CD Review (The Straits Times, March 2018)

FRANCK. FAURÉ. PROKOFIEV

Flute Sonatas

SHARON BEZALY, Flute

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Piano

BIS 2259 / *****

The surnames of flautist Sharon Bezaly and pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy are printed in a large gold font, sitting pretty on top of composers Cesar Franck, Gabriel Fauré and Sergei Prokofiev, as if relegating them to secondary importance. Such is the cult of big-name performers, supposedly to enhance the desirability of recordings, not that it matters much in this case.

Flautists have since time immemorial appropriated the wider repertoire of violinists, and this disc displays two famous examples. Both Cesar Franck's Violin Sonata in A major (in Jean-Pierre Rampal's adaptation) and Gabriel Faure's Violin Sonata No.1 (arranged by Bezaly herself) translate very well for the flute, which occupies mostly the same register as the violin. Given Bezaly’s nimbleness and virtuosity, these exemplary performances do much to further that proposition,

Operating in the reverse direction, Prokofiev's Flute Sonata was later published as his Violin Sonata No.2. Although less often heard than its violin guise, the original work is beloved of flautists. One of the Russian's most lyrical scores, Bezaly makes most of its bittersweet musings. 

Ashkenazy, who no longer gives public piano performances, is the ideal partner in all three works, where the piano plays an extraordinarily demanding role. The recording is in the demonstration class and makes for pleasurable listening.       

Landmark:
This was the 2222th article/review I wrote for The Straits Times, a journey which began with a review of Evelyn Glennie's concert in the 20 June 1997 issue. 

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2016)

STORYTELLERS ON ANN SIANG ROAD

Ding Yi Music Company / Tay Teow Kiat

Long Yin / ****1/2

Ding Yi Music Company is Singapore's most active professional Chinese chamber ensemble, and its concert programming over the years has been both eclectic and innovative, as its latest album testifies. In a way, the course of contemporary Chinese instrumental music has been redefined by the encompassing of Nanyang music, which includes indigenous idioms of Southeast Asian music and its composers. Two excellent examples receive world premiere recordings here.

Bho Shambo is a dance of the Hindu god Shiva, and in Phang Kok Jun's arrangement, flautists Ghanavenothan Rethnam (bansuri) and Tan Qing Lun (dizi) share the honours in a headily rhythmic work that includes chanting in Tamil. A similar tandem operates in Phang's own Storytellers On Ann Siang Road where Chin Yen Choong and Lim Kwuan Boon's erhus act out a duet-cum-duet between Chinese and Malay itinerant storytellers of old.

The balance of the disc are five Chinese works by Liu Chang, Chow Jun Yi, Joshua Chan, Cao Wen Gong  and Wang Jian Min. Conducted by its founder, Cultural Medallion recipient Tay Teow Kiat, the playing is both refined and virtuosic, and more importantly passionately charged as only young professional musicians know how. 

SIBELIUS & GLAZUNOV Violin Concertos

ESTHER YOO, Violin

Philharmonia Orchestra

Vladimir Ashkenazy (Conductor)

Deutsche Grammophon 481 215 7 / ****1/2

In 2010, the 16-year-old Korean American violinist Esther Yoo was awarded First Prize at the 10^th Sibelius International Violin Competition, the youngest-ever to be bestowed that accolade. Her debut recording of violin concertos by the Finn Jean Sibelius and Russian Alexander Glazunov commemorates the 150^th anniversary of both composers' births in 1865. Despite her youth, the technical and interpretive demands of both concertos hold no terrors for Yoo.

She brings out a warm and gorgeous tone for the lyrical Glazunov concerto, only letting rip in its festive end. For the more austere and glacial disposition of the Sibelius concerto, she offers more grit and sinew to the proceedings, holding little back in the so-called “Polonaise for polar bears” of a finale. 

The fillers are pretty enough: Sibelius' youthful Suite For Violin And Strings and Glazunov's Grand Adagio from his ballet Raymonda. The support she gets from veteran conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and from the London-based Philharmonia Orchestra is excellent, in what can be said to be a dream debut.   

SSO CONCERT: RACHMANINOV CONCERTO NO.3 / Review

GALA: RACHMANINOV CONCERTO NO.3

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Thursday (3 December 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 December 2015 with the title "Ashkenazy leads the SSO through a rousing Rachmaninov evening."

An earlier review from this listener posited that Rachmaninov's name helped sell concert tickets. Now add Vladimir Ashkenazy's to that, a full-house becomes a certainty. In the celebrated Russian-born pianist-conductor's third concert leading the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, even the gallery behind the orchestra was filled to over-flowing.

The concert opened with Vocalise Op.34 No.14, Rachmaninov's only wordless song, in his own orchestration. An early woodwind miscue almost spoiled things but it was the seamless strings that saved it. Melismata from the violins added a glossy sheen, which lightened up the bittersweet mood of the short 6-minute piece.

