pianomania

FOUR HANDS

LEON FLEISHER &

KATHERINE JACOBSON, Piano 4 Hands

Sony Classical 88875064162 / ****1/2

The venerated American pianist Leon Fleisher, once afflicted with focal dystonia of the right hand, has returned to play piano repertoire for both hands. This album sees him joined by his wife and former-student Katherine Jacobson in a lovely programme for piano duet. Johannes Brahms'Liebeslieder Walzer (Love Song Waltzes), heard here without the voices, is a more extended and mellower follow-up to his WaltzesOp.39.

The Fleishers play with great sensitivity and sympathy for the idiom, and this gemütlich (carefree and relaxed like only the Viennese know how) feeling continues into Franz Schubert's masterpiece Fantasy in F minor, which rises to dramatic height from its initial lilting indolence.

The concert closes with Lucien Garban's transcription for piano duet of Maurice Ravel's La Valse. Confined to a single keyboard, its range seems unusually constricted for most part, but the duo generates a voluminous sound and much excitement towards its climactic end. The encore is a 4-hand arrangement of living American composer William Bolcom's most famous short piece, The Graceful Ghost Rag, rendered with rare finesse and nostalgia.

THE LURE OF THE EAST

GEOFFREY SABA, Piano

Carnegie Concerts CC017 / ****1/2

Here is an excellently-programme recital of piano music inspired by Western composers' fascination with the Orient. Its generous 77 minutes of exotica may be subdivided into three parts. First is traditional musical picture-postcard views represented by Debussy's Estampes(Pagodas evoke the sound of gamelans), Godowsky's Gardens Of Buitenzorg (after the famous botanic gardens in Bogor) and Ravel's Jeux D'Eau with its cascades of pentatonics.

The substantial central section delves deeper with Szymanowski's Sheherazade (from Masques), Messiaen's ferociously complex Canteyodjaya (which in Sanskrit translates into “song of joy”), Australian Peter Sculthorpe's Harbour Dreaming and Indonesian Krisna Setiawan's AgMaTa 1, which relives techniques used in gamelan music and the kecak dance.

The final and lightest third part approximates kitsch, closing with Abram Chasins'Three Chinese Pieces(the best known is Rush Hour In Hong Kong) and Percy Grainger's Beautiful Fresh Flower, a transcription of Molihua. Australia-born British pianist Geoffrey Saba has the requisite technique, sense of colour and shade to do his selections justice, and this is accompanied by well researched programme notes and historical illustrations.

GLORIA!

NAFA Orchestra & Chorus

Victoria Concert Hall

Tuesday (19 April 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 April 2016 with the title "A moving evening of Poulenc".

An all-French programme was the culmination of an academic year's work for the School of Music at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Conducted by British conductor Nicholas Cleobury, presently Head of Opera at Brisbane's Queensland Conservatorium, there was a striking synergy and symmetry that united all three works in the concert.

Beginning with Maurice Ravel's ballet Mother Goose, the young orchestra crafted a very strong narrative thread through its movements (each retelling a tale from Charles Perrault's collection) and intervening intermezzos. The playing was sensitive and evocative, with excellent solos from woodwinds, particularly oboe, flutes and piccolo which conjured an imaginatively fabled atmosphere.

Strings were well disciplined and homogeneous in texture. The opening of The Fairy's Garden was beautifully played, and concertmaster Guo Xingchen's violin solos confident and impressive. In the pentatonic paradise that was Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas, harp, celesta and assorted percussion helped paint an indelible portrait of the Orient, filled with dizzying gamelan sonorities.

That was the vital link to the next work, Francis Poulenc's popular Concerto for Two Pianos, where he used keyboards to simulate the tintinnabuli and clangour of the gamelan orchestra. Soloists Lena Ching and Nicholas Ong, both of the piano faculty, navigated their tricky and intricate parts with razor-sharp reflexes and witty aplomb.

Its aromatic blend of orientalism, neoclassicism (the slow movement was pure Mozartean charm) and popular dancehall tunes wafted with the pungently intoxicating and hypnotic qualities of incense, a true riot for the senses. There was even a curious episode for two pianos and solo cello playing a melody in harmonics. Was this Poulenc's salute to the Javanese spiked fiddle?

After the frolicsome finale which closed with a brilliant show of pianistic hi-jinks, the second half comprised just Poulenc's Gloria for soprano, choir and orchestra. One of the most appealing and often-performed 20^th century choral works, it revealed diametrically opposite aspects of the composer – the sacred and profane, from saint and sinner.

The opening Gloria In Excelsis Deo, executed by excellent brass and percussion with righteous grandeur and pomp, also had an air of flippancy. The 86-strong chorus, meticulously drilled by Lim Yau, responded with corporate drollery, soon breaking out into an enthusiastic and sincerely felt Laudamus Te which made the proceedings all the more light and cheerful.

Cheerful would be an unusual adjective for a sacred work, but Poulenc did not hide behind feigned piety and supplication. Central to his exposition was Indonesian soprano Isyana Sarasvati, NAFA alumnus and now a media sensation of sorts, whose sweet yet unwavering delivery of Dominus Deus was an epitome of purity and poignancy.

The chorus' unison proclamation of Qui Sedes Ad Dexteram Patris was strong and fervent, setting into motion a truly moving finale. How often does one hear a Miserere Nobis (Have Mercy) sound this joyous? Sarasvati's sonorous Amen was a ringing declaration from high, an affirmation of answered prayers to which both chorus and orchestra concluded on a serene and sublime high.

VIRTUOSOS OF CHINESE MUSIC

Ding Yi Music Company

Esplanade Concert Hall

Sunday (24 April 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 26 April 2016 with the title "Shining showmanship by Chinese soloists".

Every year in its first concert of the season, Ding Yi Music Company invites as guest soloists luminaries from the world of Chinese instrumental music. These names may not be familiar to the casual listener or outsider, but erhu virtuoso Xue Ke, guzheng exponent Zhou Wang and dizi master Zhang Wei Liang are household names for serious Chinese instrumentalists.

In this 140-minute long concert, the trio from mainland China performed a selection of chamber and concertante works with members of Singapore's premier Chinese chamber ensemble. Xue's fiery crimson gown matched the intensity of Liu Wen Jin's Fire Maiden in a Colourful Dress for two erhus, a moto perpetuo in duet with Ding Yi's Chin Yen Choong. There was no let up in its frenetic pace, but Chin ably kept up with Xue by doubling the melody, harmonising in close intervals and providing rhythmic support.

