CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW Piano Recital / Review

CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW Piano Recital

VCH Chamber Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Friday (15 April 2016)

The British pianist Christian Blackshaw's first piano recital in Singapore consisted of works “that are better than they could be performed,” to borrow the words of a certain Artur Schnabel. Austro-Germanic, that was probably what he meant, thus excluding all Slavic, French and contemporary repertoire. So no Chopin, Liszt or Rachmaninov, the usual crowd-pleasers.

Nevertheless, a good house greeted Mozart's Sonata in C minor (K.457), one of two sonatas (from 18 sonatas in total) written in the minor key. The first movement was muscular and tension-laden, brought out in a crisp and sprightly manner by Blackshaw, fully aware of its symphonic possibilities. The cantabile he crafted in the slow movement outlined the the music's simplicity and beauty. The finale returned to the earlier storm and stress, but this time it felt leaner and with a meanness that provided little comfort. 

This was Mozart at his most gaunt and unsmiling, and kudos to Blackshaw for not trying to gilt-edge its overall sombre mood. However C minor gave way to C major for Schumann's Fantasie Op.17, one of his most glorious piano creations. The full flush of Romanticism would hit one in the face, and Blackshaw's generous account stirred up feelings of love and warmth through its surging pages, notwithstanding a few mishit notes.

The central movement's march strode with purpose and passion, and even the treacherous octave leaps nears its conclusion did little to faze him. These were committed whole-heartedly with no diminution of speed or power. The slow movement that was the finale unfolded majestically with the valedictory chordal climax arriving not once but twice, each time rising to an almost undescribable high, before resigning to sublime quiet C major chords.

After the interval, the sermon at the Vic continued with Schubert's final Sonata in B flat major (D.960). This, again, was a wonderfully nuanced reading, with the gravity of the first two movements balanced by the levity of the last two.

Again the warmth of sound enveloped the hall in the 1^st movement's longeurs. Blackshaw omitted the exposition repeart, thus averted those uncharacteristic hiccuping bars that might have disrupted the music's inexorable flow. Neither did the music sound short-winded as a result, such was Blackshaw's mastery of exposition and development.

The opening of the timeless slow movement was marvellously weighted, its echoes resounded as if emanating from some distant valley. The life-affirming central section in A major was also built up with purpose, providing much needed contrast. Time stood still for what I consider the true heart of this masterpiece, one that reflects Schubert's inner sorrow and torment.

The last two movements seemed almost inconsequential after the first two, but what is Schubert without his humour and gaiety? The Scherzo was dainty, even skittish, but fingered with a lightness that was hard to dislike. The Hungarian-flavoured finale that followed doubled the delight, but tempered by a passionate outburst, as if trying to shake off the earlier frolicking. The all too short and abrupt ending to the sonata (contrast this with the “Great” C major Symphony) sounded as if Schubert was anxiously trying to close accounts with little more to add.

Nevetheless, Blackshaw gave an enthralling and moving account of Schubert's greatest sonata, which to be honest has not been performed much on this stage. This listener remembers great readings by Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich (1986, before he became just Stephen Kovacevich) and Nikolai Demidenko (2003), and Christian Blackshaw joins this small but illustrious list. What could possibly follow this as an encore? Schubert's Impromptu in G flat major (Op.90 No.3), played with the same grace and beauty that had distinguished all that came before.

No photographs of the concert were available, as the artist had instructed that the house-lights be dimmed to near semi-darkness for the entire duration of the concert.


DON'T MISS:
CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW 
& SSO musicians in
SCHUBERT'S Trout Quintet
Victoria Concert Hall
Sunday 17 April 2016,  4 pm
Tickets available at SISTIC

DOHNANYI & SHOSTAKOVICH / VCH Chamber Series / Review

DOHNANYI & SHOSTAKOVICH

VCH Chamber Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (28 February 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 1 March 2016 with the title "Light-hearted ambiguous finale a teaser".

