to first be a top-notch soloist in order to master chamber music. And Lionel was a top violist, and a string player of the highest order.

In 1988, at the finals of the Diners Club String Player of the Year Competition, three of Singapore's top young musicians vied for the award performing concertos with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The final three happened to later become founding members of T'ang Quartet. There was Ng Yu Ying performing Bruch's Violin Concerto No.1, Leslie Tan in Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto No.1 and Lionel Tan in Hungarian composer Gyula David's Viola Concerto.  

Exhibiting a beautifully rich and dusky tone, and displaying a virtuosity that defied all viola jokes, Lionel was awarded the first prize. No one would look at the viola and violists the same way again.

Mentoring and inspiring the next
generation of chamber musicians.

Lionel Tan leaves behind a memorable career in performing chamber music, and a rich legacy of teaching as a faculty member of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. His students have gone on to enrich our musical scene in Singapore. Lionel is well-loved and will be sorely missed.

Lionel Tan with Jiri Heger and Noriko Ogawa.

Lionel Tan, founding T'ang Quartet violist, dies at 60 | The Straits Times

ALBUM LAUNCH OF CHEN ZHANGYI'S TWIN CINEMA

String quartets by Singaporean composers are such rare commodities that an album launch of such repertoire is cause for celebration. Young Artist Award recipient Chen Zhangyi is one of Singapore's finest young composers and his new album of two string quartets and a nonet on the Centaur label is big news. Not since Tan Chan Boon's self-produced compact disc recordings of his three string quartets in 2008 has there been such an event of equal importance.

Chen Zhangyi's Twin Cinema comprised his two String Quartets, Echoes (String Quartet No.1), Give and Take (String Quartet No.2) and Twin Cinema (Nonet for double string quartet & double bass). These were recorded at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Recording studio by the T'ang Quartet (No.2), Espoir Quartet (No.1) and both quartets with Russian bassist Guennadi Mouzyka respectively.

The album launch saw Chen speak about his inspirations from poetry (by Yeow Kai Chai and Sara Florian), art (Georgette Chen, no relation) and Singaporean scenes of life. There were no live performances despite all the performers being present, instead short excerpts were aired in the presentation. It was a reflection on the art of composition, and Chen's music is gratifyingly tonal and accessible despite being a child of its time, the early 21st century.

I had the fortune of witnessing the performances of Give and Take and Twin Cinema in 2023, and had written that "Chen's music blends aural lushness and gentle dissonance in a memorable way", with "ear-catching, rhythmic movements...where jazz, pop and rock rhythms provided a dynamic close." About the Nonet, "both quartets had separate narrative threads, representing different cultures with their respective interactions and reactions being the work's essence."

He also cited Mendelssohn's Octet as an inspiration of his Nonet, the premiere which was performed here by the Stradivari Quartet and Singapore Symphony Orchestra musicians:

The artwork by local artist Alvin Mark Tan from the recording were used for the album, on display and later presented to bassist Guennadi Mouzyka and recording engineer Zhou Xiaodong for their invaluable contributions to the project.

It would not be a Singaporean event had it not closed with platters of local food, pizzas and drinks! Although a compact disc recording has not been produced, individual tracks and the album may be sampled and purchased at:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9731877--twin-cinema?srsltid=AfmBOopDDwZXHFqIMdJwi2xMCSZsGhlpJk9uGBD7hhPcaoygICgStAU2

Chen Zhangyi with the founding members
of T'ang Quartet, violinists Ng Yu Ying
and Ang Chek Meng.

DANCE WITH THE FOUR / T'ang Quartet / Review

 

DANCE WITH THE FOUR 

T’ang Quartet, Ning An & Albert Tiu 

Conservatory Concert Hall 

Tuesday (29 October 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 31 October 2024 with the title 'T'ang Quartet shows Shostakovich and Piazzolla share common love for Bach".

The T’ang Quartet as we knew it in 1992, its inaugural year, does not quite exist any more. An ensemble-in-residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, its remaining founding members violinists Ng Yu Ying and Ang Chek Meng now perform concerts with guest musicians. A former student, Korean cellist Cho Hang-oh, joined it for this concert as did fellow faculty member violist Zhang Manchin for a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor (Op.57). 