Xue's appearance in Guan Ming's Ballad of Lan Hua Hua, a rhapsodic single-movement concerto, gave voice to the extreme expressions of an erhu. From anguished plaints to the courageous sacrifice of the eponymous heroine (who resisted and fled a loveless marriage to a rich old codger), the emotive playing elicited premature applause from an excitable audience in a short pause leading to its cadenza.

Zhou was joined by Yin Qun and Yvonne Tay in Zhou Yan Jia's Love of Qing Bei, arranged for three guzhengs. Playing completely from memory, nary a note or beat was dropped in this showpiece that gradually accelerated to a brilliant conclusion with sweeping glissandi.

Zhou's concertante pieces included the traditional Song Of Desolation from Shaanxi, a poetic portrayal of profound sadness, markedly contrasted with Huang Zhen Yu and Zhou Wang's Western Theme Capriccio, a vigorous dance that used Central Asian themes and motifs from Jiangxi, China's Far West. Her command of the strummed and plucked instrument was absolute, vividly supported by the ensemble conducted by Quek Ling Kiong.

Zhang played on a combination of dizis and xiao. The latter is a vertically-blown flute with a lower register, and its mellow timbre was well-suited for the serene melody of Song dynasty classic Plum Blossoms In The Snow, accompanied by erhu, pipa, ruan, guzheng and percussion in Zhang's arrangement.

The dizi's rusticity was ideal in the Hebei operatic number Little Shepherd, which had mellifluous exchanges between a shepherd and his love interest. In Zhang's own Tears for Fallen Flowers, composed in memory of his beloved late father, a Suzhou pingtan melody straddled between light-hearted reminiscences and poignancy.

All three soloists gave short interviews, which included encouraging budding players in the audience to discover and embrace their artistic souls. They were united for the final work, Gu Guan Ren's arrangement of the popular Flavours Of Jiangnan, which culminated with virtuosic flourishes for each part. Closing on a spirited high, this concert ushers yet another ambitious season ahead for the intrepid and industrious Ding Yi Music Company.

Photographs by courtesy of Ding Yi Music Company.

SEONG-JIN CHO

Winner of the 17^th International

Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition

Deutsche Grammophon 479 5332 / *****

Almost immediately after his triumph at the 2015 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, young Korean pianist Cho Seong-Jin's debut recording was issued, comprising wholly of live performances from the concours.

His mastery of broad sweeping canvasses is immediately felt in the 24 Preludes (Op.28), made up of variegated miniatures which exhibit every facet of Chopin's technical armamentarium, and emotional breadth and depth. His impeccably polished technique is matched by a whole-hearted involvement which made this music very much his own.

One would also be hard put to find a reading of the Second Sonata in B flat minor (Op.35, or Funeral March Sonata) with as much passionate ardour, and that ceaseless probing of the human psyche's darker side. Here the names of Pollini, Argerich or Ohlsson may be cited, all of whom are enshrined in a pantheon of great Chopinists which Cho now joins.

The disc is completed by the Nocturne in C minor (Op.48 No.1) and that most overplayed of Polonaises, the “Heroic” in A flat major (Op.53), both sounding as fresh as newly minted. All this accomplished at the age of 21, a promising musical career awaits this phenomenal new talent.

BLACKBIRD / THE BEATLES ALBUM

MILOS KARADAGLIC, Guitar

Mercury Classics 481 2310 / *****

That the music of the Beatles, like the works of J.S.Bach, could be translated into genres far removed from the original form is a testament of its universality and immortality. This album of Beatles standards by Montenegrin guitarist Milos Karadaglic is a winner not just because of his irrepressible personality, but also the idiomatic and seamless arrangements by Brazilian guitarist Sergio Assad.

The insouciant spirit of Lennon and McCartney's Blackbird, Come Together, The Fool On The Hill, And I Love Her, Eleanor Rigby and All My Loving, or George Harrison's Something and Here Comes The Sun are not lost despite the absence of words.

There is also a solo arrangement of Yesterday, by no less than Japanese modernist icon Toru Takemitsu (who despite his Zen-like austerity was a massive fan of the Fab Four), one which resonates deeply in its simplicity.

There are cameo appearances by Gregory Porter (in Let It Be), Tori Amos (She's Leaving Home), cellist Steven Isserlis (Michelle) and sitar virtuosa Anoushka Shankar (Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds) which add to the glitter factor of this already desirable disc.

AN ENCHANTED EVENING

WITH ALEXANDER & MASAKO

Alexander Souptel &

Masako Suzuki White, Violins

Victoria Concert Hall

Thursday (28 April 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 April 201 with the title "Partying with Sasha and lollipops".

If a history were written about classical music in Singapore, the name of Alexander Souptel would surely appear alongside the likes of Feri Krempl, Goh Soon Tioe and Lee Pan Hon. Souptel, or Sasha as he is known affectionately, was Concertmaster of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2012.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian native emigrated to Singapore where he became a naturalised citizen. Now playing in the rank and file of first violins and coaching conservatory students, he still cuts a commanding stage figure.

His is not one of stern authority but an avuncular, almost carefree charm, blest with the hallmarks of a born entertainer. His often outlandish demeanour was on full show in this concert of lollipops, in tandem with his inseparable companion Masako Suzuki White, herself a fiddler of considerable prowess.

Nobody quite wields the bow like Souptel, circumscribing wide arcs like a light sabre, accompanied by cheeky grins and knowing eyes. The “serious” work on show was Vivaldi's Concertofor Two Violinsin D minor, and even that had no pretensions to authenticity. With Jonathan Shin on piano and Guennadi Mouzyka's double bass, the baroque work swung like jazz, not least in the 1^st movement's fugato section.

In Massenet's cloying Meditation from Thaïs, the two violins came across as overcooked with schmaltzy sentimentality. Similarly, the gently gliding of Saint-Saëns'The Swan was supplanted by four young ballerinas from ChengBalletAcademy who were very cute if not self-conscious.

For Brahms'Hungarian Dance No.2, the irrepressible Magyar spirit took over, with frayed bowstrings the inevitable result. More high jinks erupted in Bang Wen Fu's spiced-up version of Paganini's Caprice No.24, alternating between straight variations played unaccompanied and jazz-club raves with Mark de Souza's drum-set providing the heady beat.

The second half was no less fun, with the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria and Kreisler's Miniature Viennese March and Liebesfreudproviding a generous flow of joie de vivre. Virtuoso fireworks were not spared for Sarasate's Navarra, where fearsome passages for triplets on both violins were tossed off with nonchalance, followed by the duel of Piazzolla's aptly titled Violentango.