Usually performed as an encore, it seemed the perfect prelude to the Third Piano Concerto which featured prize-winning Russian pianist Alexei Volodin as soloist. Again another woodwind miscue sullied the exposition, a chant-like melody reminiscent of Russian orthodoxy, but thankfully that was to be the last mishap. The rock steady Volodin, directed by the musician who has recorded the concerto the most times (five at last count), was not to be perturbed.

If he seemed cool in the 1^st movement, it was a wise gambit which allowed his solo part to be better integrated within the orchestra's textures. He let off the brakes in the development section and simply took off, culminating in a cadenza of pure elemental energy. In the unusual accompanied section of that cadenza, he backed down and became the perfect partner to Jin Ta's flute, Rachel Walker's oboe, Ma Yue's clarinet and Jamie Hersch's French horn. 

The orchestral introduction of the slow movement was perfectly weighted, and then the mood turned red hot. This was tempered by a whimsical waltz section where Volodin's scintillating fingerwork floated over the orchestra's busyness. The finale was a white-hot bare-knuckled ride, filled with exciting edge-of-the-seat moments, yet there was even time to breathe in the central variations which revealed a different facet to his virtuosity. A standing ovation yielded two Slavic encores, a Chopin mazurka and Prokofiev's brilliant Scherzo (Op.12 No.10)

  

The second half belonged to the Symphonic Dances, Rachmaninov's last work, and sometimes regarded as his fifth symphony (after Nos.1-3 and The Bells). Ashkenazy's vision was one of terminal nostalgia, reflecting the composer's yearning for his homeland and roots which would never be fulfilled.

The Non Allegro direction on the score was not taken literally, instead with a forceful urgency that dissipated with Tang Xiao Ping's soulful saxophone solo. That and the restatement of a theme from his First Symphony (then thought to be forever lost) took on a greater significance.

The second movement waltzed with ghostly intent like some ballroom scene from War And Peace, and the finale's raucous juxtaposition of the Dies Irae chant with a hymn from his choral Vespers became a paean of sorts. As with many Rachmaninov scores, ambivalence and ambiguity are recurrent traits. So was this a celebratory end or a defiant one?

Judging from the joyous rather than dogged approach from all forces, and Ashkenazy holding high his score to greet the audience's hearty reception, his view clearly pointed to the former. 

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, March 2015)

SVIATOSLAV RICHTER

Complete Album Collection

Sony Classical 88843014702 (18 CDs)

****1/2    

The reputation of legendary Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) had already preceded him when he made his debut American concert tour in late 1960. Tickets to his six Carnegie Hall recitals were sold out in advance and studio recordings of concertos and popular repertoire had been lined up. This box-set captures all these concerts and the rave reception deservedly accorded by the New York audience. 

His first recital on 19 October had five Beethoven sonatas, with a blistering account of the rarely-performed F major Sonata (Op.54) preceding the tumultuous F minor Appassionata Sonata (Op.57). His all-Prokofiev recital on 23 October was a revelation; many in the audience were encountering the recently-deceased Soviet composer's Sixth and Eighth Sonatas for the very first time.

The best way to sample these discs is to replicate the exact sequence in which the Americans were being exposed to Richter's gripping genius. His repertoire was selective but far-reaching, with Haydn, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov and Scriabin thrown into the mix. The recitals on 26 and 28 December have the same programme but different encores. The only caveat: the Carnegie Hall in-house recording equipment was rudimentary and the sound is wretched. 

The studio recordings of Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 (Chicago Symphony with Erich Leinsdorf) and Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 (Boston Symphony / Charles Munch) with RCA Victor have excellent sound and are acknowledged classics. Two discs of 1988 live recordings of Brahms' Sonata No.1, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.1, Chopin Etudes and Liszt solo works showed that his visionary spark and phenomenal technique had not dimmed through the years. These performances demonstrate why Richter was regarded by many as the greatest pianist of the 20^th century.  

RACHMANINOV

Complete Works For Piano

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Piano et al

Decca 478 6348 (11 Cds) / *****

The Russia-born pianist-conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy has the distinction of being the only person to have recorded every single note Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) wrote for the piano, which includes solo works, concertos, chamber music and songs. 

This labour of love with the Decca label began in 1963 soon after his defection from Russia to the West, continuing till 2012 with a final disc of miscellaneous short and unpublished works. This box-set relives some of the best Rachmaninov playing on record, including Ashkenazy's second (and more opulent) cycle of the four piano concertos and Paganini Rhapsody, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink.

Among the solo works, his view of the nine Etudes-Tableaux Op.39 and Corelli Variations (two recordings of each from 1973 and again in the mid-80s) remain unsurpassed for passion, colour and sheer Russian-ness. Unforgettable too are the two Suites (Op.5 & 17) and Symphonic Dances for two pianos where he is partnered by Andre Previn. 