Arguably the most performed 20th century piano quintet, it had inspirations from the Baroque, notably Johann Sebastian Bach. Pianist Ning An’s big opening chords on the newly-gifted Fazioli grand was a statement of intent in the Prelude, from which a probing exposition sprouted and grew. The very tight ensemble continued into the lengthy Fugue, where individual voices and contrapuntal lines stood out with illuminating clarity. 

Photo: Faezah Zulkifli

With formality out of the way, the group let down its collective hair for the madcap Scherzo, its biting irony and vitriolic humour in tandem with a swinging beat. Sparks flew for a short but scintillating course, its irreverent tone giving way to the Intermezzo’s walking-paced passacaglia, yet another Baroque form. 

Seriousness would be called to question with the Finale’s levity and faux-cheeriness soon taking over. One might be puzzled by the volte-face, but the players’ determination in keeping tongues lodged in cheeks held firm, through a manic march to its ambiguous close. The Soviet regime was flummoxed, even awarding Shostakovich the coveted Stalin Prize in 1941. 

After the interval, the T’angs were joined by conservatory student violist Huang Yi and pianist Albert Tiu for a second half of tangos by Argentine composer / bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. One might inquire what on earth Shostakovich and Piazzolla had in common. 

The answer would be found by just listening: a shared love of Bach. 

Fuga y Mysterio, which began an enjoyable run of half a dozen tangos, was built upon a fugue. Tiu, who crafted these nifty transcriptions, opened with a highly syncopated piano subject, with string voices joining in sequence. Percussive beats were provided by striking of wood (on cello and piano) and short-and-sharp bowing near the bridge. Old J.S. would have been proud of the mastery of counterpoint involved. 

With Soledad (Solitude), Piazzolla had one of his most achingly beautiful slow movements. And how Ng’s violin sang, followed by Huang’s warm and duskily burnished tone on viola. In Concierto Para Quinteto, a progression of descending notes formed the bass over which all instruments took their turns, essentially a passacaglia in disguise. Where did we hear that before? 

In Oblivion, another classic slow movement, solo viola and Cho’s cello came to the fore, poignantly so. La Muerte del Angel (The Death of Angel) was another busy fugue, infectious in its frenetic rhythm and the concert closed with Le Grand Tango, originally written for cello and piano. Here the parts were equally shared by all five players, who clearly enjoyed driving to its intoxicating and rapturous close.

LOVE FOR FRENCH MUSIC / OF WAR & PEACE / SSO Chamber Series & T'ang Quartet / Review

 

A LOVE OF FRENCH MUSIC 

SSO Chamber Series 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Thursday (3 October 2024)

OF WAR AND PEACE 

T’ang Quartet 

The Arts House Chamber 

Sunday (6 October 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 October 2024 with the title "Rarities aired at SSO's chamber series and T'ang Quartet's concerts".

It is always refreshing to see unfamiliar works of music programmed alongside more popular numbers of the classical canon. A pair of chamber concerts demonstrated that good programming will invariably be reciprocated by very encouraging audience response. 

The first concert was part of an all-French two-nighter presented by musicians of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Camille Saint-Saens’ Fantaisie for violin and harp in A major (Op.124) is virtually unknown outside of harp circles, a late work of melodic invention and charm. 

Gulnara Mashurova’s harp was the anchor, providing steady accompaniment with the lightness and transparency of timbre that a piano could never replicate. Over this, Zhao Tian’s violin had most of the lyrical passages, later turning into outright display. In their hands, the music never descended into empty fireworks or frivolity. 

Receiving a local premiere was Bernard Andres’ Chants d’arriere-saison (Songs of a Season Past), unusually scored for French horn and harp. Its seven short movements could have posed serious issues of balance, but principal hornist Austin Larson’s tonal control was exemplary. 

He produced a wealth of colour and nuance, his excellent intonation also complemented by the harp’s varied textures. The music was Romantic in idiom and accessibly tonal, with autumnal and melancholic being predominant moods that was well worth listening to again. 

The evening was completed by Maurice Ravel’s popular String Quartet in F major, with Zhao and Zhang Sijing on violins with violist Janice Tsai and cellist Christopher Mui. Despite the foursome playing together for the first time, the result was a taut reading which lacked nothing in poetry and rhythmic vitality. 

The Scherzo with its pizzicatos and pentatonics relived the gamelan’s percussive clangour, and found a canny visual resonance with violinist Zhao’s batik outfit. 