Swaying LED lights of audience handphones spontaneously lit up Leigh Harline's When You Wish Upon A Star from the Disney animated classic Pinocchio, which the usually overzealous ushers ignored as a legit part of the act. For Jacob Gade's Tango Jalousie, Souptel had a rose clenched between his lips before presenting it upon bended knee to a surprised Masako. Their patented party piece, Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, slashed its way to the programme's official close.

There were five encores, including Chinese lollipops The Moon Represents My Heart and Horse-Racing, and the titular Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific. The final encore began with the opening solo from Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto before segueing into the Russian song Dark Eyes (Ochi Chornye). By this time, the audience was clapping along with the foot-stamping music, tossing roses on stage, and according a deserved standing ovation.

ADAM GYÖRGY Piano Recital

Esplanade Concert Hall

Friday (29 April 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 May 2016 with the title "Adam György saved devilish best for last".

Piano recitals at Esplanade Concert Hall are a relative rarity, as there are not many pianists who can attract a large audience for its voluminous capacity. Martha Argerich, Leif Ove Andsnes and Lang Lang will do just that. Although not a household name, Hungarian-born pianist Adam György, well known for his summer piano academies in his homeland and Bali, however drew a sizeable crowd for his 80-minute recital.

He opened with an original composition, entitled A Day In New York, which in its 21-minute duration described sanguine feelings about leaving his native Hungary and settling in the “Big Apple”. His style is highly tonal, written in the popular New Age, minimalistic manner geared towards easy listening. A couple of Hungarian folksongs, and possibly snatches of Ravel and Janacek, were quoted and the mood is one of benign and placid indolence, which he captured with a stylish nonchalance.

Given the genteel manner of this sonata-fantasie which never raised the temperature beyond fever pitch, György might be forgiven for a similar approach to Liszt's mighty Sonata in B minor. One might even say that his performance was too polite. Where barnstorming through the demanding octave passages was de rigeuer for most, he chose to skate over these as undemonstratively as possible. Neither hitting bumps nor inducing goosebumps, safety first seemed to be the presiding objective.

The central chorale in F sharp major was luminously projected, suggesting Liszt's spirituality was not a closed book for him, and the tricky fugal section was artfully negotiated. The quiet final chords provided almost the perfect denouement until some imbecile's handphone or watch alarm had to go off at the worst possible moment. Compared with Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa's wild steroid-pumped account of the same work in the same venue last year, György's sounded like an even-tempered version on Prozac.

The rest of the programme comprised wholly of Liszt. His Rigoletto Paraphrasehad probably seen better days, with the filigreed ornamentation gingerly rather than effortlessly conceived. His lightness of touch was far better suited for La Campanella, which rang with clarity and its wide right-hand leaps comfortably surmounted.

Similarly, the repeated notes and figurations for the right hand in the popular Second Hungarian Rhapsody posed little problems in an exciting performance that brought out the patented if hardly authentic Magyar swagger. There are few Liszt warhorses that do not generate some form of standing ovation, and so large segments of the audience obliged.

Clearly György was reserving himself and leaving the best for the last. The encore was his own conflation of the Mendelssohn-Liszt Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, combining the flittering Dance of the Elves with Vladimir Horowitz's insanely camp variations. Prompting a long line for autographs after the concert, that final piece of dare-devilry was alone worth the ticket of entry.

SETTS #3

Southeastern Ensemble for

Today's and Tomorrow's Sounds

The Chamber, The Arts House

Sunday (1 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 3 May 2016 with the title "Concert with an edge".

Simply put, Southeastern Ensemble for Today's and Tomorrow's Sounds (SETTS) is the most avant-garde of Singapore's new music groups. Its latest presentation was not so much a concert but a sitting within a creator's workshop and laboratory, half-expecting something to blow up in the face.

Composer Wang Chen Wei arranges a
microphone to record the string quartet.

The artists and technical crew of UFO Project
prepare themselves as an amused audience
(including Pearl Samuel and Peter Kellock) look on.

Tables and floor were littered with metres of cables and wires, a veritable spaghetti connected to computers, cameras, microphones, electronica and various paraphernalia. There were possibly more composers, performers, collaborators and support staff in attendance than actual audience, but nobody was counting.

The 2-hour programme performed without break opened with Waves, conceived by UFO Project, possessing the polystylism that described Russian composer Alfred Schnittke's works. A string quartet (violinists Christina Zhou and Nanako Takata, violist Janice Tsai and cellist Lin Juan), playing a Bach-like chorale, was being peppered by electronic sounds, and soon they were completely submerged.

A dancer dressed as an alien in pink polka dots then commanded the floor, spinning a globe attached to a slowly rotating electric drill. The quartet soon returned, closing in a serene C major chord, perhaps symbolising that peace and strife on earth comes in waves and cycles.

The longest work was Chow Jun Yan's Childhood Rhapsody, from which four of six numbers were performed by pianist Shane Thio alongside the real-time painting of four canvasses by visual artist Frank Lee Foo Koon. Using combinations of brushes, rollers, improvised styli and Pollockian drip technique, these were more than mere scribbles. Possibly representing suppressed memories of past trauma, the sometimes violent music was achieved by scraping and striking the innards of the grand piano.

The chamber was then plunged into total darkness for Malaysian Goh Lee Kwang's The Air (Singapore). Snatches of clarinet (Colin Tan), flute (Roberto Alvarez) and oboe (Joost Flach) tones punctuating the stilness as a projected electronic stop watch counted the time elapsed. Resembling forest sounds at night and John Cage's Ryoanji, the work concluded just past the 10-minute mark.

Wang Chen Wei's Cosmic Echoes employed Alan Kartik's French horn skills, transformed by Kittiphan Janbuala's manipulations into time-phased distant tones. These had an unearthly ethereal feel, as if heard from some faraway galaxy with digitally transformed images from the Hubble telescope. In a similar vein, transformations were applied to Christoph Wichert's bassooon and vocalisations in Ding Jian Han's Hanged, using Eric Tan Wei Fang's poetry read by dramaturge Natalie Hennedige.

The final work, E-lab-oration, was a joint effort by Hennedige, Thai composer Anothai Nithibon and Singaporean Hoh Chung Shih. Its title provides certain clues, as this was derived from a Facebook chat-cum discussion, with protagonists played by French horn, bassoon, piano and Iskandar Rashid on percussion. Whether solo, in conversation, or engaging in debate and gentle disagreement, here was a forum of ideas tossed up, discussed, accepted or rejected.

