pianomania

OLLI MUSTONEN.

PROKOFIEV PIANO CONCERTO NO.2

Singapore

Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Friday (26 October 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 29 October 2018 with the title "Controversial pianist provides gripping experience".

The title of Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s latest concert only tells part of the story, and should not have been its main selling point. Finnish pianist Olli Mustonen is a divisive figure among pianophiles. He is either regarded a self-indulgent hack or wayward genius. As expected, his performance of Prokofiev’s early but monumental Second Piano Concerto had many points of contention.

There was no doubt Mustonen possessed the facility to overcome multitudes of notes and recreate the brutalist shock and awe that scandalised the work’s first audiences. However his tendency to pick at notes in a detached and percussive manner, and erratically placing accents when least expected, were jarring. With any hint of subtlety or luxury of legato totally purged, the effect was like hearing glass shattering and then walking barefooted on the shards.

Painfully piquing the ears he did in the opening movement’s massive cadenza, the Scherzo’s machine-gun assault in moto perpetuo, and the 3^rd movement’s grotesque ballet. There were neither moments of respite for pianist, orchestra nor audience, thus making for a unnervingly gripping experience. After the tempestuous finale’s firestorm closed with a gigantic crash, there were applause and cheers to match. A quaintly accented encore showed Mustonen could also play quietly.

Amid the cacophony was the tireless industry of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, expertly marshalled by Finnish guest conductor Hannu Lintu who held the whole enterprise together. There was also a pleasing symmetry to the rest of concert, which opened with Tchaikovsky’s symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini and closed with Sibelius’ First Symphony, both quasi-programmatic in nature and cast in the key of E minor.

The harrowing journey to Dante’s Inferno was vividly captured by brass fanfares and heaving strings in the Tchaikovsky. The plight of titular character Francesca’s forbidden love with brother-in-law Paolo was excellently characterised by Li Xin’s clarinet solo, his long-breathed opening statement a premonition of the Sibelius to come. The performance was a breathtaking one, with a dramatic close that epitomised both tragedy and heroism in equal measure.

There is no secret that Sibelius’ First Symphony was influenced by Tchaikovsky. The first bars were dominated by solo clarinet, now helmed by principal Ma Yue, and this theme would return again in the finale. In between was music of sweeping passion, with a debt owed to the Russians but the Finn Sibelius finding his own voice.

How the orchestra could colour such music with the icy chill of the Arctic, and later bask in the warmth of Mediterranean sunshine within a few pages was down to conductor Lintu’s magisterial control of the entire ensemble. Similarly, the 3^rd movement’s boisterous dance was a refreshing contrast with the finale’s big and broad melody, one Rachmaninov would have been proud of. The final glorious apotheosis and quiet close, touches of genius and realised with utmost sympathy, made the evening all the more memorable.

RAVEL TONIGHT!

The Philharmonic Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (28 October 2018)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review: Concert

DEBUSSY 100: LA MER

Singapore

Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Saturday (3 November 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 6 November 2018 with the title "Masterful Debussy interpretations".

The countdown to Shui Lan’s final concerts as Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra has begun. This was his last concert of 2018, one which showcased two of the orchestra’s strongest suits during his 22-year tenure: SSO as champion of contemporary Chinese orchestral music and Debussy interpreter par excellence.

The concert opened with Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No.1, the lightest music of the evening. The familiar Morning Mood saw lovely solos from flautist Evgueni Brokmiller and oboist Hu Qiuzi, while homogeneous strings yielded a chilling hush for Ase’s Death which rose to a passionate climax. Anitra’s Dance skipped ever so seductively while Liu Chang’s bassoon provided the insistent beat to ravings from The Hall Of The Mountain King.

Receiving a Singapore premiere was Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang’s Mount E’mei(2016), a concerto for violin and percussion inspired by the scenery of Sichuan’s famous highland landmark. The unusual instrumentation reflected a dichotomy of the mountain’s spirituality (represented by Lu Wei’s violin) and rugged physical geography (in Hu Shengnan’s percussion tour de force).

Opening with a soft vibraphone solo, this soon gave way to the violin’s ethereal entry. Apart from early exchanges, both soloists operated within different and separate spheres, allowing each to be savoured on their own terms. Lu’s part had reminiscences of Szymanowski’s otherwordly feel and Vaughan Williams’ pastoral character (The Lark Ascending readily comes to mind), thus providing the music’s more dreamy episodes.

Hu’s role was far more extrovert, and her pants totally suited the need to negotiate long distances between the vast array of instruments, pitched and unpitched. This culminated in an outlandish cadenza involving drums, slung gongs, Tibetan bowls and hanging bells. The work ended on a surprisingly quiet and contemplative mood, which was a sublime touch.

The second half comprised two major works by Claude Debussy (1862-1918), whose death centenary was being observed. Conductor Shui reckoned that the ballet Jeux(1913) was unfamiliar to audiences and thus gave a preamble, introducing its main themes with the orchestra and raising mirth when discussing the music’s homoerotic content with double entendres.

Euphemisms were probably apt as the music’s cues were elusive for most part. However one knew a game of dance and coy flirtation (besides the purported tennis game) was taking place, even if eroticism remained deeper in the subconscious.

Needing no introduction was La Mer (1905), perhaps Debussy’s most famous impressionist orchestral work. SSO and Shui are old hands with this favourite calling card, which was conducted completely from memory. As with SSO’s excellent recordings on BIS, the performance was vividly coloured and shaded with the orchestra mastering its various nuances and subtleties with absolute aplomb. The thrilling build up to its final splash was as memorable as anything the orchestra has offered this year.