Only the Piano Sonatas Nos.1&2 fall somewhat short of his highest ideals, the former recorded in 2011 after he had been diagnosed with arthritis. Making cameo appearance are his wife Dody and eldest son Vovka, both pianists, in the Romance and Waltz for six hands and assorted piano duets. For Ashkenazy's authority, sheer breadth and depth of emotional investment, this set is close to indispensable.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, October 2014)

WALKING IN THE AIR

The Music of Howard Blake

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Piano

Decca 478 6300 / ****1/2

For all the prolific output of British composer Howard Blake (born 1938), over 650 works to date, he will forever be remembered for Walking In The Air, that mega-hit song in the children’s animated Christmas film The Snowman. Its simplicity and beauty permeates most of this album of Blake’s piano music which spans from 1955 to 2013, performed no less by his close friend Vladimir Ashkenazy. The piano version of Walking, which falls easily within the hands of young pianists, is now part of Lifecycle. This suite of 24 short pieces or preludes also includes Eight Character Pieces (1975), Music Box from the movie The Changeling (1979) and the early Russian-flavoured Romanza (1963), written for the Ashkenazys after their defection to the West. 

Blake’s Sonata (1971) and Dances (1976) for two pianos (with Ashkenazy’s eldest son Vovka on second piano) deserve to be better known, the latter being a set of variations on a simple theme in a panoply of dance styles, including waltz, ragtime, boogie-woogie and cha-cha. The major single-movement work in this set is Speech After Long Silence (2011), written as a set-piece for the Hong Kong International Piano Competition. This is an alternatingly brooding and ecstatic essay in the manner of Rachmaninov, which perfectly suits the temperament of Russian virtuoso. An enjoyable listen, from start to end.

RCA LIVING STEREO

60 CD COLLECTION Volume 2

Sony Music 88843003502 / ***1/2

Make no mistake about it, Volume 1 of RCA Red Seal’s Living Stereo retrospective collector’s edition is far superior to this, its sequel. Its contents replicate the original LPs such that each disc presents very poor playing time on its own. Thus the music on 60 discs could have easily been fit onto 50, with room for more. For example, Arthur Rubinstein’s recordings of the five Beethoven piano concertos with the Symphony of the Air conducted by Josef Krips are spread over 5 discs, while the classic 1958 Rossini Barber of Seville with Robert Merrill and Roberta Peters from the Metropolitan Opera takes place in 4.

This extravagance is however mitigated by the quality of performances by America’s top artists and orchestras led by the 20^th century’s great names, including Fritz Reiner, Pierre Monteux, Erich Leinsdorf, Charles Munch and Arthur Fiedler amongst others. One should not miss the disc of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Arthur Rubinstein coupled with a string of his favourite encores. Any recording involving the Hungarian Fritz Reiner, dictator of the Chicago Symphony, be it a hard-driven Beethoven Ninth Symphony, breathtaking Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky, or even Hovhaness’s Mysterious Mountain, would be worth listening to. The object of this exercise is nostalgia, and whatever the caveats may be, these are easily forgiven. Do however make Volume 1 (88697720602) your first priority.    

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, April 2014)

AMERICAN PIANO CONCERTOS

XIANYIN WANG, Piano

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Peter Oundjian, Conductor

Chandos 5128 / *****

It is a sign of the times that a superlative recording of the three most popular 20^th century American piano concertos comes not from an American pianist in the mould of Earl Wild, Van Cliburn or John Browning, but a young Chinese lady. Shanghai native Xiayin Wang, who schooled at the Manhattan School of Music, has the multifarious idioms and influences of these virtuoso concertos down pat.

Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto (1962), originally written for Browning, combines robust dissonance with a lingering post-Romantic lyricism. Wild was a champion of the next two concertos. Aaron Copland’s Piano Concerto (1926) mirrors his more familiar Clarinet Concerto with two contrasting movements, which move from an atmospheric stillness to starkly more angular and jazzy rhythms. Gershwin’s very popular Concerto In F (1925), which develops from his Rhapsody In Blue, is the ultimate marriage of classical form, jazz and big band sounds.

Wang does not just get the notes, but breathes the Americanisms to the manner born, while being excellently supported by the Scottish orchestra. Here is a winner from beginning to end.

ASHKENAZY

50 YEARS ON DECCA

Decca 478 5093 (50 CDs) / *****

In 2013, Decca Records issued this box-set to commemorate Russian-born pianist-conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy’s fruitful 50-year relationship with the British label. His first recording, Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anatole Fistoulari in 1963, took place soon after his defection to the West after sharing 1^st prize at the 1962 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition. Lithe and mercurial, it is regarded by many as the finest of his four recordings of the work.

This set celebrates his finest moments as a solo, chamber and collaborative pianist. Pick of the crop include his views on Scriabin and Prokofiev sonatas and concertos from his earlier years, and the more recent Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues. His many collaborators included pianist-conductor André Previn, violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Lynn Harrell, the late soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom, all heard here in fine performances. Although his efforts as conductor are less stellar, there are still marvellous readings of Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Sibelius and Beethoven symphonies. No less than seven discs are devoted to Rachmaninov, his surest and truest love. There is much to enjoy here.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2013)

RACHMANINOV Rarities

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Piano

Decca 478 2939 / ****1/2

With this disc, Vladimir Ashkenazy completes his survey of the complete piano music of Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) which began with his first album for the Decca label in 1963. Admittedly these are not among the best music of the great Russian pianist-composer, mostly short works, studies and salon pieces written as a student. However Rachmaninov thought enough of them to smuggle in a suitcase when he left Russia for the West, never to return.