T’ang Quartet, Singapore’s longest existing professional chamber group, also presented a programme of rarities. Founding members Ng Yu Ying and Ang Chek Meng on violins were joined by two young guests players, violist Patcharaphan Khumprakob and cellist Cho Hang-oh. Both were alumni of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory where the original quartet is resident. 

Alexander Borodin’s First String Quartet in A major is far less popular than its successor, but got a fresh and invigorating reading it deserved. Ng and Ang’s vast experience must have indelibly rubbed on their former students as this foursome performed like a well-seasoned outfit. The rapt slow introduction was ear-catching in its voicing and precision, then giving way to the opening movement’s flowing main theme which quoted a late Beethoven quartet. 

No self-respecting string quartet would omit fugal writing, and the obligatory counterpoint in three movements was well-handled. The Scherzo’s prestidigitation was impressive, as was the mastery of syncopation and dotted rhythms of the furious finale. 

The all-Russian evening’s gripping tour de force was Dmitri Shostakovich’s Third String Quartet in F major, composed shortly after the end of World War Two. T’ang’s forte has always been Slavic music and this was right up its alley. The first movement’s irony and mock gaiety wore a poker-face throughout, later giving way to the slashings of the second movement’s demented waltz. 

Horrors and brutality of war were laid bare in the third movement, which must have given ideas to Bernard Herrmann’s film score for Psycho. A humanising voice would emerge in the slow movement’s moving passacaglia, and later in the finale’s Jewish-influenced dance. The audience held its collective breath at the work’s quiet end before erupting in vociferous applause.

Landmark: This was my 2600th article 

for The Straits Times.

A TRIBUTE TO JIRI HEGER, MASTER VIOLIST (1946-2023)

MEMORIES OF JIRI HEGER

Master Violist & 

Singapore’s Original Bohemian

 

We are saddened by the passing on 11 November 2023 of Czech violist JIRI HEGER, who was for 26 years the Principal Violist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He served Singapore’s burgeoning classical music scene for over 32 years, including being the main viola teacher at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

 

Jiri (pronounced Yee-Zhee) joined the SSO in 1980, at a time when experienced musicians from Eastern Europe were employed to develop the orchestra. One is also reminded of the contributions of former concertmaster Pavel Prantl (Czechia), violist George Man (Hungary), bassist Vladimir Pushkarev (Slovakia), percussionist Grzegorz Markiewicz (Poland), and several Romanians who were all pioneers of the SSO. Previously, he played in the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, but the Islamic revolution put an end to that. Drawn to Singapore, Jiri came, settled and never left, later taking on Singapore citizenship.

Jiri with his students,
the young T'ang Quartet, late-1980s

 

One of Jiri’s greatest legacies was being for many years the numero uno teacher of violists in Singapore. Anybody and everybody connected to that “unfashionable” instrument had been his student. He made playing the viola cool, and mentored the likes of violist Lionel Tan and the string players who would later become the T’ang Quartet, Singapore’s first professional chamber group.

 

Imagine his pride when Lionel won the Diners Club String Player of the Year Competition in 1988 playing Gyula David’s Viola Concerto (Leslie Tan and Ng Yu Ying were the other finalists) and when T’ang Quartet made its first two CD revordings. The Art Of War showcased the works of Erwin Schulhoff and Pavel Haas (Czech composers murdered in the Nazi Holocaust) while Made In America featured Dvorak’s String Quartet and String Quintet (Op.96 and 97). Jiri’s imprimatur was indelible in both these landmark recordings, capped off by him  playing the second viola part in the quintet.

 

Jiri made several CD recordings of his own including a rare recital for the quinton, an antique brybrid instrument from the viol family. He was the only quinton player in Singapore, and his recording of sonatas by Cesar Franck and Edvard Grieg truly stands the test of time. He also made a disc of Czech lollipops with French pianist Etienne Chenevier which was also a true delight.

Jiri greeting British pianist Stephen Hough
after a SSO concert in 2019. 
Photo: Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Even after he retired from professional playing and teaching, Jiri was a regular presence at local concerts, toting his huge camera and lending support to his colleagues. He was always full of praise for musicians and performances, never uttering a harsh word or expressing any kind of bitterness. He was a true lover and friend of classical music, and the likes of Singapore’s original Bohemian will never the be seen again.