The Victoria Concert Hall Chamber Series organised by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra often brings out and dusts off interesting corners of chamber repertoire not regularly heard in concert or on disc. This offering of Hungarian and Russian music was no exception.

The Hungarian composers Zoltan Kodaly and Erno Dohnanyi were contemporaries and colleagues. While the former espoused nationalism and revolutionised music education, the latter made his name as a piano virtuoso. As creators, both were conservatives beside their compatriot Bela Bartok.

The trio of violinist Lillian Wang, violist Tan Wee-Hsin and cellist Chan Wei Shing made no secret that their selection of music by both Hungarians was little more than delightful lollipops. Kodaly's Intermezzo (1905) was infused with rustic charm, led by a folksy violin melody gliding over rocking rhythmic accompaniment, with contrasts provided by a bucolic drone in its central section.

More substantial was Dohnanyi's 5-movement Serenade in C major. Ever the academic, he included a lyrical Romanza, a furious fugal Scherzo and Variations on a chorale theme, bookended by two march-like outer movements. There was much to enjoy in the fine interplay and balance achieved by the threesome, with all voices sharing equal honours.  

These were pleasant diversions, distressingly slight next to the imposing Piano Quintet in G minor by Dmitri Shostakovich. The original pianist, the Russian Viktoria Postnikova, was indisposed for undisclosed reasons, and her place filled by Filipino pianist and conservatory don Albert Tiu.

Any hint of disappointment was immediately dispelled as Tiu was as rock-solid as they come, registering an earth-shaking G minor chord and opening flourish that was to set the tone of the work. The first two movements comprised a Prelude and Fugue, looking forward to his  monumental set of 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano in homage to Bach. 

Alongside Tiu was the excellent string quartet of violinists Ye Lin and Cao Can, violist Zhang Manchin and cellist Wang Zihao, all of whom have or had conservatory ties. One would be hard put to find the elegiac Fugue played with such utmost clarity, building from the first violin's simple line and rising to an impassioned climax before gently receding.

The jesting Scherzo had a bounding and bumptious quality that was to catch listeners by surprise. After so much seriousness, was this brief punch-drunk detour meant to be a tongue-in-cheek riposte? The music sobered up again in the Intermezzo and here was an outpouring of grief that only strings know how. Its sobbing quality was perfectly captured by the players, which led directly to a most puzzling of finales.

Was its apparent light-heartedness a sly dig against Stalinist authoritarianism? The wry humour and quiet ending was played straight and without irony by the quintet, which left its ambiguous conclusion all the more teasing. The hearty applause garnered suggested that nobody in the audience was going to ask for their money back.  

SAX & SEXTET / VCH Chamber Series / Review

SAX AND SEXTET

VCH Chamber Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Saturday (31 October 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 November 2015 with the title "SSO scores a hat-trick".

Three Singapore premieres featured in this concert by members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestras and their guests, part of the innovative Victoria Concert Hall Chamber Series. World renowned French classical saxophonist Claude Delangle, in town for recording sessions with the SSO, helmed the first half with two rarely programmed works.

The first is slightly better known, Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff's Hot Sonata (1930) for alto sax and piano. The term “hot” referred to the fever that was sweeping Europe from the New World during the 1920s and 30s, the influence of Afro-American jazz in music that also obsessed composers like Ravel, Poulenc, Milhaud and Martinu. Its four movements thrived on vigorous syncopated rhythms, blues harmonies and any hint of the subversive.

Delangle lapped up its sultry vibes with great relish and animation, especially in the 3^rd movement with wailing portamentos that would not be out of place in the smoky dives of Harlem. Providing accompaniment was pianist Low Shao Suan whose rock-solid timing and mastery of tricky beats enabled him to weave a magical spell through the work's quarter-hour.

More conventional was Adolf Busch's Saxophone Quintet (1925), with Delangle joined by violinists Chan Yoong Han and Cindy Lee, violist Luo Biao and cellist Chan Wei Shing. Think of a clarinet quintet but replace it with the duskily burnished tones of sax, and throw in pages of rich Brahmsian counterpoint spiced with skirting at the edges of tonality.