Composer Hoh Chung Shih works on his
personal composer as a silhouetted Shane Thio performs.

By wait, who does the fourth instrument represent? One guesses that to be the audience, the fourth leg of a stable table, without whom created music and performances such as these would cease to exist. The stars of SETTS #4 strike back on 26 September at Esplanade Recital Studio, so be sure to return.

All the performers and artists of SETT #3

HOROWITZ Return to Chicago

VLADIMIR HOROWITZ, Piano

Deutsche Grammophon 479 4649 (2 CDs)

*****

Some 27 years after his death, new recordings of the Ukraine-born piano virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) continue to pop up with surprising frequency. His legend still burns brightly, and this one comes from a public broadcast of his Chicago concert on 26 October 1986. It thematically echoed the more famous Moscow concert of the same year, but was caught in better form.

Two Scarlatti sonatas and two Scriabin Etudes bookend a selection of Mozart, a composer whom he had developed a belated interest. His performances of the cheery Sonata in C major (K.330), austerely beautiful Adagio in B minor (K.540) and Rondo in D major (K.485) were wonderfully contrasted and nothing less than absorbing.

New to the discography was Schumann's Arabeske(Op.18) and Chopin's Mazurka in C sharp minor (Op.63 No.3), works by composers he had special feelings for. In Liszt's Petrarch Sonnet No.104and Soirees de Vienne No.6 (based on Schubert waltzes), he topped his Moscow effort with cleaner takes and this imperious sweep carried into the rough and tumble of Chopin's Scherzo No.1.

Two familiar encores by Schumann (Traumerei) and Moszkowski (Etincelles) completed this splendid recital. The bonus of this album is to hear Horowitz candidly speak in his heavily Russian-accented English in two radio interviews.

STEIBELT Piano Concertos Nos.3, 5 & 7

HOWARD SHELLEY, Piano

Ulster Orchestra

Hyperion 68104 / ****1/2

Here is a new fix for those who have enjoyed the piano concertos of Mozart and Hummel, and wonder what more the classical era has to offer the pianophile. The chief claims to fame of Berlin-born pianist-composer Daniel Steibelt (1765-1823) were to challenge Beethoven to a pianistic duel (and lost) and scoring works to include a tambourine part to be played by his wife!

His virtuosic piano concertos score high on special effects rather than originality, but who is to say Beethoven did not learn something from his old foe. Steibelt's Piano Concerto No.3 (1798) is nicknamed L'Orage (Storm) because its finale cooks up a raging tempest not unlike that in Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. The title A La Chasse (The Hunt) comes from the hunting horn theme in Piano Concerto No.5 (1802), something which Beethoven fully exploited in his Emperor Concerto, also in E flat major.

The much-maligned tambourine appears in Piano Concerto No.7 (1816), the Grand Concerto Militaire as its employs batteries of wind, brass and percussion to most bombastic effect. British pianist-conductor Howard Shelley has his hands full and cannot but delight in these vulgar but surprisingly likeable novelties.

MASTERWORKS

ADDO Chamber Orchestra

Esplanade Recital Studio

Thursday (5 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 7 May 2016

For its second concert of the year, the ADDO Chamber Orchestra performed an interesting mix of rarely-heard and standard repertoire works. Mendelssohn's Calm Sea And Prosperous Voyage is not exactly one of the German composer's most popular concert overtures, but it provided the orchestra a good warm-up as a curtain-raiser.

Its slow and deliberate opening, a chorale-like theme, was well handled by the strings. A fine control was immediately established from conductor Clarence Tan's baton, which was steady and well-judged. A flute solo then heralded the fast section which sailed through swiftly, as if caught by the wind.

The cellos were in fine form, and even when the music took on a more discursive note, the tension was not allowed to flag. A fanfare from the trumpets near the end did not quite get its desired effect but an exciting close was guaranteed.

Next came the Singapore premiere of American-born composer Michael Baker's Contours, which had double bassist Li Xu and harpsichordist Gerald Kendrick Lim as soloists. This 13-minute work was a neoclassical concerto grosso, with Li's deep-set string voice and Lim's delicate tinkling providing an interesting contrast of timbres.

Even as unwieldy as a bass could be, Li's part called for no little nimbleness in bowing and plucking. There were some intonation issues in the faster first section but these were offset by genuine lyricism in the slower second section which ended on a quiet and gentle high.

As with the last ADDO concert, there was a short “show and tell” session, this time involving the bass. Li introduced the audience to a mini-bass, a 1/32th of his instrument, which could be played by a child of four. There was a demonstration with Scott Joplin's The Entertainer with Li supplying the melody on the “adult” bass while ADDO member Damien Kee provided accompaniment on the “baby”. A toddler from the audience was also invited to pluck on a string.

Without an intermission, the concert continued into Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, also known as the Pastoral Symphony. Such a work could be tainted with familiarity, but conductor Tan ensured the music coaxed from his charges remained fresh and unhackneyed. What a chamber orchestra cannot provided in volume and depth, it made up with sharpness and vitality.

The opening, with bagpipe-like drones, was taken at an appropriately brisk pace, which seemed just right for Beethoven's protagonist arriving in the countryside in high spirits. The tempo broadened for Scene By The Brook, but was not allowed to meander. The reward at the end was fine solos from flute, oboe and clarinet, mimicking the serene call of birdsong.

There was some ungainliness in Merry Dance of the Peasants, and first violins could have done better to get a grip on its boisterous rhythms. Beethoven's raucous evocation of The Storm was excellently realised, with the timpani's thumps and rolls simulating thunder. As the sun gradually ascended from behind dark clouds, the warmth radiating from the orchestra as a song of thanksgiving made sure this programmatic outing was an enjoyable one.

VIVA VIOLA!

Jeremy Chiew & Daniel Ong, Violas

with Lim Yan, Piano

Esplanade Recital Studio

Friday (6 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 May 2016 with the title "Vivid sounds from viola duo".

The cause of the viola has found a new champion in Jeremy Chiew, who has done more than anyone today to promote the instrument in his chamber recitals. Let it never be said that the viola is only performed by “failed violinists”, because it is fiendishly difficult to perform well, hence the relative paucity of repertoire and its apparent lack of glamour on the concert stage.

The 70-minute long recital, presented by the Kris Foundation, opened with eight Duos by Bela Bartok, original for two violins but arranged for violas by his son Peter. Chiew was joined by his student Daniel Ong, principal violist of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, who more than showed that he has been well mentored.