 

The following are some photographs and tributes from people who have known Jiri well:

Jiri with star pupil Lionel Tan

 

LIONEL TAN,

Founding violist of T’ang Quartet writes:

I was his first student in Singapore.

An everlasting relationship - a true father who always gave. Not just musically but even more. The music cassettes that he regularly sent to me when I was studying in London was always such a joy.

 

Beyond lessons, the times I spent with him when I was in SSO after my studies were always lessons in life, observing him, absorbing his thoughts…

 

His legacy will live on.

 

Jiri with the Low sisters,
Shao Ying (L) and Shao Suan (R)
in April 2023

 

LOW SHAO YING & SHAO SUAN,

Duo pianists write:

 

Three weeks ago on 11th November, late at night, we received the sad and shocking news of the passing of Jiri Heger, a longtime dear friend and former colleague. We were in disbelief as the last time we met him for lunch was some months ago in April. He still looked very healthy then. And only three months ago, he wished us a Happy Birthday via a few of his friends, which now as we come to think about it, seemed strange as every other year, he would personally call us or text us on our birthdays.

 

We have known Jiri since 1995 when we first performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He was already a very lovely, kind, encouraging and funny guy. We got to know him better when we joined Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music as piano accompanists, and Shao Ying was the appointed pianist for his viola studio. His dedication, passion, love and encouragement for his students and Shao Ying gained him their respect, devotion, admiration and love in return. 

He was also very generous with his time during lessons as he wanted to make sure his students understood every lesson before it ended. His lessons were very inspiring, enjoyable and interesting, and he loved to share his vast musical knowledge and personal experiences. Whenever a student made a mistake and seemed affected by it, Jiri would famously say, “We are all humans. Humans make mistakes. Even machines will breakdown.” We have been using this very wise saying on our students ever since.

 

After Jiri’s retirement from SSO and the conservatory, we still met once or twice a year to catch up, especially around his birthday. We would also text (or email when he was away) at times to see how each other was doing. Whenever we had any concerts, he would do his best to attend to show his unwavering support. Besides music, Jiri was also an avid photographer. Wherever he went, he never failed to capture special moments with his trusted camera, be it during his holiday trips or during our meet-ups. We still have with us the many physical and digital photographs that Jiri so kindly gave us, which will now sadly, be our only momentoes of him.

 

To have met and known Jiri was an honour and privilege for us. We will always remember his kindness, his love, his generosity, his encouragement, his strong yet warm voice and his infectious hearty laughter. “May you rest in peace, dear Jiri. Thank you for your love and friendship and for being part of our lives. You will forever be very fondly remembered by every lucky soul that have met and known you. Farewell and till we meet again.”

 

With love, Shao Ying and Shao Suan

 

 

Although Donald Law did not play the viola,
Jiri took him under his wing and introduced
him to Czech pianist Ivan Klansky,
who tutored Donald pro bono.

Donald Law, Pianist writes:

 

Goodbye to my dear old friend. As much as everyone says that you’re in a better place (which I’m sure you are), reuniting with your beloved mother, the fact remains that I’ll fondly miss the times we shared for the past 13 years.

 

All those hours worth of conversations we had at the Bishan Park Canopy cafe, talking about anything and everything under the sky, mainly revolving around music. Though we don’t play the same instruments, but I’m so glad that we share the same vision, taste, passion and beliefs about music. No words can describe the sense of loss I’m going through now, thank you for everything and especially for always believing in me from the beginning, when almost no one did at that point, not even myself! 

You saw me grow as a student till now as a father, watching me went through my ups and downs, but never once have your support and confidence in me waned. Thank you for turning up at every single performance, regardless big or small, exam recitals or public recitals, you were always there at the audience, giving one of the loudest applause. Your support and encouragement never failed to inspire me.

 

You were like a grandfather to me, you will always hold a special place in my heart. See you at the other side next time, my dear old friend!

After Donald's concert at
Esplanade Recital Studio, January 2023.

Update: I have dedicated my review of the Pavel Haas Quartet's concert in Victoria Concert Hall on 19 May 2024 to the memory of Jiri Heger, SSO's first and original Bohemian. You can find the review on Bachtrack.com here:

Pavel Haas Quartet’s triumphant, all-Bohemian Singapore debut | Bachtrack