On a more sombre note, this concert was dedicated to the memory of SSO first violinist Sui Jing Jing, who passed away last week, having served the orchestra for 32 years.

Concertgoers were invited to sign
in a greeting book to remember
long-serving SSO violinist Sui Jing Jing.

ADAGIETTO

MISCHA MAISKY (Cello)

LILY MAISKY (Piano) et al

Deutsche Grammophon 483 5561 / ****1/2

This appears to be merely a compilation album of slow encore pieces, but it comes from the great Latvia-born cellist Mischa Maisky, renowned for his big warm tone and outsized personality to match.

The titular track is his own arrangement of the Adagietto third movement from Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony for cello and harp (played by Sophie Hallynck). Purists might balk at the use of multi-tracking, which sounds like both players being backed by an ensemble of strings, but the effect is magical.

Equally enjoyable are further slow movements, all transcriptions, of music by Marcello (Oboe Concerto), J.S.Bach (Keyboard Concerto BWV.1056), Tchaikovsky (piano pieces), Massenet (Meditation from Thaïs), Grieg (Solveig’s Song), Scriabin, Mozart and Saint-Saëns. In this family affair, he is accompanied by pianist daughter Lily while violinist son Sascha joins them for Schubert’s passionate Notturno in E flat major.

The last two tracks are live performances involving star power. Maisky is partnered no less by pianist Martha Argerich, violinist Janine Jansen and violist Julian Rachlin in the Andante Cantabile of Schumann’s Piano Quartet. This and the Andantefrom Brahms’ Third Piano Quartet have the cello wallowing in the big melodies, and Maisky gratefully laps it all up.

A PEARLCELEBRATION

FOR SOPRANO NANCY YUEN

Singapore

Lyric Opera

Esplanade Concert Hall

Friday (9 November 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 13 November 2018

Who has been the dominant figure of Western opera in Singapore over the last twenty years? That has to be Hong Kong-born soprano Nancy Yuen. Being Artistic Director of the Singapore Lyric Opera and married to SLO Chairman Toh Weng Cheong certainly helped, but that diminishes the feat of keeping herself fit and in good voice since her 1988 debut with the Welsh National Opera in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Her recent casting as Aida in June was a coup of enviable longevity. Her most famous roles have been of teenaged girls in trouble (Cio Cio San, Violetta, Mimi and Liu, just to name a few) and her true age remains an industry secret. While rumoured that she is well into her sixth decade, nobody that age has the right to perform the way she does.

Her two-hour long concert of operatic bleeding chunks with the SLO Orchestra conducted by Jason Lai provided the clues. She limited the programme to just six roles and was canny not to over-extend herself. One would have loved to hear her Vissi d’Arte (Tosca) and Ritorna vincitor (Aida) but such omissions had to be made.

She began with two arias from Mozart’s The Marriage Of Figaro, Countess Almaviva’s Porgi amor and Dove sono, and these were sung with a seamless legato line, the epitome of rococo refinement. Superb control was also exhibited in the short Signore ascolta, slavegirl Liu’s most famous aria from Puccini’s Turandot.

Then she let it rip with coloratura aplomb in Sempre libera, Violetta’s defiant rant from Verdi’s La Traviata. Her mastery of fast running notes in the highest registers without going astray or skipping a beat was to be simply admired, regardless of age or experience.

The longest segment was devoted to highlights from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which included a purely orchestral intermezzo, the Humming Chorus (with the SLO Choir), a duet and two arias. It was the pure emotional heft displayed in the second aria Un bel di(One Fine Day) that truly tugged on heartstrings.

For a prima donna assoluta’s evening, there was to be no other female singer on stage, Yuen’s limelight was shared only by Korean tenor Lee Jae Wook. One of her most trusted stage partners, he was careful not to steal the show in duets like Parle-moi de ma mere (Bizet’s Carmen), Vogliatemi bene(Madama Butterfly) and O soave fanciulla (Puccini’s La Boheme). Together their blended voices sounded close to perfect.

It was curious to hear the aria Si, mi chiamano Mimi (La Boheme) sung long after the duet it preceded, but that was meant to be an encore, as was the ubiquitous Drinking Song (Brindisi) from La Traviata where the audience was invited to join in. Another curious fact: Nancy Yuen had one costume change less than the jolly master-of-ceremony Marc Rochester, who enlivened the show with a keen sense of humour that kept an otherwise serious evening light and cheery.

UPBEAT

Igudesman & Joo with the

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra

Conservatory Concert Hall

Saturday (17 November 2018)

This review was published by The Straits Times on 19 November 2018 with the title "Fun with comical and classical mash-ups."

The musical comedy duo of violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo have been delighting audiences, live and on YouTube, for years. Coming across much better in the flesh, their two-hour-long gig was enhanced by the connivance of the excellent and totally sporting Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra.

Musical jokes tend to be a little too sophisticated for casual audiences, more often suited for cued-in listeners than being outrightly hilarious. Igudesman and Joo however found a happy medium by adding a little slapstick to their schtick but stuck to being seriously good musicians.