These short pieces were written with pedagogy in mind, and get progressively more complex and technically challenging as they go. Most were based on folk songs and dances, and the duo was very well matched, taking turns on playing melody and providing accompaniment and counterpoint. Their chemistry in these engaging pieces was palpable, climaxing in the trickily syncopated Hungarian Dance (2) and Pillow Dance that closed the suite.

Next was Henri Vieuxtemps substantial Viola Sonata in B flat major Op.36, which saw Ong play the 1^stmovement and Chiew helming the 2^nd and 3^rd movements. Ong was a portrait of confidence in its slow but majestic opening, with a piano accompaniment that resembled that of Schubert's Ave Maria perfomed by Lim Yan.

Introspection soon grew into turbulence and agitation in its development, which also saw a commensurate expansion of the viola's vocal range. Chiew's part included a gentle Barcarolla (a gondolier's song) which also had a passionate side to it, before a playful dance-like finale upped the tempi and finished with a blaze of aplomb.

The final work was all of Chiew's to handle, Paul Hindemith's early Viola Sonata in F major (Op.11 No.4), which unlike his later and more astringent works was unusually lyrical. A Brahms-like autumnal feel inhabited its opening Fantasie, which was just the invitation to display a warm and ingratiating tone. The subsequent movements took the form of variations, providing more opportunities for an almost improvisational approach to its themes.

An obligatory fugato in the finale marked “mit bizarrer Plumpheit” or “with bizarre crudeness” was as droll and mock-serious as one could possibly get, and both Chiew and Lim played with straight faces and tongues firmly held in cheek. A splashy virtuosic close to the sonata was greeted with warm applause.

Chiew's encore was appropriated from the violinist's repertoire, Fritz Kreisler's short but demanding Praeludium & Allegro in the Style of Pugnani. With excellent intonation and articulation, Chiew made it sound as if it was originally meant for the viola. Violinists can have good reasons to be green with envy.

A GIFT TO MUM

Singapore Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Conference Hall

Saturday (7 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 9 May 2016 with the title "A charming and nostalgic Mother's Day concert".

The Singapore Chinese Orchestra's annual Mother's Day Concert this year was not so much about motherhood than about the memories of childhood. Directed by Resident Conductor Quek Ling Kiong, the concert opened with Lullabies, a medley of familiar cradle songs orchestrated by Sim Boon Yew.

Schubert's Schlafe, Schlafe (Sleep, Sleep) and Brahms'Wiegenlied from the West were balanced by songs from Dongbei and Kyoto, the last featuring the Japanese shakuhachi, and this was incongruously followed by Five Little Monkeys On The Bed, which sounded all too flippant. More appropriate was Lo Leung Fei's Memories Of Youth which featured nostalgic child-like melodies, accompanied by a projected montage of baby photographs of SCO musicians and their families, which was a nice touch.

Two concertante works completed the first half, beginning with Gu Guan Ren's arrangement of Charms Of Jiangnan, with soloists Yin Zhi Yang (on qudi), Ling Hock Siang (erhu) and Xu Hui (guzheng). This was much like a Chinese concerto grosso, with each instrument having separate flourishes and joining the general ensemble for a grand finish.

The outright virtuoso concerto of the evening was Phoon Yew Tien's Rhapsody On Dinuhua for yangqin, based on a popular Cantonese operatic melody. Qu Jian Qing, its dedicatee, gave a spectacular performance, easily transcending the orchestral textures in her stirring runs, and also casting a ruminative spell in the work's slower and more reflective moments. This work deserves a place among the Yellow Riverand Butterfly Lovers of the Chinese canon.

The concert's second half had the feel of a pop concert, with dimmed lighting and flashing spotlights. Law Wai Lun's medley of six Luo Tayou popular songs constituted Love Song (2016), which employed a different solo instrument for each melody. Conductor Quek was also on hand to quiz members of the audience as to which instrument played a starring role.

The stage was now set for Singapore-born singer-songwriter Hanjin Tan, a pop icon presently based in Hong Kong, to charm the hearts of mothers. Boyish in appearance, laconic in humour (occasionally referring to himself in a third person), and possessing a Barry Manilow kind of crooning voice, he was a natural slayer of aunties.

His Mandopop ballads, Marry Me, Wo Men Dou You Cuo (Nobody's Perfect) and Yi Bu Yi Bu Ai (Love Step By Step) had a contemporary feel which would easily appeal to listeners younger than the concert's pioneer generation audience. That he could get a usually-reticent crowd to clap, respond and shout “encore” (with a little coercion) - no easy task - was a testament to his entertaining abilities.

Fearing for their safety, he spared the audience the need to stand for his final song, Zhan Qi Lai (Stand Up), which closed the programme on a high. Quek and the orchestra were not done yet, and a clap-along to the popular melody Tian Xia De Ma Ma Dou Yi Yang (Mothers Are All The Same) was indeed the perfect encore.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

GINASTERA Complete Piano Music

MARIANGELA VACATELLO, Piano

Brilliant Classics 94736 (2CDs) / ****1/2

The year 2016 marks the birth centenary of Argentina's most important composer Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983). His legacy is not unlike that of Heitor Villa-Lobos (in Brazil) and Carlos Chavez (Mexico), for he used popular vernacular melodies, folk idioms and dance rhythms in his compositions, creating a unique sound that become representative of his land and people.

Ginastera's piano music is dominated by three piano sonatas and sets of short pieces, mostly dances and preludes. The most performed of these is his First Piano Sonata (1952) and Three Argentinian Dances (1937), the latter a favourite of Martha Argerich's. These are imbued with a vigorous penchant for fast rhythms, sometimes bordering on the violent, which Italian pianist Mariangela Vacatello captures trenchantly.

Do also listen to his Second and Third Sonatas (1981 and 1982), which are more compact and ups the volume quotient. The Twelve American Preludes (1944) and Suite Of Creole Dances (1946) display a special sympathy for miniatures. The works are performed in chronological order, and one gets a good feel of Ginastera's unique Argentine musical nationalism.

MOZART ARRANGED

ABC Classics 481 0853 (2 CDs) / ****1/2

This unusual double-disc set has the immortal music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) rearranged and re-imagined by other composers, from his time and after. Listen first to Disc 2, which opens with a string sextet transcription (arranger unknown) of the famous Sinfonia Concertante for violin & viola in E flat major (K.364). Here the solo parts are absorbed into and shared by the general ensemble of two violins, two violas and two cellos, but the music's essence is gloriously retained.