The best known are the seven Morceaux de Salon (Op.10), including the melancholic Barcarolle and playful Humoresque, which Rachmaninov recorded himself.  Much less often heard are his recently discovered carillon-laden Piano Piece in A flat major, the vertiginous Fugue in D minor, Prelude in F major (better known in its cello version) and the Oriental Sketch, a “railway” piece inspired by the Orient Express. Also included are the four character pieces originally designated as his Op.1, before being displaced by the First Piano Concerto.

Ashkenazy plays his own transcription of the song Sad Is The Night (Noch Pechal’na) Op.26 No.2, an exquisite gem in its own right. The set concludes with Rachmaninov’s virtually unknown transcription of Nunc Dimittis from his choral masterpiece Vespers Op.37, a  reflection of his Russian Orthodox faith. Ashkenazy shows little sign of his age as he rewinds the clock in these revealing performances. The music of Rachmaninov has never had a truer or more complete champion.   

ESSENCE OF SCO

Singapore Chinese Orchestra / TSUNG YEH

SCO / ****1/2

The Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) conducted by Tsung Yeh has produced several CDs over the years, and this double-disc set is a compilation of its most representative recordings. It reveals the ensemble to be a rather versatile outfit. SCO’s principal musicians are found at their expressive best in concertante works. Concertmaster Li Baoshun on the gaohu weaves a tale of fantasy in Liu Xi Jin’s Legend Of The Merlion, while erhu exponent Zhao Jianhua shines in the better-known Great Wall Capriccio by Liu Wen Jin. Both huqin concertos are very listenable alternatives to the over-performed Butterfly Lovers and Yellow River Concertos.

Espousing the idea of Nanyang music is Law Wai Lun’s Prince Sang Nila Utama And Singa, based on the Temasekian legend of how Singapore got its name, with its distinctly Indonesian-sounding themes. The Celestial Web, also by the current SCO composer-in-residence, has more universal aspirations with texts by local artist Tan Swie Hian. Tan Dun’s Fire Ritual, using music for the movie Nanjing 1937, exploits his idea of “orchestral theatre”, with instruments and voices simulating characters within a staged play. As encores, the Chris Brubeck Trio joins the orchestra to jam in Paul Desmond’s Take Five and Dave Brubeck’s Koto Song, in a live concert that elicits plenty of applause. All in all, this is two-and-a-half hours of enthralling listening.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, October 2012)

RACHMANINOV

Piano Sonata No.1 / Chopin Variations

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Piano

Decca 478 2938 / ****1/2

It is a testament to the indefatigability of Vladimir Ashkenazy that he continues to record on the piano while well into his seventies. Despite the afflictions of arthritis and a minor stroke that has put an end to live solo recitals, he remains active in the recording studio. In his quest to record Rachmaninov’s complete piano music, his attempts at the two longest solo works are nothing short of admirable. The Chopin Variations (Op.20) are based on Chopin’s chord-laden C minor Prélude (Op.28 No.20) and is more complex and unwieldy compared with his later Corelli Variations. Similarly, the epic First Sonata, loosely based on the Faustian legend, is almost double the length of the Second Sonata.

Despite the odds, Ashkenazy’s pacing in both works is unerring. He knows exactly how to build up the music arch-like structure to thrilling climaxes, while navigating the dynamic peaks and troughs with consummate skill. These rambling works never sound long-winded in his hands. There are moments where his scrambling fingers sound taxed to the limit, but the master is never less than in complete control. Only Boris Berezovsky’s album of the same works (released on Teldec almost 20 years ago) sounds completely effortless. Just imagine what if Ashkenazy had recorded these in his glorious prime. Ardently recommended nonetheless.

CHOPIN 101

Decca 4783648 (6 CDs)/ ***1/2

This collection of Chopin’s piano works is part of a joint production by Universal Music and CD-Rama that compiles 101 tracks of music on six discs at $24.95 per set. That works out to be just under 25 cents per track, very affordable at any rate. While the Classical 101, Piano 101 and Violin 101 sets are hopelessly jumbled, there is some semblance of order in this Chopin set. The major caveat is the lack of programme or biographical notes, or even a portrait of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) himself. The music, performed by five master pianists from the Decca-Philips catalogue, is the main draw.