Whoever thought they could both sing or conduct? They took turns leading the orchestra in An Austrian In America. The 5-movement spiel was to mash up classical tunes by Austrian greats with American standards. The Overture saw Strauss’ Die Fledermaus Overture mixed with Old Folks At Home, Simple Giftsand Yankee Doodle. Schubert Loves America muddied Die Forelle(The Trout) with, well, America.

Oh My Darling Johann Strauss had Wiener Blutbloodied with Clementine, sounding like La Valse gone horribly wrong. And no prizes of guessing what melodies got marching orders in Stars And Radetzky Forever. The audience also got their spot of synchronised clapping.

Speaking of audiences, there was a send-up to their bronchial members in the form of a concerto for coughing violinist. The soloist did not get to play a single note, but his respiratory affliction soon infected the conductor, orchestra and audience, resulting in a ca-cough-phonous conclusion.

“And a piece by Rachmaninov,” announced Igudesman, and that was the entire 1^stmovement of the Second Piano Concerto. After its sonorous opening chords, Joo showed that the first few minutes could easily be faked as the orchestra’s tutti soared with the big tune. As it turned out, he could also play the tricky solo bits as well, and fairly convincing too.

Among the best spoofs was the baiting of Richard Wagner, the vilest anti-Semite among composers. The idea of turning his Ride Of The Valkyries and Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin into a riot of Klezmer and Kalinka was a brilliant riposte to the boor of Bayreuth. At its climax, Igudesman sporting a Darth Vader mask proclaimed, “I am your... bride!”

In the same vein were uproarious orchestrations of that pesky Nokia ringtone (originally a waltz for guitar by Tarrega) in the styles of Mozart, Brahms, Schoenberg and culminating in a battle between conductors where Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Dvorak tussled for the right to conclude the work. Beethoven (his Ninth Symphony) won.

There was even a spot for young Singaporean guitarist Kevin Loh to share the limelight, alongside original compositions by the duo. The fun had to end sometime, and it was to the strains of Zorba The Greek, Sabre Danceand Chariots Of Fire. It should be concluded that Igudesman & Joo are the best comedians among musicians, and the best musicians among comedians.

Darth Voyder sticks it up to Richard Wagner,
"Up yours, goy!"

SMETANA Festive Symphony

The Bartered Bride: Overture & Dances

Berlin Radio Symphony / DARRELL ANG

Naxos 8.573672 / ****1/2

At the rate he is going, Darrell Ang could well become the most recorded Singaporean conductor of all time. His recorded repertoire has been diverse and this disc features the music of Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884), hailed as the “Father of Czech music”. Although very well known for his symphonic poem cycle Ma Vlast (My Country) from the 1870s, his early Festive Symphonyof 1854 is virtually unknown.

As a loyal subject of the Habsburg empire, he quoted the Emperor’s Hymn(popularised by Joseph Haydn in his “Emperor” String Quartet, Op.76 No.3) in three of its four movements. The work runs to almost 43 minutes, and almost outstays its welcome amid grand fanfares and martial postures, culminating in the Hymn blared out at its triumphal and grandstanding conclusion.

Only in the dance-like 3^rd movement does one hear Smetana’s nationalism at play, looking forward to Dvorak’s popular Slavonic Dances to come. The fill-up in this album are the Overture and three fast dances – Polka, Furiant and Dance Of The Comedians - from the nationalist opera The Bartered Bride.

These, rather than the symphony, constitute vintage Smetana and represents his best music. Darrell Ang and the excellent Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra offer lively performances, comparable with the best recordings in the catalogue. For the rarely heard and seldom recorded symphony, they have the field to their own, so do have a listen.

FIRE & WATER

JI LIU, Piano

Classic FM D56 / ****1/2

Take a seat, Lang Lang and Li Yundi, as the latest Chinese piano sensation is Liu Ji, or Ji Liu as he is known in Londonwhere he is based. His fourth album on the Classic FM label (distributed by Decca) has two of the five Chinese elements as the theme: fire and water.

The usual suspects of musical impressionism are here, represented by Debussy’s Reflections on The Water(from Images Book 1), the preludes The Engulfed Cathedral and Fireworks, and Ravel’s Jeux D’Eau (Fountains) and Une Barque Sur L’Ocean(A Boat In The Sea), where he is at his fluid and incandescent best. To serve populist tastes, there is Ludovico Einaudi’s Le Onde (The Waves), Manuel de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance and Ode To The Yellow Riverfrom the infamous Yellow River Concerto.

The last was a transcription by Liu himself, as are two movements from Saint-Saens’ Carnival Of The Animals(Aquarium and The Swan) and Rachmaninov’s song Floods Of Spring, which sound very idiomatic. Guido Agosti transcription of three movements from Stravinsky’s The Firebird is the big virtuoso work that is guaranteed to bring down the house.

Alexander Scriabin’s Second Sonata(or Sonata-Fantasy) in G sharp minor seems like a curious choice. However its two diametrically contrasted movements sound like a vivid musical portrayal of water and fire respectively, even if the Russian had not intended it so. The yin and yang of piano music has seldom been better illuminated in these scintillating performances.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2018

Ensemble de la Belle Musique

Esplanade Recital Studio

Monday (17 December 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 19 December 2018 with the title "Joyous premieres of Christmas music".

Imagine a concert of new music featuring ten world premieres from an international cast of nine composers attended by a nearly full-capacity audience at Esplanade. That sounds like wishful thinking or some fancy Christmas dream but that is the reality in the third concert staged by Ensemble de la Belle Musique (EBM).