Slightly more problematic are the string quintet arrangements of the Clarinet Quintet(K.581) and Horn Quartet (K.507) where the winds are eliminated, but the Australia Ensemble @ University of New South Wales is still an excellent and persuasive advocate.

There is anarchic fun to be had in Edvard Grieg's piano duet amplifications of Mozart piano sonatas on Disc 1. One pianist plays the original version over which the second pianist elaborates with added harmonies, counter-melodies and surprise cadences, which often alters the mood and complexion of the original.

The drawing room pleasures of the G major (K.283) and C major (K.545) sonatas are heightened, while the dramatics of the Fantasy and Sonata in C minor (K.475 and 457) are somewhat trivialised. Purists will decry the graffitisation of music, but excellent duo pianists Julie Adam and Daniel Herscovitch cannot help but having a ball of a time.

CHAMBER CONCERT by

SuntoryHallChamberMusicAcademy

& Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music

Conservatory Concert Hall

Friday (13 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 16 May 2016 with the title "Japan-Singapore tie-up".

In conjunction with celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties between Japan and Singapore, a host of concerts this week has been curated under the banner of “Super Japan”. This chamber concert featured a collaboration between the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and Tokyo's prestigious SuntoryHallChamberMusicAcademy, which provides young professional musicians opportunities to work with established artists.

Eleven Japanese musicians performed with seven Conservatory students in a programme of movements from works to be showcased in their entirety at the National Gallery on the following day. The evening opened with the 1^st movement of Beethoven's Gassenhauer Trio (Op.11), which had Miao Kaiwen's clarinet blending resonantly with cellist Airi Niwa and pianist Asaki Ino. The balance was excellent, with crisply delivered phrasing allied by wholeness of tone.

Joined by violinist Oleksandr Korniev, the foursome floated dreamily through the ethereal sound world of Toru Takemitsu's Quatrain II. This is the same combination of instruments to be found in Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, with the clarinet providing the main thematic interest, complemented by lush harmonies on piano and string dissonances. This slow music of perpetual stasis left a deep impression, with its pauses, silences and echoes playing a major part in the discourse.

The diametric opposite of Zen was Ernest Chausson's Concert, unusually scored for piano and violin, and string quartet. Given its demanding parts and ambitious symphonic pretentions, the six players could be excused for not totally gelling in its monumental opening movement.

Korniev's violin solo sounded more attuned to the string quartet (violinists Orest Smovzh and Martin Peh, violist Ho Qian Hui and cellist Christopher Mui), while leaving Kosuke Akimoto's florid piano almost a peripheral figure. With more rehearsal time in their hands, their close to flawless techniques will surely be matched by that more elusive quality called chemistry.

Takemitsu's Le Son Calligraphiefor eight string players opened the second half. Seated in a semi-circle, each player in the conservatory's quartet was placed opposite a corresponding member of the L'espase String Quartet (violinists Gentaro Kagitomi and Kyo Ogata, violist Moe Fukui and cellist Takuya Yuhara) from Japan. This suggested a duel of sorts, but the musicians dovetailed seamlessly in its three short terse movements. While the major solos went to the Japanese players, they were well supported by the locals.

The final selections were two movements from Antonin Dvorak's String Quintet No.2 (Op.77), with Japan's Arpa Quartet (violinists Nao Tohara and Kyoko Ogawa, violist Ayane Koga and cellist Yu Ito) joined by the conservatory's Zhang Jianzhe on double-bass. By far the least forbidding music of the evening, the slow 3^rd movement radiated warmth in its stillness, almost approximating the spirituality to be found in Schubert's great String Quintet. The ebullience and cheer of its folk music-inspired finale closed the concert on an ecstatic high.

By the time these 18 players parade their wares in Suntory Hall on 10 June, a close to finished product beckons.

Now we know that the Singapore Courtyard at The National Gallery is a good place to hold concerts. On Saturday (14 May 2016), the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory held a joint chamber concert featuring the complete works that were performed the night before. There were three parts to the concert, commencing at 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm in the afternoon.

I made it on time to catch the second and third parts, which featured Chausson's Concert for violin, piano and string quartet, Takemitsu's Le Son Calligraphie and Dvorak's Second String Quintet in complete performances. The acoustics were surprisingly good, and the sound projected could be clearly heard way up on the 5th storey of the Gallery. The views were quite spectacular too. The wonderful thing was in this "Promenade" concert, one could come and go as one wished, and everybody still had a good time.

Chausson's Concert.

Japanese pianist Kosuke Akimoto was all eyes on
violinist Oleksandr Korniev, who now looks like
the fiddler in Marc Chagall's paintings.

Those who forbid people from taking photos
at a concert, take that!!!

Can you spot musicians from the Tokyo Quartet
and T'ang Quartet seated in the audience?

A double quartet performed
Takemitsu's Le Son Calligraphie.

An aerial view of Dvorak's String Quintet No.2

That's amore for you!

All the 17 performers and their mentors.

KALEIDOSCOPE

KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI, Piano

Sony Classical 88875170032 / ***1/2

Some repertoire works require to be rethought, redefined and rediscovered, to order to remain fresh and relevant, while some just need to be played period. In a deliberately provocative interview in the sleeve-notes, young Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili spoke of the listener willing himself or herself to be disappointed at the start of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

On this point, she succeeds because her opening Promenade is flaccid, and the pacing so static in The Old Castle and Bydlo (The Oxcart) as to be stultifying. Things do pick up in the faster movements, but one wishes she could have left well alone, such as in Sviatoslav Richter's marvellous recordings which let the music speak for itself.

Her interventionist approach does however work for Ravel's La Valse, where she conjures an orchestral sweep and the build-up to final meltdown is palpably exciting. Similarly, the license she takes for Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka serves the narrative well. Her prodigious technique never falters for a moment, but is dance music all about speed, shock and awe?

HIMIKO:

MEMORIES OF THE SUN GODDESS

A Suntory Hall Production

Esplanade Concert Hall

Friday (20 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 May 2016 with the title "Stirring celebration of the human spirit".

Himiko: Memories Of The Sun Goddess was the centrepiece and climax of the Super Japan Festival of Arts, organised in collaboration with Esplanade and celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties between Japan and Singapore. Premiered in 2014, this ambitious musical and dance epic based on Japanese mythology composed by Yoshihiro Kanno was staged here to also commemorate the 30^thanniversary of Tokyo's premier concert venue Suntory Hall.