The result was an adventurous performance which gave much satisfaction, capped by a quirky Theme & Variations movement which alternated between sobriety and whimsicality before closing with long-breathed lyricism and quiet sublimity.

The third was, also the longest, was Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Sextet (1824), composed when he was only 15. It is a virtuoso piano concerto in all but name, with pianist Albert Tiu from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in supreme control. The unusual scoring, with violin (with Chan Yoong Han), two violas (Gu Bing Jie and Marietta Ku), cello (Ng Pei-Sian) and double-bass (Yang Zheng Yi), was for the purpose of domestic Hausmusik, that is to be played by skilled amateurs in polite 19^th century homes.

In reality, only seasoned professionals could pull off the perfomance the audience was treated to today. The balance between strings and piano was excellent, and the inevitable pianistic prestidigitation flowed like pure silk. The slow movement was a seamless “song without words” contrasted by a Beethovenian urgency of the Minuet and Trio.

The exciting finale was pure joy itself, with moments of humour as the dominant piano gave way for the violin to hog the limelight, albeit for few short measures. This is the sort of congeniality that takes place in sparkling chamber music, and no one would begrudge the loud and lengthy applause that greeted its spirited finish. 

Claude Delangle meets with
Singapore's young saxophonists.

FRANCK'S PIANO QUINTET / VCH Chamber Series / Review

FRANCK'S PIANO QUINTET

VCH Chamber Series

Sunday (19 July 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 July 2015 with the title "An edgy and lyrical afternoon of chamber music".

There are so many chamber concerts by talented young musicians these days that it is easy to forget that the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's own chamber series featuring its players still provides excellent playing and value for one's time. This latest concert underlines the importance of this series, which will in time get progressively ambitious.

The first half featured Russian fare, opening with a piano trio arrangement of Rachmaninov's Vocalise (Op.34 No.14). Violinist Chen Da Wei and cellist Yu Jing got the share of its juicy melodies while pianist Yao Xiao Yun's role was that of able accompanist. Unfortunately, some of the harmonies employed in this score were unidiomatic (one doubts whether the composer would have sanctioned it) and the result was more sickly sentimental than melancholic.

No such doubts existed for Shostakovich's Piano Trio No.1, a student work from his teenaged years. In its single movement, one already discerns the sparks of genius that would light up his precocious First Symphony. His brand of bittersweet was unlike Rachmaninov's, and one tinged with irony and parody, which was trenchantly brought out by the three players. 

Emerging from occasional jarring dissonances, Yu's cello sang with much lyrical beauty but the throw-back to Romanticism was brief, soon to be overshadowed by the dark gloom that would mostly occupy Shostakovich's output. The trio responded well to abrupt swings in mood and dynamics, more than making up for the music's somewhat ambiguous ending.

On the same edgy frequency was Cesar Franck's Piano Quintet in F minor, one of the great repertoire works for this medium. One will scarcely find a more cohesive string quartet group than the one led by violinist Lynnette Seah, which included violinist Cindy Lee, violist Zhang Manchin and cellist Ng Pei-Sian. Their opening register was gripping, a sinister growl that would define the work's starkly sombre tone.

Pianist Liu Jia's entry was more leisurely, even mellow, but soon she would be dragged into the music's mesmerising intensity. She played with piano lid half down, which allowed better integration with the strings, rather than stand out as a soloist. This unity brilliantly bore out the music's unfolding upheavals and turmoil without letting up for a moment.

There were spots of transcending beauty in the slow movement, where Seah's violin sang out as if it were waxing lyrical in Franck's popular Violin Sonata. The calm was broken with the final movement's manic march to the edge of sanity, with a terrifying sense of momentum. The five musicians were fully in control while the music seemed to hurtle dangerously towards parts unknown.