The ensemble was founded for the sole purpose of performing contemporary music that is tonal, tuneful and enjoyable. That was exactly what the audience got, a two-hour long Christmas stocking filled to bulging with goodies and sweetmeats, performed by the 20-member chamber orchestra led by Leonard Tan.

Morning by Massimo de Lillo (Italy) opened the proceedings, with a French horn and flute solo floating over reassuring E major chords, as a depiction of nascent life stirring in the glow of a winter’s morn. The other Italian Leonello Capodaglio’s Venetian Christmas Fantasy was more traditional, an all-string work inspired by old pastoral nativity scenes, generating a sonority that recalled Vivaldi and Gabrieli.

Consider how composers crafted music evoking the falling of snow. American Kari Cruver Medina’s One Snowy Day... worked with string pizzicatos, piano ostinatos and woodwind figurations sprinked with discreet brass while maintaining an almost-minimalist pulse. In Indonesian Maleva Ristananda’s Snow Begins to Fall, luminous string textures lit up by chimes from the xylophone worked from gentle precipitation to heavier drifts while a conjuring a holiday mood.

There were also diversely different styles of festive music on show. Australian Daxter Yeo’s Natsukashii evoked nostalgia with flute, piano and string octet in the style of romantic anime film music. In Journey On Christmas Eveby Usman Anees (Pakistan), there was a distinct South Asian accent in its fast flute solos and melodies for violin and oboe. The contrasts between the former’s placid warmth and the latter’s frenetic pace could not have been more stark.

Three young Singaporean composers were also spotlighted. Jon Tho Santa’s Old Workshop for strings alone was the shortest work but also the edgiest, with hints of dissonances without infringing on OB markers. Yvonne Tan’s A Christmas Reunion was rousing and celebratory, with rhythmic syncopations to suggest a train journey or fast sleigh ride homeward bound.

Lim Han Quan may have struck one as awkward and somewhat simplistic in his spoken preamble but came up with the two glitziest pieces on show, both with substantial concertante roles. Wonderland, The Beauty Of Winter handed solo violinist Chua Lik Wuk the role of Straussian concert leader in an elegant and rapturous waltz of the best Viennese tradition.

Not to be outdone, trumpeter Kenneth Lun channelled the spirit of Miles Davis in A Jazzy Night To Remember, singing the blues slickly accompanied by the ensemble, Low Shao Ying’s piano and Sanche Jagatheesan’s bass. Smiles aplenty and no minor chords within earshot, that is how joyous Christmas concerts ought to be.

MYTHES

Jiyoon Lee (Violin)

Henry Kramer (Piano)

Champs Hill Records 141 / ****1/2

As solo calling cards go, this solo album by young Korean violinist Jiyoon Lee, winner of the 2013 David Ostrakh and 2016 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competitions, is pretty impressive. The programme is predominantly Eastern European which is par for the course in displaying virtuosic flair and heart-on-sleeve emotional expression.

It begins with the neoclassicism of Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, six movements from the ballet Pulcinella based on music by Pergolesi and other Italian baroque composers. The formal lines are beautifully shaped in its alternating fast and slow dance movements, contrasted by the dreamy ruminative musings of Henryk Wieniawski’s Legende.

The fiery gypsy temperament is exploited in Bela Bartok’s Rhapsody No.1 and Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane, which is pure unleashed passion. Her tone is robust but not unyielding, and turns ethereal in the titular Mythes by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.

These are three gorgeous tones poems in soaring high registers and lilting lyricism inspired by ancient Greek and Roman mythology. The Fountain of Arethusa, Narcissus, and Dryades and Pan also delight in a fiendishly difficult piano part, superbly marshalled by excellent American pianist Henry Kramer. Here are 67 minutes of sheer string pleasure.

In December every year, The Straits Times publishes a list of the Best and Worst in the arts scene in Singapore, a fixture I have been contributing faithfully over the years. As the number of concert and album reviews published by ST have been diminishing with each season, the choices have also become more difficult to make. Take it or leave it, this is my very personal list for 2018, and it was well worth every minute.

This Best and Worst list was published in The Sunday Times on 23 December 2018.

BEST CONCERTS OF 2018

LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S MASS

Orchestra of the Music Makers

Esplanade Concert Hall, 2 June 2018

Trust the Orchestra of Music Makers (OMM) to mark its 10^th anniversary by giving the Singapore premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass in commemoration of the great American composer-conductor’s birth centenary. Conducted by Joshua Tan, this most moving of performances featured a large orchestra with electric guitars and rock drum-sets, two choruses with 130 voices, a semi-chorus of 16 street-singers and American tenor Kevin Vortmann in a tour-de-force as the Celebrant.

The concert's roaring success was underpinned by clear-headed direction and ecumenical multimedia visuals which enhanced the music-making. This two-hour long reflection of the liturgical mass enabled every man to find his own faith, unfettered by rigid doctrines or dogmas.

SINGAPORE

TRILOGY

L’arietta

The Arts House, 12 October 2018

Given the paucity of Singaporean opera, it was a coup for little opera company L’arietta to mount three single-act operas by composer Chen Zhangyi and librettist Jack Lin in a single sitting. This included the world premiere of Kopi For One (2018), featuring the vocal talents of sopranos Akiko Otao and Yee Ee Ping, and tenor Jonathan Charles Tay accompanied by a small ensemble led by the composer himself.