The monumental 90-minute work unfolded in two parts, first a Japanese version of the earth's creation, and second the legend of Himiko herself. The ensemble conducted by the composer comprised a central koto ensemble with percussion, flanked by another traditional Japanese group (plucked strings and winds) and a Western suite of cellos and basses. Fronting these were soloists violinist Yasuko Ohtani and cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi who had vital parts in the narrative.

Given the religious nature of Japanese cosmology, a chorus of sixteen monks (or shomyo) from Daihonzan Zozoji Sikisikai provided the show's ritual elements, including unison chants within two rousing processions, both imposing and festive. The troupe of nine buyo(dancers) were led by Kotaro Nakamura and Umeya Nakamura, who shared the role of Himiko. This duality hence androgynous nature of the kabuki goddess meant she possessed both masculine strength and feminine grace.

Kanno's starkly beautiful music was a fusion of East and West with modern 20^th century elements. Tonal and ruggedly hewn, the harmonic austerity of Britten, tonal radiance of Messiaen and ethereal spirituality of Takemitsu were recalled. An unusual opulence emanated from this heady combination. Ohtani's virtuosity was kept in the forefront, while Tsutsumi's deeper hues and his band of low strings (with mostly Singaporean musicians) provided a stirring backdrop. Even Hanako Nakamura's sho (the Japanese sheng) and Evelyn Lim's pipe organ shared a timbral kinship that was cannily planned.

Kotaro Nakamura, Umeya Nakamura
& Tatsuma Hanayagi.

The work's eleven movements were well-contrasted in feel and movement, and even when stillness and stasis were key, there was neither the feeling of drag nor the action outstaying its welcome. Some movements were particularly effective, such as the harrowing percussive beat in Yomi No Kuni (Hades), when forces of darkness threatened to overwhelm those of light. In Nisshoku (Eclipse), the white and gilded trimmings of Himiko's costume were similarly shadowed by apparitions cloaked in dark blue.

Momentous but transient events such as solar eclipses were sources of fear and uncertainty for early man, for which faith and religious convictions served as a panacea. The shomyo's unison Tsuki Ni Inoru (Prayer To The Moon), a statement of conviction, was to bring the darkened hall back to glorious light. A final apotheosis in Fukkatsu(Resurrection) was equally emphatic and elicited a standing ovation.

The legend of Himiko, with rebirth and renaissance as a constant theme, was also rich in symbolism. It represented the resilience of the Japanese people, who have had to overcome the horrors of nuclear catastrophe and natural disasters over the years. The unquenchable human spirit was clearly its universal and abiding message.

The duality of Himiko was displayed by
buyo Umeya Nakamura and Kotaro Nakamura.

THE PIANOS TRIO

LIVE IN LUGANO

Warner Classics 0825646288076 / *****

The saying “Two's company, three's a crowd” does not apply to the Italian threesome of Alessandro Stella, Georgia Tomassi and Carlo Maria Griguoli, who call themselves The Pianos Trio and performs six-handed repertoire on three pianos.

Pieces of this kind do not exist in the natural concert habitat, so it was the task of Griguoli to re-write pre-existing works and redistribute the parts to three pianists. These live recordings come from The Martha Argerich Project at the Lugano Festival from 2010 to 2013.

Light-heartedness rules in the suites from Offenbach's Gaite Parisienneand Shostakovich's operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki, where digital accuracy and synchronisation at such high speeds border on amazing. Symphonic textures come alive in Debussy's La Mer and Stravinsky's Firebird Suitesuch that one rarely misses the orchestra.

The sole original work is Carlo Boccadoro's Vaalbara (the name comes from the super-continent of prehistoric times) which is atonal but so rhythmically charged that it becomes a vigorous ballet in the spirit of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. The playing is infectious and the zest it generates hard to resist.

PAGANINI Violin Concerto No.1

WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No.2

MICHAEL RABIN, Violin

Blue Moon Records 113 / *****

One of the cautionary tales in classical music has to be the brilliant but tragically short life of American violinist Michael Rabin (1936-1972). A child prodigy who made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 15, his meteoric career was beset by substance abuse and psychiatric illness, and he was found dead after an accidental fall.

These recordings were made during his prime, before his mid-twenties. Superb control, perfect intonation and a gorgeously singing tone distinguishes his reading of Paganini's First Violin Concerto, an edited version that includes the rarely heard Carl Flesch cadenza in the first movement.

This 1960 Capitol recording with The Philharmonia conducted by Sir Eugene Goosens is coupled with Wieniawski's Second Violin Concerto, another superlative reading that marries a sweetness of sound with dramatic fireworks.

The fillers in this reissued compilation disc come from 1956, with Saint-Saens'Havanaiseand Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso (same orchestra led by Alceo Galliera) on the Columbia label. Again, the playing is of jaw-dropping quality, which makes the comparisons of Rabin with the legendary Jascha Heifetz and the younger Itzhak Perlman apt, and his loss to the world particularly painful.

TWIN TRAVELLERS

Tan Su-Min & Tan Su-Hui

Esplanade Recital Studio

Thursday (26 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 28 May 2016

Every once in a generation, there comes a pair of musical twin sisters to take the local music scene by storm. During the 1990s, it was duo pianists Low Shao Ying and Shao Suan, who were graduates of the Paris Conservatory. This decade belongs to the Tan twins, zhongruan player Clara Su-Min and guzheng exponent Sophy Su-Hui, who both completed their education at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Shanghai Conservatory.

Their debut recital, part of Esplanade's Chinese Chamber Music Series, was a confident 70-minute showcase of their performing, composing and arrangement skills. The first three works were of classical origin, beginning with the sisters' arrangement of Mei Hua Yin (Impressions of the Plum Blossom), where they were joined by xiao (vertical flute) player Tan Qing Lun.

The xiao's plaintiveness and contrasting qualities of the strummed and plucked string instruments transported one back to a time of antiquity. The mood was initially subdued but worked itself to a stirring climax. A similar schema applied to Ruan Ji's The Drunkard (from the era of Three Kingdoms), where the duo took turns to carry the serenade's melodies and accompaniment to a tipsy conclusion.

Su-Hui's performance of the old Hakka tune Chu Shui Lian (Lotus On Water) revelled in its high registers where a wealth of detail was gloriously expressed. Not to be outdone, Su-Min's highly virtuosic performance of the toccata-like 1^stmovement of Liu Xing's Zhonghu Concerto No.2 (with Kseniia Vokhmianina on piano) was a revelation.