Little wonder that its original dedicatee, the genteel Camille Saint-Saëns was so incensed that he stormed out after its premiere. On the count of this afternoon's commanding performance, the audience would stride out of Victoria Concert Hall with nothing less than total satisfaction and admiration.      

Acknowledging the applause are Ng Pei-Sian,
Lynnette Seah, Liu Jia, Cindy Lee and Zhang Manchin.

SSO Music Director Shui Lan offers his
congratulations to the performers.

SSO Chamber Concert: SCHOENBERG PIERROT LUNAIRE / Review

SCHOENBERG Pierrot Lunaire

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

VCH Chamber Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (8 March 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 10 March 2015 with the title "Taut performance of technically difficult Schoenberg work".

Concerts in the Victoria Concert Hall Chamber Series have seldom come as adventurous as this, a concert devoted wholly to the music of Viennese iconoclast Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), credited as the father of musical atonality. His compositions carried on from the harmonic advances of Wagner and Mahler, propelling music into hostile unknown territory, with earthshaking innovations still being felt in the 21st century.

Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No.1, composed in 1906, marked the beginning of the end of tonality. Scored for just 15 instruments (one to a part) and playing for about 20 minutes, its astringency and conciseness were almost the antithesis of Mahler's sprawling symphonies. Yet they were kindred spirits, but working from opposite directions.

Stretching the limits of tonality to near breaking point, there are discernible themes which recur and are developed, culminating with a complex signature chord formed by quartals (intervals of fourths). There were even concessional gestures of romanticism, suggesting that Schoenberg could be a fine melodist when he chose to be.

The SSO musicians led by Music Director Shui Lan gave a taut and cogent account of this technically very difficult work. Individual virtuosity was only surpassed by cohesiveness of ensemble work, and with each reprise of the motto themes, the work became progressively less forbidding. Schoenberg's tonal colours were well served, and the overall spirit indicative of the times - anxious and increasingly neurotic - was trenchantly captured.

All this effort would have been much harder for the audience had it not been for the excellent pre-performance preambles by American musicologist Angela Hodgins, who provided the historical background to Schoenberg's life and art. These were illustrated by the use of photographic slides and musical examples played by the musicians on stage. Kudos to SSO for paying attention to the educational aspects of the music it programmes and performs.

The main work was Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, a semi-theatrical 21-piece song cycle (setting of words by Albert Giraud) for soprano and six players. Premiered in Berlin in 1913, this expressionist and wholly atonal work was to change the face of music forever, much like the contemporaneous ballet The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. It was Stravinsky (who had considered Schoenberg a mortal rival) who proclaimed that Pierrot Lunaire was "the solar plexus and mind of 20th century music".

This was not the Singapore premiere of Pierrot Lunaire, which received two previous performances by Malaysia-born soprano Khor Ai Ming. This evening's soloist, the Korean soprano Jeong Ae Ree, had the advantage of being schooled in the German language while studying in Schoenberg's Austria. Hers came off as the more natural interpretation although less theatrical. The sprechgesang technique used both speech and singing with frequent sliding in between pitches, from quiet whispers to hysterical full-throated yelps, and a full gamut of emotions besides. Translations in English were provided, projected onto a screen behind.

Each song had 13 verses, of which the first is repeated in the seventh and final verses. All had a surreal quality, with the commedia dell'arte character Pierrot as the subject who ponders on life, intoxication and lunacy (hence the title of being "moonstruck"), mortality and finally restoration. Given its esotericism and almost impenetrable idiom, the concert was well attended and even the children present were attentively engaged.

Bravos go to the very credible and likeable Jeong, who could have been placed more forward to better catch her words, and conductor Shui for smartly marshalling his forces, which included violinist Igor Yuzefovich, flautist Jin Ta, clarinettist Ma Yue, violist Zhang Manchin, cellist Ng Pei-Sian and pianist Shane Thio. The cause of contemporary music (which still sounds modern a century later) had been more than well served.