Also performed were his earlier operas Laksa Cantata (2013) and Window Shopping(2014). All three had realistic local settings and scenarios which audiences could easily relate to, and given the high quality of singing and directing, this marked an important landmark in the short and chequered history of Singapore opera.

BEST DEBUT

CLARISSE TEO Piano Recital

Esplanade Recital Studio, 12 August 2018

Imagine giving a debut piano recital but without playing the music of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or Chopin. It was sheer audacity for young law graduate-turned-pianist Clarisse Teo to offer a programme of absolute esoterica in works by Mompou, Medtner, D’Indy, Alexandrov and Villa-Lobos, much in the hallowed tradition of the Rarities of Piano Music at Schloss vor Husum festival in Germany.

That she conducted herself with utter confidence and supreme musicality was beyond doubt. Equally admirable was a sizeable audience that was totally enthralled by her performance, and reciprocated with the same warmth and enthusiasm that she had displayed.

BEST ALBUMS OF 2018

GRAND RUSSIAN

ALBERT TIU, Piano

Centaur 3661 / *****

This appears to be a first ever recording coupling the two mammoth piano sonatas of the great Russians composers Piotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov. Tchaikovsky’s Grand Sonata in G major and Rachmaninov’s First Sonata in D minor play for well over half-an-hour each, and Singapore-based Filipino pianist Albert Tiu goes for the big picture.

He paces each very well, building up arch-like to thrilling climaxes. Further contrasts provided in the slow movements are brought out with idiomatic feeling and unfailing imagination. Tiu is a born Romantic at heart, and this is proud production of Singapore’s Yong Siew Toh Conservatory that can stand up to scrutiny with the best recordings of the classical catalogue.

WILD & IN LOVE

re:mix / FOO SAY MING

re:mix #002 / *****

Here is a new album of popular songs, golden oldies mixed with more recent ones, performed by the land's leading purveyor of musical nostalgia, the crack string ensemble re:mix led by Singapore Symphony Orchestra first violinist Foo Say Ming.

The two major works are by Hong Kong-based British composer-conductor Dominic Sargent. Sonatina headily brings together Bee Gees, Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson, while Sonata Latina recycles songs like Solamente Una Vez, Quizas Quizas Quizas, Besame Mucho, Desafinadoand Conga.

Singaporean arrangers Chen Zhangyi and Derek Lim also get a look in. Foo and his charges are sumptuously recorded, making this classy trip to yesteryear a most memorable one.

CHOPIN The Complete Preludes

SHAUN CHOO, Piano

MusicShaun / *****

With this self-produced and self-recorded album, young pianist Shaun Choo became only the second Singaporean (after Azariah Tan) to record an all-Chopin disc. The main work is the complete set of 24 Préludes (Op.28). Choo finds a wealth of nuances and kaleidoscopic responses in this seemingly disparate set of miniatures.

In the scintillating Grande Valse Brillante in E flat major (Op.18), he combines elegance with exuberance. The programme is completed by the brooding Nocturnein C minor (Op.48 No.1) and the very familiar “Heroic” Polonaise in A flat major (Op.53), performed with passion and polish. Choo is a compelling home-grown artist destined for even bigger things.

This disc is available at amazon.com and online/streaming platforms like Spotify and Deezer.

WORST

CLAIR DE LUNE

MENAHEM PRESSLER, Piano

Deutsche Grammophon 479 8756 / **1/2

The Germany-born Menahem Pressler (born 1923) is the “grand old man” of the piano. However, his solo album of French piano music, recorded last year, does his legacy scant justice. Almost every item is played at a funereal and lugubrious tempo. Claude Debussy’s First Arabesque, Reverie and Clair de lune (from Suite Bergamasque) are so dragged out that one’s patience is sorely tested. The same stolidity applies to the selection of five Préludes, while Maurice Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte stretches to nearly 8 minutes. A dispiriting showing from a great pianist.

PROKOFIEV FOR TWO

MARTHA ARGERICH

& SERGEI BABAYAN, Two Pianos

Deutsche Grammophon 479 9854 / *****

Although she may be 77 years old, Argentine piano legend Martha Argerich continues to perform and record. A recent release is an hour of music by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), transcribed for two pianos by Armenian-American pianist Sergei Babayan, the latest in a long illustrious line of piano duo partners.

Twelve movements from the ballet Romeo And Juliet are performed as a suite, and there are only several movements in common with Prokofiev’s own original set of solo pieces (Op.75) for two hands. New are the evocative Dance With Mandolins and the scintillating music-box effects in Morning Serenade. The Gavotte is a familiar dance rehashed from the 3^rd movement of his Classical Symphony while Death Of Tybalt provides a suitably dramatic and violent end.

Much of the music exploits the lower registers of two pianos. The results are brooding and darkly sonorous but richly detailed. Much less familiar are arrangements of Prokofiev’s incidental music from Eugene Onegin and Hamlet, film music from The Queen of Spades, a waltz from the opera War and Peace and one Pushkin Waltz. The performances sound freshly-minted, spontaneous, and are brilliantly recorded. Highly recommended.

THE SEASONS OF LOVE

Red Dot Baroque

CHIJMES Hall

Sunday (6 January 2019)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 January 2019

Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional baroque ensemble, made its debut last August at the Esplanade Recital Studio. That quiet but momentous event seemed like a soft launch in comparison to this concert at a capacity-filled Chijmes Hall. Here, it was unveiled as the ensemble-in-residence of Sing’Baroque, a newly formed academy founded by Frenchman Arnaud de Fontgalland (below) to promote the pursuit and appreciation of baroque music in Singapore.

