This present situation has translated into favourable results in the musicianship. I have never heard the orchestra play with such verve and zest as in the Ravel piece. The synergy between the helmsman and the players was astounding, and ensemble was extremely tight. As evinced by the Inaugural Concert last week, the technical aspects of the playing were generally improved, particularly the lower strings.

The guest pianist, Ian Fountain, is the youngest-ever winner of the Artur Rubenstein International Piano Masters Competition at the age of 19. Being physically very tall, he towered over even Shui, who was on the podium! The concerto was well-conceived and nicely paced. There was a clear understanding between the conductor and the pianist as the movements flowed naturally into one another. Fountain's touch was firm and considered, and he played with poise and elegance. His playing during the demanding passages was impressive, although he seemed to lack complete confidence in the prestissimo parts, when the high notes became uneven. However, he was highly focused and this added cohesion to the Chopin (right) concerto. Overall, it was a lyrical rendition and was enjoyable.

The orchestra sounded congested and bloated in the opening passage and lacked transparency during the tutti portions. The sound images of the piano and the orchestra also seemed to come from separate places and did not blend together well.

Although the playing was not note-perfect and the acoustics less than ideal (what concert is ideal?), the spirit of the music was beautifully conjured, and it was this element that the audience clearly remembered. After receiving five rounds of applause (Fountain got four), Shui treated the approving crowd with an energetic performance of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5. It was a treasurable evening and is surely a sign of better things to come.

Isaak Koh is an Honours graduate in English Literature from the National University of Singapore.

Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin

And play they did: Ravel's homage to Couperin, one of the many shamefully-neglected composers of the French Baroque school. Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin is an interesting suite of traditional dance forms that marries Impressionism with the age-old spirit of the danse.

Fine woodwind detail from the SSO, with clearly and cleanly balanced strings, just slightly short of a true chamber orchestra texture which I imagine will fit the suite better. We particularly enjoyed the exquisite ending of the first movement, with its unforgettable harp flourish to a scintillating string trill, which I thought was handled magically, without any hint of sentimentality. The Forlane that followed seemed playful to me despite its slowish tempo -- credit to the composer, conductor and orchestra.

The performance of the Menuet impressed me with its gorgeous handling of the dynamics and its almost harmonically-English string singing. More enjoyable performances from the winds in the final Rigaudon, although perhaps the playing can afford to be a bit more characterful. Are the woodwinds trying too hard to restrain their playing? I thought I detected some faltering in the Forlane. Finally, compliments to the strings again for their enjoyable, rather charming performances. There *was* a time when the SSO strings couldn't even pizzicato together. Their finely articulated accompaniment to the oboe-cor anglais theme in the Rigaudon indicates the passing of that time.

Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

The Symphonic Dances is Rachmaninov's swan song, with varied quotations of the Medieval "Dies Irae" (Day of Wrath) from the Requiem Mass. Whether you know the motif or not, the work is predominantly agitated and energetic, rhythmic and exclamatory. The SSO conveyed the restless excitement of the final movement with impressive intensity, and compliments to Shui for handling the false ending with startling drama. An exciting "end" to this concert -- one which we enjoyed much more than the last.