THOMAS ZEHETMAIR & RUTH KILLIUS IN RECITAL / Review

THOMAS ZEHETMAIR 

& RUTH KILLIUS IN RECITAL

VCH Chamber Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (2 November 2014) 

This review was published in The Straits Times on 4 November 2014 with the title "Rarely heard works heard in an intimate settings".

Concert life in Singapore has been greatly enhanced when visiting artists performing with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra stay on a little longer to give chamber concerts or masterclasses. This year’s reopening of Victoria Concert Hall has provided audiences with further opportunities to witness a different kind of artistry in chamber music within more intimate settings.

One day after their “big” concert with the SSO, Austrian violinist-conductor Thomas Zehetmair and his wife violist Ruth Killius lit up Victoria Concert Hall again with more Mozart. Their two-hour long recital featured two Mozart Duos and two string quartets, performing with SSO string players, works hardly heard in concert here.

The pair of Mozart duos for violin and viola are truly beautiful works that demonstrate the purity of the voices of both instruments. Duo No.1 in G major (K.423), which opened the concert, seemed outwardly simple but provided a feast of polyphony. Zehetmair’s tone was incisive but sweet, a balm that was further soothed by Killius warm and mellow sound. Together their playing resonated like a single instrument, their parts so lovingly intertwined.

Its slow movement possessed the seamless quality of Mozart’s operatic arias, and the finale’s Rondo exhibited a full-voiced humour that was vintage. The programme notes stated that Mozart tried to disguise his style (writing on behalf of an ailing Michael Haydn) but there was little mistaking his overriding genius.

The two string quartets were as alike as chalk and cheese. SSO violinist Nikolai Koval and cellist Guo Hao joined the duo in Paul Hindemith’s Quartet Op.32 No.5, a work of uncompromising modernism. The grittiness and slashing dissonances are closer to the spirit of Bartok and Shostakovich, both great composers of quartets, but deeper inside laid the German’s allegiance to Bach and the world of counterpoint.

Amid the aural violence trenchantly delivered by the foursome, one could discern fugal sequences of complexity, and after a short but menacing Little March, a magnificent Passacaglia emerged, one so well disguised as to be almost unrecognisable. The performance, likely to be a Singapore premiere, is unlikely to be bettered for some time here.

The second quartet was Haydn’s Serenade in F major, now known to be written by the obscure Bavarian Roman Hoffstetter. Its popular second movement raised smiles of recognition as Zehetmair’s melodic line soared above the pizzicato string accompaniment, provided by Killius, violinist Ye Lin and cellist Wang Yan.

The final item was Mozart’s Duo No.2 in B flat major (K.424), which mirrored the first half’s offering. Again the nobility of conception and execution shone through in the vivid dialogue engaged between Zehetmair and Killius through its three movements. The grace of the slow movement and the finale’s perky theme and variations provided the icing on the cake. Performing music to this exalted level might seem like a hard day’s work, but the duo made it sound like play, and lots more play. That is the essence of true chamber music-making.

  

THE FOUR SEASONS OF BUENOS AIRES / VCH Chamber Series / Review

THE FOUR SEASONS 

OF BUENOS AIRES

VCH Chamber Series

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (19 October 2014)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 October 2014 with the title "Charming with four seasons".

Sunday afternoons have come alive again at Victoria Concert Hall, with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s chamber concert series moving back to the historic performing venue from the School of the Arts. There are concerts featuring big names coming up, but the orchestra’s own musicians, greeted by a sizeable audience, are more than capable of putting up a good show.

This afternoon’s concert offered music for chamber trios, opening with Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Listeners would be more familiar with Leonid Desyatnikov’s arrangement for solo violin and chamber orchestra, usually coupled with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The piano trio version performed was more modest, but included all the main themes.

Departing from the sequence stated in the programme notes, the trio of violinist Chen Da Wei, cellist Yu Jing and pianist Yao Xiao Yun started with Spring and ended with Winter. The melodic lines were shared alternately by cello and violin, while the piano provided the steady beat which distinguished each movement as a tango, the sultry dance with all its sensual connotations.