The 12-member ensemble led by home-grown violinist Alan Choo gave a 90-minute concert performed without intermission. The usual suspects of Bach and Handel were given a wide berth. Instead the excellently-curated programme of less familiar works chose to showcase myriad moods captured in the seasons within different lands of 17^th and 18^th century Europe.

The evening opened with Belgian soprano Lilith Verhelst singing Henry Purcell’s Music For A While, her pristine voice illuminating the nave in a procession from the back of the hall. The ensemble accompanying her then proceeding into Part III of Heinrich Biber’s Mensa Sonora, a suite of short dances. The music was intimate and lithe, lifted by feather-light textures, alternating between first and slow movements.

Verhelst would sing three more songs, in French (by Michel Lambert) and Italian (Barbara Strozzi and Girolamo Frecobaldi), expressing melancholy and sorrow typified by the baroque lament before finally exulting in an outburst of joy. The instrumental music paired with the songs echoed these diverse moods, providing the much needed contrasts for the concert. There was never a dull moment.

In the French segment, Francois Couperin’s La Françoise (from Les Nations) which featured flute (Rachel Ho), viola da gamba (Mervyn Lee), theorbo (Christopher Johann Clarke on a long-necked lute) and harpsichord (Gerald Lim) alternated between the subdued and cheerful. Then the stage was cleared for Tan Qin Ying’s dainty dance steps in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Chaconne de Phaeton, a series of short instrumental variations.

Ornamentation and the art of improvisation was a quintessential baroque art, and opportunities were found in Giovanni Fontana’s Sonata Settima for Choo on violin and Lim on harpsichord. There were some decidedly modern and un-baroque flourishes in the latter’s keyboard display but the adventurous spirit of the baroque was certainly on target.

The only concession to familiarity was Vivaldi’s Summer from The Four Seasons. The sonnet (penned by Vivaldi himself) that inspired the concerto was read before the performance, which saw Choo in his element for its virtuosic solo part. His was an animated stage personality equalled by perfect intonation and the sheer ease and natural way of his bowing.

This drew the loudest and longest applause, which was repeated after Tarquinio Merula’s Ciaconna segueing into Frescobaldi’s Se l’aura spira (If The Breeze Blows) with Verhelst taking centrestage. So joyous was the reception that the last song was encored to marvellous effect. Sing’Baroque has gotten off to a most auspicious start.

All the performers (L to R):
Lilith Verhelst, Gabriel Lee (violin), Chen Zhangyi (viola),
Tan Qin Ying (harpsichord/dance), Mervyn Lee (gamba/guitar),
Alan Choo, Leslie Tan (cello), Christopher Johann Clarke,
Edmund Song (bass), Gerald Lim, Rachel Ho & Brenda Koh (violin).

The historic CHIJMES by night.

FROM VIENNA

London Conchord Ensemble

Champs Hill Records 115 (2 CDs) / *****

This double-disc album is an illuminating two-and-half-hour musical tour of Vienna from the classical era of Mozart to the 20^thcentury iconoclasm of Schoenberg. Seen through the lenses of woodwinds, piano and strings, clarinettist Maximiliano Martin and pianist Julian Milford are ever-present in all seven works performed.

The first disc opens with Mozart's “Kegelstatt” Clarinet Trio K.498, delightfully scored for clarinet, viola and piano. Its congeniality and warmth continues into the famous pair of Piano Quintets (piano with winds, namely clarinet, oboe, bassoon and French horn) by Mozart and Beethoven, perfect partners heard alongside each other.

The SecondVienneseSchool occupies the second disc. But first listen to the Trioin D minor for clarinet, cello and piano by Alexander Zemlinsky, better known as teacher and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg. Its late Romantic and Brahms-influenced idiom receives a shock to the system when followed by Schoenberg's compact Chamber Symphony No.1 (transcribed by his student Anton Webern) which openly flirts with atonalism.

The ground-breaking 12-tone idiom becomes established with the Adagio from Alban Berg's Chamber Symphony, but the music has vestiges of lushness and sentimentality. To close, Johann Strauss the Younger's Emperor Waltz, arranged for septet by Schoenberg, makes for a particularly delicious encore.

THE SEASONS OF LOVE

Red Dot Baroque

CHIJMES Hall

Sunday (6 January 2019)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 January 2019 with the title "Baroque showcase with never a dull moment".

The historic CHIJMES by night.

AN ITALIAN EXTRAVAGANZA

re:Sound with Enrico Onofri

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (13 January 2019)

This review was published by The Straits Times on 15 January 2019 with the title "Sparkling evening of baroque delights".

Lovers of baroque music could not have gotten to a better start this year. Previous weekend’s Red Dot Baroque concert was followed by another sparkling evening, on this occasion by re:Sound, Singapore first professional chamber ensemble. The scope was wider, covering some 300 years of Italian music. This was led by Italian violinist-conductor Enrico Onofri, well-known for his long association with Italian period instrument group Il Giardino Armonico.

The first half was all baroque, opening with Dario Castello’s Sonata No.16for strings and harpsichord. Serving as palate teaser, the short single-movement work highlighted clear and incisive playing, with Onofri leading by example. Despite the smallness of ensemble, there was never any thinness in sound, just precision playing that piqued the ears.