Vladimir Ashkenazy is heard in fifteen Nocturnes, two Polonaises and the Second and Third Sonatas, displaying his usual elegance and fire. Claudio Arrau is superb in 14 selected Préludes, but the piecemeal approach disrupts the music’s logical flow. Of the Impromptus, Ballades (both Arrau) and Scherzos (Ashkenazy), only three out of four pieces of each set is included. These omissions to fit the timing of each disc are frustrating. Zoltan Kocsis is stylish and scintillating in the selection of Waltzes, while Nikita Magaloff’s well-nuanced 1970s recording of Mazurkas and Études still stand the test of time. In the two Piano Concertos, Jorge Bolet and the Montreal Symphony (directed by Charles Dutoit) take a very expansive view of tempos, which may feel draggy for some. This is nevertheless a serviceable showcase for Chopin.    

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, March 2012)

RUSSIAN FANTASY
Vladimir & Vovka Ashkenazy, 2 Pianos
Decca 478 2940 / *****

This is a totally enjoyable collection of Russian music played on two pianos. Only two works were originally written for that medium. The first is Scriabin’s Fantasy in A minor, composed when he was only 17, and still under influence of his idol Chopin. Its understated charm and gentility are leagues away from his more familiar emotionally volatile self. The other is the 20-year-old Rachmaninov’s First Suite (Op.5), sometimes referred to as the Fantaisie-Tableaux. Its four movements are inspired by Russian poetry, and imbued with typical Slavic pathos. Obsessed with bell sounds all his life, the third movement Tears is redolent of sad tolling, while the finale Easter is a joyous festive carillon which incorporates the Orthodox chant Christ Is Risen.

The anthology also features third generation pianist Vovka Ashkenazy as a brilliant crafter of transcriptions. His arrangements of Mussorgsky’s Night On Bald Mountain and Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, both originally orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov, are highly effective showpieces. Also included is Glinka’s non-nationalist Valse-Fantaisie, a trifle of salon-like sensibilities. Both Vovka and his father Vladimir bring a certain authority and glorious sweep to music of their homeland.

HINDEMITH Orchestral Works
Sao Paulo Symphony / John Neschling
BIS SACD-1730 / ****1/2

Twentieth century modernism and orchestral lushness seem to be mutually exclusive entities, but not so in the case of German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963). It is hard to imagine anyone else who could use terse and astringent themes to build monuments of tonal grandeur and textural opulence. Come to think of it, Johann Sebastian Bach was such a creator as well. It was Hindemith’s lifelong devotion to Bach’s musical principles that spelt his own success, evident in the three popular orchestral works here, in thrilling performances from Brazil and recorded in sumptuous sound.

The Mathis Der Maler Symphony is perfectly proportioned in three movements, using themes from Hindemith’s opera of the same title on the life and conscience of German Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald. The ballet suite Nobilissima Visione has the frescoes of Giotto on St. Francis of Assisi as its inspiration, the final movement being a splendid passacaglia that Bach would have whole-heartedly endorsed. The best known is Symphonic Metamorphoses On Weber, which has the unusual attribute of being entertaining as well. The chinoiserie of the Turandot Scherzo is hilarious and the fugue based on the theme’s inversion enters into the brassy realm of jazz bands. Listen to the final March, and one might imagine Hindemith writing the soundtrack to Star Wars. This is strangely but seriously enjoyable music.

SSO Concert: Ashkenazy and the SSO / Review

GALA: ASHKENAZY WITH THE SSO
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Friday (4 November 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 7 November 2011 with the title "Fingers of steel".

Although the legendary Russian-born pianist-conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy has previously performed in Singapore, this gala concert marked his SSO conducting debut. The mere mention of his name filled the house, but his largesse was to share the limelight with the orchestra and a young soloist.

For months, the latter remained nameless, billed as the Winner of the 3rd Hong Kong International Piano Competition with a piano concerto “to be announced”. Early this week, that pianist was unveiled as the 29-year-old Italian Giuseppe Andaloro. Possessing fingers of steel cushioned by a velvety soft touch, his rendition of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto was one to remember.

The opening chords were taken expansively, setting the tone for bittersweet melancholy contrasted with high drama. His projection from the keyboard was uniformly excellent, roaring above dense orchestral textures for ecstatic climaxes yet possessing the lightness of a gentle sigh in quiet solo passages. Prodigious finger technique told not the whole story, but the ability to express emotions without words made the performance complete.

All this would be nought if not for the orchestra’s sensitive yet telling contribution. Marc-Antoine Robillard’s horn solo near the end of the first movement, flautist Jin Ta and clarinettist Ma Yue in the slow movement underlined the players’ individual prowess. Lush strings accompanying Andaloro’s rapturous musings also provided moments to die for.

The finale afforded display for some of the most lyrical pianism thought possible and the requisite barnstorming, with the audience eating from his hands. The rare encore of Schumann’s Widmung in Sergio Fiorentino’s transcription was further proof that Andaloro was no off-the-assembly-line virtuoso.

Andaloro plays Schumann's Widmung (as transcribed by his former teacher Sergio Fiorentino), and dedicated to the Singapore audience.

The second half belonged to Ashkenazy as he took his charges on an urgently driven and exciting ride in Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. Magnificent brass went for the jugular in the opening Fate motif, the work’s recurring theme, as screws were turned ever so inexorably through its angst filled pages.