Something is missing when Piazzolla’s own instrument the bandoneon (the Argentine accordion) is absent but the trio milked the music’s sentimentality for all its worth, with seemingly improvised cadenzas providing an element of showiness. In Winter (Invierno Porteno), a quote from Vivaldi’s Winter was included as the work closed in reassuring solace. The trio added Dvorak’s familiar Humoresque as an equally inviting encore.

The second half was longer, featuring Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat major (K.563), which despite its diminutive title, lasts some 40 minutes. This mature work was contemporaneous with his final trilogy of symphonies, but longer than all of them. Its multi-movement form was more akin to his Serenades, and inhabited with the same light-heartedness. 

The trio of violinist Lillian Wang, violist Tan Wee-Hsin and cellist Chan Wei Shing brought out a very warm sonority, no doubt aided by the hall’s bright acoustics. Any fear that the work’s duration might weary the listener was allayed by the work’s melodic interest and wealth of ideas. The second movement Adagio provided a semblance of sobriety but the load was lightened by Wang’s disarmingly beautiful tone on her violin.

There were two lively and jocular Minuets separated by an Andante, which turned ut to be a charming set of variations on a rustic country dance, ending well before it outstayed its welcome. The finale had none of the frenetic busyness of most conclusions but was an elegant rondo whose theme sounded better with each return. This performance smiled from ear to ear, which pretty much summed up the true spirit of hausmusik, which was to provide more than an abundance of pleasure.  

VCH Chamber Series / Spectrum: Cage + 5 / Review

VCH Chamber Series: Evening Potpourri
Victoria Concert Hall
Sunday (1 November 2009, 5 pm)
Spectrum: Cage + 5
Esplanade Recital Studio
Sunday (1 November 2009, 7.30 pm)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 November 2009.

Contemporary music appears to be winning over a growing audience, judging by the encouraging attendances at the weekend’s chamber concerts. If not, some consolation may be had that the hip image cultivated by the conductors, allied with strong musical values, seems to be drawing them in.

Darrell Ang (left), the epitome of new cool, helmed the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s chamber concert which was three-quarters modern. First, a J.S.Bach flute sonata, featuring Roberto Alvarez’s silvery tone, soothed the palate. Then the variegated textures of Benjamin Britten’s early Sinfonietta (Op.1) and Singaporean Kelly Tang’s atonal Wind Serenade took over.

The Britten was precocious with its use of bitty themes, developing into three varied movements contrasting strings and winds to marvelous effect, while the Tang was a model of concision and economy. Both paved the way for Aaron Copland’s popular ballet Appalachian Spring, written for Martha Graham, in its original version for 13 instruments. Ang’s quiet authority presided over a performance that mixed atmospheric slow moods with dances bursting with energy. It seemed a pity there were no dancers on stage.

The choreography at the Esplanade was provided by Kawai Shiu (left), the pony-tail sporting composer-conductor who directed the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory New Music Ensemble. His wide-ranging arm movements and gestures resembled some martial arts meister in pugilistic combat as the group mastered a series of treacherously thorny scores.

Again, a wealth of nuance, shade and rhythm defined the diverse music of Isang Yun (Korea), Wu Na (China), Douglas Knehans, Michael Torke (both USA) and Shiu (Hong Kong) himself. Some 32 years separated Yun’s Piece Concertante and Wu’s Culture’s Gift, but were united by a sense of nostalgia for their native cultures. The two Americans had a gift of pulse and kinetic impetus that propelled their music onward, while Shiu’s Three Seasons traversed from violence to an uneasy calm.

Instrumental virtuosity was at a premium throughout and if people needed convincing about the power of new music, that was provided in spades. The iconic John Cage’s Five Squared, performed by just five musicians, opened and closed the concert like some ceremonial ritual. That both identical performances sounded different seemed an uncanny illusion. The magic and chemistry about music is that over the 80 minutes or so, one’s mind had been irreversibly transformed.