Italy was the birthplace of the sonata and concerto, and home to the world’s first violin virtuosos. In concerti grossi by Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi, the solo (concertino) sections were shared by Onofri, who used three different bows, and re:Sound’s own players.

In Corelli’s Op.6 No.4, he was partnered by violinist Seah Huan Yuh and cellist Robert Choi. Throw in two trumpets, there was a feel of festive grandeur. For Vivaldi’s Op.3 No.11, violinist Gabriel Lee and cellist Theophilus Tan stepped into the spotlight. In both works, local soloists blended well with Onofri and were very much his equal. It was then left to him to apply the gilding and ornamentation to his solos, which was spectacular.

There was a cameo by 11-year-old Chloe Chua, Singapore’s co-winner at the Menuhin International Violin Competition of 2018, in Winter from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Confident like a seasoned pro, hers was a consummate reading and sheer pleasure was afforded by watching her being all eyes and ears, completely sympathetic to all of leader Onofri’s gestures and nuances. Each of the three movements preceded by a reading of Vivaldi’s sonnet by William Ledbetter.

The hour-long first half was completed by Luigi Boccherini’s famous programmatic quintet called Night Music of the Streets of Madrid. Raucous sounds of a summer’s evening (of bells, drums, buskers and bands) were simulated. With cellos strummed like guitars, a rowdy procession ensued before receding into the distance.

Onofri exchanged his bows for a baton in the second half of Italian music from the Romantic era and early 20^th century. There was some tentative playing in the slow introduction of Rossini’s Overture to La Cenerentola (Cinderella) but that was soon dispelled in the fast section. Ralph Lim’s clarinet solo led the way to a trademark Rossinian crescendo, gradually building up in speed and volume to a rousing climax.

That was followed by the four movements from Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No.1, essentially modern orchestrations of old renaissance and baroque tunes. It was a melodious and enjoyable romp with lively contributions from woodwinds and harp. The applause was loud and vociferous, with the Rossini overture being encored to further delight.

All photographs by Yong Junyi, by the kind courtesy of re:Sound.

BACH Trios

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

Chris Thile, Mandolin

Edgar Meyer, Bass

Nonesuch 7559-79392-0 / *****

The trio of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile and bassist Edgar Meyer make no pretensions about the authenticity of their album of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). All the pieces are co-written arrangements for their peculiar combination of instruments. The performances however sound unusually idiomatic, as if contemporary with the Baroque period itself.

Ma and Thile alternate between and share the melodic lines while Meyer provides the just as vital backing, with much counterpoint in between. Thus works like the Trio Sonata No.6 in G major (BWV.530, originally for organ) and Sonata in G minor (BWV.1029, for viola da gamba and keyboard), the two longest works and both in three movements, make for excellent showcases.

Also significant is the Prelude and Fugue in E minor (BWV.548, for organ), known as “The Wedge” because of the widening intervals in its fugue, which receives an absorbing performance despite sounding quite different from the original.

More familiar are the Chorale PreludesWachet auf (Sleepers Awake), Ich ruft zu Dir(I Call To Thee) and Erbarme Dich mein (Have Mercy On Me), as well as selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier and The Art Of Fugue. Both spiritual and vivacious, this enjoyable album yet again demonstrates the timelessness of Bach.

NANYANGPIANOACADEMY

Opening Gala Concert

Lee Foundation Theatre,

NanyangAcademyof Fine Arts

Thursday (17 January 2019)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SSO 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

Singapore

Symphony Orchestra

Esplanade Concert Hall

Friday (18 January 2019)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 January 2019 with the title "A fitting celebration of SSO's 40th anniversary".

Almost 40 years ago to the week, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra performed its first concerts at Singapore Conference Hall, led by founding Music Director Choo Hoey. The orchestra then numbered 41 musicians, but gave the 1979 audience an inkling of what professional music-making in Singapore was to become.

The 49th Anniversary cake was cut by
violinist Lynnette Seah (Orchestral Leader in 1979),
Music Director Shui Lan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
SSO Chairman Goh Yew Lin & SSO CEO Chng Hak-Peng.

At its 40^th anniversary, present Music Director Shui Lan helmed a programme that paid tribute to those inaugural concerts. Two works were reprised. The first was 20^th century American composer Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question. Its inclusion by Choo was symbolic and rhetorical, as if pondering on an uncertain future of classical music (or the orchestra for that matter) in Singapore.

That question has however been emphatically answered many times over. Classical music, especially orchestral music, thrives in Singapore today. Even young amateur groups of music makers now sound more accomplished than SSO of the early 1980s.

The short mysterious work nonetheless piqued the senses. Muted strings were challenged by David Smith’s trumpet perched high up in organ loft. This conversation of crossed purposes was interjected by the chatter of a flute quartet, with all involved left none the wiser. Such was the intent of the iconoclastic Ives.

More down to earth was the second reprised work, Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, popularly known as the “Emperor” for its sweeping grandeur. Lim Yan, the first Singaporean to perform all five Beethoven piano concertos here as a cycle, was the ideal soloist.

That he got every note down pat was a given. His projection of unruffled authority, full-blooded tone and a sheer sense of joy that radiated through its three movements made this a most rewarding outing. Lim, representing the vanguard of young Singaporean soloists, will most certainly erase memories of the original 1979 pianist, the late Ong Lip Tat, whom from all accounts was a bundle of nerves.