The Russianness of this interpretation was not in the faithful recounting of folk melodies but the playing out of extremes in its vast dynamics. The plaintive oboe solo of the slow movement, massed pizzicato strings in the scherzo and the finale’s headlong charge all made for significant milestones. Ashkenazy is not the biggest of conductors but he garnered terrific energy and drew a massive sound. Never before has the orchestra been coaxed to take a collective bow alongside the conductor, but the occasion not only deserved it, but demanded it.

SSO and Ashkenazy take a collective bow.

The Joy of Music Festival 2011: Concerto Gala Concert

Cheekily referred to as the "Mother of Piano Concerto concerts", the final gala concert of this year's The Joy of Music Festival and 3rd Hong Kong International Piano Competition closed with a big bang. There were four piano concertos in total, featuring four judges from the competition partnered by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

The evening began on a lighter note with Cristina Ortiz performing Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto in F major, one of her signature pieces. Interestingly, the very first recording I had of this work (on EMI Classics) was performed by her as well, and bought in Hong Kong way back in 1981! Make no mistake, despite this being an "easy" work written for a teenaged Maxim Shostakovich (DSCH's son), this is by no means a walk in the park. Perfect timing, wit and humour are crucial for its success, and she succeeded with great aplomb. There was tenderness and nostalgia in the Rach-like slow movement, and perfect prestidigitation in the Hanon-like exercises of its riproring finale. Marvelous, just like old times!

I had never heard of the Russian piano pedagogue Tigran Alikhanov prior to this, but I did check out a Melodiya recording of his playing Taneyev and Mendelssohn chamber works, which was very impressive musically. In Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto, he is a livewire, capturing the ascerbic wit and mechanistic brilliance very well. There were some unfortunate lapses in the slow movement's 2nd and 5th variations but that did not cloud a very lively finale - perfectly hewn - to close an enjoyable Russian first half.

The pianists got older as they came. Peter Frankl is now 76, but would not have guessed it by the way he launched himself into Liszt's Second Piano Concerto in A major. A far more subtle work than its predecessor, its transformation of themes unfolded majestically in his hands. The sublime page with cellist Richard Bamping was particularly beautiful, and when it came to crunching chords and those outlandish octave glissandi on both hands, Frankl is up there with all those youngsters. A totally impressive showing. Let's hope he play's Bartok the next time around!

Finally it was the turn of Gary Graffman, who just turned 83, in the Left Hand Concerto by Ravel. These days he only performs concertos for the left hand, which means he plays this and the Prokofiev Fourth Concerto with some frequency. His was a thoroughly assured reading, although sometimes the piano gets drowned by all the dense orchestration. The central jazzy march was totally delightful, as if turning back the years, while the final cadenza - one of the most fearsome exercises thought possible - was taken with great confidence. A chorus of bravos greeted the fiery end of the concerto, and of a magical evening of concertos with the stars.

What will they think of next in 2014?

A Few Words with GIUSEPPE ANDALORO, 1st Prizewinner of the 3rd Hong Kong International Piano Competition

SOME WORDS WITH 

GIUSEPPE ANDALORO 

1st Prizewinner of the 3rd Hong Kong 

International Piano Competition (2011)

It has been said that the reputation of Italian pianist Giuseppe Andaloro precedes him wherever he competed in international piano competitions. The Hong Kong International Piano Competition, for example, published its list of competitors rather late in the day, because it was feared that other pianists might have pulled out when they saw his name on the list, and felt that they did not have a ghost of a chance winning. 

A mafia hitman he certainly is not, as the Sicilian oozes a Mediterranean warmth and charm. Several years ago when I last saw him perform, I described him as looking more like a computer programmer than concert pianist, but now having beefed up and putting on some girth, looks more like the part. His dark Polliniesque curls and rimless spectacles give him a serious and thoughtful look, but it is the pianism and musicianship that still stands out.

Andaloro receives congratulations 

from the competition jury.

The Sicilian 

Giuseppe was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1982 but was brought up in the little town of Delia, near Caltanissetta. His father was a draughtsman, now retired, and mother a director in the local chamber of commerce. Both are great music lovers. He began piano lessons at eight, first under the tutelage of Adriana Mirisola and several other local teachers, and gave his first public recital playing Beethoven and Schubert just six months later in the town square for an audience of 3000! 

At nine and ten, he was already winning piano competitions, mostly first prizes, in regional towns. He was heard by several important pedagogues, and it was his teacher Paolo Pollice who advised him to study with the great Italian pianist Sergio Fiorentino, who became a major influence in his life and music making. 

Growing up in Sicily was simple and leisurely. When asked about stories about the local mafioso, his reply was direct, “I’ve seen all those Godfather movies, and it bears no resemblance with reality. In all my 30 years or so, I never saw any shooting or kidnapping! The Mafia only go for big money, and there is no big money in Sicily. You’ll find them in Milan, or maybe in competition juries!” (Hong Kong excepted, of course!)