This Western-style concertante work had little in Chinese influences, resembling more a Spanish guitar concerto with repetitive minimalist rhythms and harmonies. That Su-Min was invited to perform its World Premiere at the 2014 Hong Kong Arts Festival said much about her standing in the Chinese music world.

In Wei Jun's Desert Trail, the guzhengwas tuned to the exotic scales heard in Arabic music. With Chen Kangren's hand drum providing the beat, the sultriness and hazy incense of the Middle East were relived in this leisurely-paced work.

The final two works were jointly composed by the sisters, both of whom have a penchant for the popular and contemporary mainstream. MysticForest was quiet and serene, a vivid night scene which gradually turns to nascent dawn as the music picks up in pace. Govin Tan's tabla set provided a steady beat and almost gave the work an Indian feel.

Taped sounds with reverberating echoes and distant chants accompanied the titular Traveller, a rousing fusion work which imagines a caravan making its way through a swathe of foreign lands along the legendary old Silk Road. Here, the fully-subscribed house was witness to the three Tans in exuberant mood as the concert closed on a intoxicating high.

There was time for an encore from the twins, and the lively post-concert discussion revealed that a CD recording will be on its way sometime later this year. Based on this evening's show, patience will be a virtue as one can hardly wait.

SCHUBERT: THE PIANO TRIOS

Kelvin Chan (Piano),

Vladimir Choi (Violin) &

Brandon Voo (Cello)

Esplanade Recital Studio

Saturday (28 May 2016)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 May 2016 with the title "Newly-formed trio's baptism of fire".

Despite the popularity of Franz Schubert's chamber music in Singapore, his two piano trios have not been performed enough. Thus it was a rarity to encounter both works in a single concert, given by the newly formed trio of Singaporean pianist Kelvin Chan, Hong Kong-Canadian violinist Vladimir Choi and very active local cellist Brandon Voo.

It was totally apt that Chan was listed first, as he was the de facto leader, who was also endowed with technically the most demanding parts. He was a rock-solid pillar, whose procession of piano octaves and chords mandated the complexion and pace of the notes, not to mention the regular flourishes of filigree called upon him.

That was how the B flat major Piano Trio (D. 898) opened, resolutely and tautly conducted. The exposition repeat was observed, thus doubling the pleasure, not least from Voo's cello, for which the juiciest melodies fell. The threesome was completed by Choi, whose initial diffidence in projection and intonation soon dissipated as the trio got warmed up.

There are few tunes that can match the slow movement's rocking cradle-song, which was milked for all its worth. The Scherzo that followed was a delightful exercise in staccato and crisp playing, and the Rondo finale with all its cheerful lightness and chirpiness, never lapsed into outright sentimentality.

The full-house audience applauded after every movement, however inappropriately, but this gave the players short breathers to re-tune and regroup. Imagine this to be a Viennese house concert during Schubert's day and these intrusions do not seem so bad after all. By the final chord, the trio had played close to 45 minutes.

The E flat major Piano Trio (D.929) after the intermission was to be an even longer work. Now totally acclimatised to the venue and audience, the trio coaxed a more nuanced and arguably better performance. The declamatory unison opening was delivered with great purpose and much poise, and the darker countenance of its musings more fully realised.

Even if the Andante con moto direction of the slow movement was taken a tad briskly, the engagement of the music's tragic quality felt wholly genuine. The tenseness evoked in its faster central section was also heightened to very good effect.

Like its counterpart in the earlier trio, the Scherzo also floated with the lightness of angel's wings. However the finale, easily the most difficult of all eight movements in both trios, threatened to make heavy weather. The treacherous repeated notes called for in all three parts were negotiated not without some effort, and Chan's beleaguered piano held steady to the very end.

After almost 50 minutes, the appreciation showered on the trio was requited with an encore, a lovely arrangement of what is possibly Schubert's most popular melody – the Ständchen (Serenade) from song-cycle Schwanengesang. More is to be expected from this trio after its baptism of fire.

JOYCE & TONY

LIVE AT WIGMORE HALL

JOYCE DIDONATO, Mezzo-soprano

ANTONIO PAPPANO, Piano

Warner Classics 0825646107896 (2CDs)

*****

Some live concerts are destined for posterity. This album drawn from two vocal recitals by American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and conductor-pianist Sir Antonio Pappano, which opened Wigmore Hall's 2014-15 season in London, has the makings of a classic.

Its contents cleverly reflect the combined cultural heritage of both singer and pianist. The first disc is devoted to Italian songs, opening with Haydn's cantata Arianna A Naxos, which at 20 minutes resembles an extended concert aria. It is a passionate lament on forsaken love. The melting lyricism of bel canto comes in Rossini's Belta Crudele, contrasted with the vertiginous tarantella of La Danza. Songs by Santoliquido and de Curtis also display her astonishing vocal range.

The second disc includes 14 numbers from the “Great American Songbook”, from Stephen Foster's Beautiful Dreamer to Harold Arlen's Over The Rainbow, by way of Jerome Kern, William Bolcom, Richard Rodgers and Irving Berlin. Performed with an outsized personality and pizzazz, this is simply irresistible listening.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, April 2016)

GLORIA! / NAFA Orchestra & Chorus / Review

VIRTUOSOS OF CHINESE MUSIC / Ding Yi Music Company / Review

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, April 2016)

AN ENCHANTED EVENING WITH ALEXANDER AND MASAKO / Alexander Souptel & Masako Suzuki / Review

ADAM GYÖRGY PIANO RECITAL / Review

SETTS #3 / Southeastern Ensemble for Today's and Tomorrow's Sounds / Review

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, May 2016)

MASTERWORKS / ADDO Chamber Orchestra / Review

VIVA VIOLA! / JEREMY CHIEW et al / Review

A GIFT TO MUM / Singapore Chinese Orchestra / Review

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, May 2016)

CHAMBER CONCERT / Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy & Yong Siew Toh Conservatory / Review

RESONATES / Photographs of Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy & Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Chamber Concert at THE NATIONAL GALLERY

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, May 2016)

HIMIKO: MEMORIES OF THE SUN GODDESS / Suntory Hall Production / Review

CD Reviews (The Straits Times / May 2016)

TWIN TRAVELLERS / Tan Su-Min & Tan Su-Hui / Review

SCHUBERT: THE PIANO TRIOS / Kelvin Chan, Vladimir Choi & Brandon Voo / Review

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, June 2016)