The concert’s opening work was also the first Singaporean work performed by the fledgling SSO. Dayong Sampan by the late Leong Yoon Pin, considered the “Father of Singaporean composition”, was a heady fusion of Western and Eastern idioms. Amid a commotion of brass fanfares and buzzing strings, the emergence of the Malay melody on solo oboe represented a quintessential Singaporean musical moment. Like the year 1965, this 1980 composition has rightly become a landmark and an icon.

If the first half sounded promising, the second was even better. Shui had replaced Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony (another symbolic choice of Choo’s) with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The faster tempos he adopted were close to perfect, as there were no moments for the music to lag. Even the 1^stmovement’s slow introduction sounded swift, and the 2^nd movement’s variations unfolded with inexorable purpose.

As if to demonstrate the orchestra’s prowess, the final two movements were taken at a breathless pace, and the effect was thrilling. Just as the symphony clocked in under 40 minutes, SSO’s 40 years has felt like a breeze.

The SSO acknowledges applause from the Gallery.

RHAPSODIES OF SPRING 2019

Singapore

Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Conference Hall

Saturday (19 January 2019)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 January 2019 with the title "High jinks and nostalgia to usher in new year".

Like Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s annual Christmas Concerts, Singapore Chinese Orchestra’s Lunar New Year concerts, entitled Rhapsodies Of Spring, are must-attend events for those who enjoy seasonal favourites delivered with healthy doses of light-heartedness. Conducted by Yeh Tsung, this year’s offerings were high on humour and nostalgia.

The concert opened with Li Huan Zhi’s familiar Spring Festival Overture, an old-fashioned rouser which sounded oh-so traditional before SCO Composer-on-Residence Law Wai Lun’s Celebrating New Year. There was a deliberate schlockiness to this medley which reeked of gaudy Geylang a-go-go bars of the 1960s.

More power to a smart parody of styles which saw Cai Shen Dao (God Of Fortune Arrives) and Ying Chun Hua (Spring Blossoms) dressed up as a rumba and cha cha respectively. And one has not really lived without experiencing that ear-worm Gong Xi Gong Xi taking the form of a ridiculously camp tango.

What truly distinguished the evening were four World Premieres of Chinese evergreens re-orchestrated as popular culture-influenced concertante works by four local composers. Simon Kong’s Flight Of Bossa Nova saw Chang Le and Meng Jie in a duel of suonas updating the woodwind classic Bai Niao Chao Feng(Hundreds Of Birds Paying Respect To The Phoenix).

There were many jazzy turns to erhu classic Erquan Yingyue (Moon’s Reflection On Erquan) in Phang Kok Jun’s Erquan In Swing. Tan Man Man’s hip-gyrating solo was the perfect foil to Ling Hock Siang’s reliving of the legendary blind erhu exponent Abing’s soulful plaint.

In Wang Chenwei’s Interstellar Ambush, the pipa showpiece Shi Mian Mai Fu (Ambush From All Sides) took on the ominous strides of Darth Vader’s Imperial March. The always spectacular Yu Jia in a multi-sequined gown did the honours, but something was lost by not being dressed like a stormtrooper.

For Hard Rock Fight, Eric Watson pitted two percussionists, Xu Fan on Chinese drums (dagu and paigu) against Ngoh Keng Seng on timpanis in a pitched battle where Long Hu Dou (Dragon Tiger Feud) was transformed into a rock fantasy. Art or kitsch? The side-splitting in-jokes in these four new works meant they were not to be taken too seriously.

After the first half’s high jinks, the second half was more retrospective and sedate. Heady Shanghai of the 1930s was relived with Fang Qiong in a selection of songs popularised by singer-actress Zhou Xuan in Law Wai Lun’s The Wandering Songstress Symphonic Suite. She certainly had the full measure these numbers which included Song Of Four Seasons, Waiting For A Beloved, May Breezes and Soaring Phoenix.

Conductor Yeh was in his element too, reciting poetry in both Mandarin and antique Shanghainese, performing dance steps and even downing a glass of red wine. Had the audience been similarly stimulated, there would have been a more raucous response to Sim Boon Yew’s Spring Suite 2019, which closed the concert with the customary glad tidings. Gong xi gong xi...

OLLI MUSTONEN. PROKOFIEV PIANO CONCERTO NO.2 / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

RAVEL TONIGHT! / The Philharmonic Orchestra / Review

DEBUSSY 100: LA MER / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

CD Review (The Straits Times, November 2018)

A PEARL CELEBRATION FOR SOPRANO NANCY YUEN / Singapore Lyric Opera / Review

UPBEAT / Igudesman & Joo / Review

CD Review (The Straits Times, November 2018)

CD Review (The Straits Times, December 2018)

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2018 / Ensemble de la Belle Musique / Review

CD Review (The Straits Times, December 2018)

BEST CLASSICAL CONCERTS & ALBUMS OF 2018

CD Review (The Straits Times, January 2019)

THE SEASONS OF LOVE / Red Dot Baroque / Review

CD Review (The Straits Times, August 2018)

THE SEASONS OF LOVE / Red Dot Baroque / Review

AN ITALIAN EXTRAVAGANZA / re:Sound / Review

CD Review (The Straits Times, January 2019)

NANYANG PIANO ACADEMY Opening Gala Concert / Review

SSO 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA / Review

RHAPSODIES OF SPRING 2019 / Singapore Chinese Orchestra / Review