Sergio Fiorentino the coke addict 

Giuseppe started studying with Fiorentino when he was thirteen. Lessons took place in Calabria at the “boot of Italy”, and Giuseppe and his father would travel by a combination of car and boat from the island of Sicily to the mainland, a trip that would take nine hours each way! This went on weekly or fortnightly for three years, causing him to miss much of local school and academic subjects, which he would catch up by reading and swotting during those lengthy commutes. 

He remembers Fiorentino to be very interesting, incredibly deep and extremely funny. “He was the perfect gentleman, who respected every student no matter how good or how untalented. He was never rude or negative about their playing, and was not interested in gossip. For example, he would never allow any student to speak ill about any teacher or school, and if they did so, the lesson was ended,” he explained. 

“I always remember him with a Coca-Cola in hand, and cigarette in another (his favourite were unfiltered Stop cigarettes from UK) as he taught. Sometimes he would go for ice-cream. He could never do without these! He cared more about the aesthetics and thoughts about musical performance, rather than the mechanics of playing. He taught on two pianos, demonstrating by playing any repertoire a student may be learning. If it was a concerto, he played the orchestral part perfectly and completely from memory.” 

Under his tutelage, Andaloro learnt the cornerstones of the repertoire, including Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. “After the lesson, he would unwind by playing for me, for example, an entire Brahms symphony. And of course, it was from memory too!” 

After Fiorentino 

When Fiorentino died in 1998, Giuseppe was shattered and could not play the piano for several months. He resumed lessons with Vincenzo Balzani in Milan when he was 18. “Balzani was a very sensitive and sensible teacher, who helped me solve technical problems, adopt proper ways of practising and to discover new possibilities in interpretation.” With him, Giuseppe learnt the Chopin Etudes. He graduated with a Diploma for pianoforte after ten years of formal study, the first nine of which was conducted privately. He spent the tenth and final year in Milan's Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, which in any case was happy to claim him as one of its alumni.

Andaloro got his wish to perform 

a concerto with Vladimir Ashkenazy

A life in competitions 

Giuseppe won his first international piano competition in Stresa, at the age of 15. It was a small and simple competition where he played for only ten minutes; his Liszt Mephisto Waltz No.1 bagged him the 1st prize. The year 2000 saw successes in Oporto (Portugal, 1st prize), and the Italian Casagrande Competition (2nd prize with no 1st prize awarded). 2001 saw off the Casella Competition (1st prize) and the very prestigious Sendai Competition in Japan (1st prize). The latter has an interesting footnotes as the 2nd prize was won by Korea’s Jinsang Lee (we know him as the winner of the 2nd Hong Kong Competition) while the 3rd prize went to a 13-year-old Chinese girl called Yuja Wang. 

In 2002, Giuseppe won 1st prize at the London International Piano Competition, when he played Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall. This reviewer was fortunate to be present at his scene of triumph, having also enjoyed his earlier performances of Ligeti’s Etudes, a Haydn Sonata, Chopin's Fourth Scherzo and Liszt’s coruscating Twelfth Hungarian Rhapsody. 

There was the usual flurry of concert engagements, but it all dried up. “By 2004, I performed almost no concerts. Actually there was one concert, but the fee was so small, just enough to pay for a single pizza!” he recounted. In 2005, he was back on the competition circuit, but early eliminations at the Van Cliburn Competition (Fort Worth, Texas) and a competition in Spain left him despondent. The latter was particularly galling. “I thought I had performed well, and asked the Chairman of the Jury what I did wrong. His reply was, “None of us voted for you but we thought you were the best musician. So please come back next year, and I will guarantee you the first prize.” What about now? Thanks but no thanks, I told him!” (Ilya Rashkovskiy was the eventual the 1st prizewinner) 

Meanwhile, he was successfully admitted to the historic Busoni Competition in Bolzano and 1st Hong Kong International Piano Competition, but was still in a pall of depression. “I was sitting on the beach, feeling very depressed and sorry for myself. And then an old friend of mine, a chemistry professor, had some words of encouragement, and within ten minutes was totally galvanised to reboot my career. That was just eight days before the Busoni, and I went straight back home to practise." As Fate had it, Giuseppe won the 1st prize and did not make the Hong Kong date (Ilya Rashkovskiy then went on to win that too!) 

Giuseppe was done with competitions, but what brought him back into the fray after a six year hiatus? “I’ve always wanted to work with Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, and when I saw that he was conducting the final concerto round with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, I decided to sign up. It did not matter whether I got the 1st prize or the 6th prize.” He was directly admitted into the Second Round with a bye, which he accomplished with relative ease, and got his wish granted. As further reward for winning the 1st prize, he also gets to perform Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at Esplanade Concert Hall under Ashkenazy’s baton on 4 November.

That 2011 performance of Rachmaninov with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the SSO may be viewed here: 

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 Giuseppe Andaloro Vladimir Ashkenazy - YouTube

Andaloro and his winner's certificate

A wide repertoire 

What concertos does Giuseppe play? He has performed all the five Beethoven piano concertos (including the full cycle over two evenings) and the Choral Fantasia, a number of Mozart concertos, Schumann, Chopin No.1, both Brahms concertos, Ravel G major and the first two concertos by Rachmaninov. He has a special love for Liszt, having won all his competitions (save Hong Kong) with either the First or Second concertos, and also recorded the four Mephisto Waltzes and the Grosses Konzertsolo on the Naxos label. He has also made a recording of baroque and renaissance works on the piano for Sony Classical. Recently he performed Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto and Mozart K.414 with the strings of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Trieste. 

He has an ongoing collaboration with the Italian cellist-composer Giovanni Sollima. One of their more interesting projects together is Andaloro’s own transcription of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, scored for two pianos and two cellos. Here they was joined by his wife, fellow pianist Tijana Andrejic from Serbia and Sollima’s fiancée who is also a cellist. This sounds like a lot of fun, and before long one could even catch it on youtube! 

Please visit Giuseppe Andaloro’s website at:

www.giuseppeandaloro.com

HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2011 / Finals Day 3, Part 1

HONGKONG INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2011

Finals Day 3 (Sunday, 30 October 2011)

CHEN HAN (Taiwan)

The second of two Taiwanese boys, 19-year-old Chen Han, opened the evening with Howard Blake’s Speech after Long Silence. Playing from a score, his was a glacial account, very slow to the point of being stultifying. Soporific might be the more appropriate term, and it sounded very much like a struggle. However there was some method to this madness, as if it were a protracted rubato, making the faster passages sound more brilliant in comparison. This extreme swing in dynamics also had the uncanny effect of reminding one of Scriabin’s more frenzied pages, so it all worked out in a weird way.

Only in a piano competition will one get to hear two performances of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto in the space of one evening. It’s either piano heaven or an overdose of romantic excess. In either case, the results can be quite exciting, as tonight proved. The first performance of Rach 3 came from Chen Han, who is studying at The Juilliard School. His was a steady and quietly confident account, as if keeping his emotions in reserve until some pivotal movement. I waited, and that moment did not occur in the first movement, which sounded for most part restrained and small scaled. The lyrical second subject was lovingly shaped, which underlined the young man’s sensitivity and sensibilities. The choice of the lighter and more scintillating cadenza was the right one, as the brooding chordal alternative would not have been appropriate here.

The slow movement’s orchestral introduction was taken a little too slowly, in fact it dragged, but Chen’s entry was excellent and it was here when his performance began to take wing and soar. The whimsical little waltz episode was brilliantly dispatched, a good prelude for the finale’s fest of prestidigitation. His fingers did not fail him for a second, and if there were a point of regret, it was he did not shape the movement’s soaring (and more vital) second with greater clarity. There were two chances for it, and he did not make the big melody happen. And there was also a tendency to rush the fences, almost leaving the orchestra in his wake. Nevertheless, this was a performance which grew in stature, and one that made a listener care about the music and the performer.

My verdict: This young man has potential and bears watching, and even if he does not win here, the experience would have been immense.

HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2011 / Finals Day 3, Part 2

HONGKONG INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2011

Finals Day 3 (Sunday, 30 October 2011)

ANN SOO JUNG (South Korea)

Appearing in a stunning orange gown, the pretty young Korean is an artist who can also make heads turn in many ways than one. In my humble opinion, she gave the most beautiful account of Bake’s Speech. Even playing with a score, her conception of the work as a nocturne was breathtaking, delighting in its lyrical beauty yet revelling in its turbulence. In fact she combined the best qualities of the earlier readings in a sumptuous whole which bears repeated listening.

Her Rach 3 was to be totally different from Chen’s. While the young man was happy to go along with the flow, Ann seemed to dictate the pace and proceedings. She had better sound projection and articulation, and one could sense her going for broke even at an early stage. Although always conscious of making a beautiful sound, the risk-taking had its drawbacks, the number of lapses and flurry of wrong notes was to dog the performance, most notably in the opening movement. Like Chen, she played the shorter mercurial cadenza, even though she might have succeeded with the bigger-boned one. Perhaps it was a case of damage limitation.

The second movement worked much better for her, and it was sheer delight through its rapturous pages, and the ensuing rush into the hectic finale. One has to feel for her as not all the notes were there for the Alla breve finale, and there was an uneasy sense of an accident waiting to happen. However she delivered the big melody well, on both occasions, as the performance worked to a heady conclusion. Here she gave her best shot, and even if this was not to be her day, it was an admirable effort. Her conception and view of the music and its trajectory was close to perfect, it was the execution which fell short.

My verdict: A very musical if flawed account of Rach 3 may have put paid to her chances of a top three finish. Would still definitely want to hear her again.

Having not heard the earlier rounds, I hazard to make any predictions of the final placings, lest one gets egg splattered on the face. However based on the showings in the concerto finals, my choices were as follows:

Winner (Numero Uno): Giuseppe Andaloro

Most raw potential: Tsai Min Hao

Best performance of Blake: Ann Soo Jung