Saturday 25 April 1998 Victoria Concert Hall	Singapore Symphony Orchestra
	WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony (Overture) No.32 in G, K.318 (1779) CHARLES CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor, op.33 (1872) PYOTR I. TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, op.33 (1876) BÉLA BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra (1942-3, rev.1945) Arto NORAS cello Okko KAMU conductor

OVERALL NOISE RATING: 5 (Never mind the incessant coughing. But the two loud coughs strategically uttered during a moment of silence during the Tchaikovsky -breaking the atmosphere - the cruelest and most heinous crime of concert etiquette.)

The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.

This review has been kindly sponsored by the Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd

An interesting program of "mistaken identities"! First, an overture masquerading as a symphony, a concerto in one movement analysable as three, a set of variations effectively a concerto, and finally a symphony disguised as a "concerto"!

Okko Kamu (left) returns from his native Finland to our roasted little island, starting off his trip with Mozart's Symphony No.32 "In the Italian Style". The work is speculated by some to have been originally an overture for his incomplete opera Zaide, which survives with two acts comprising only 15 numbers.

The SSO provided a lively performance, both vigorous and light according to the music. I particularly enjoyed the sparkling contributions of the violins. The orchestra made full use of the "Mannheim" crescendo in the score, playing with confidence as well as internal clarity, despite the large orchestra fielded. The transition into the "Andante" section was gracefully and naturally executed, though the pace and attention of the performers seem to slacken after that. Correction: perhaps that is an aspect of the "overture", ending ever so slightly unsatisfactorily in order to anticipate the opera that was never completed.

Our evening with eminent Finnish cellist Arto Noras began with the Saint-Saëns (right) Cello Concerto No.1. Right from the start of this Romantically Classical concerto, Noras demonstrated tremendous strength, channeled through his beautiful instrument. The lower register is dark and grand, his upper noble and firm, and overall his tone was impressively unified. "Guttural woody" was the strange phrase that came to mind - not guttural in the rough sense, but in the distinctive division between syllables/notes.

The playing of the Professor of Cello at the Sibelius Academy is distinguished by his conviction of espression, as seen in his effortless but strength-filled fingerwork. He makes you feel that at no point he is unfamiliar with the music. Watching the blur of his fingers "typing" on the fingerboard was an experience in itself! Here is the kind of technique that expresses no compromises to the score.

The SSO was again in fine form, receding away when the soloist is at work. I was extremely impressed by the opening pastoral bit of the second movement, the "Allegretto non moto", where the orchestra played with tender lightness and contented sweetness. Their rapport with the soloist was very palpable. In the final analysis, I think the performers portrayed something of the sculpted strength of the concerto, which is neither profusely Romantic nor overtly Classical.

The Rococo movement, which grew out of the Baroque (but also reacted against its seriousness), is simply art for the sake of pleasure and delight. The theme of Tchaikovsky's "Rococo" is thus a thoroughly amiable personality, which undergoes a range of moods via the variations. If we judge the soloist by the way he impresses the audience with the many styles and moods of the different variations, then Noras (left) is a winner.

From the dramatic, the fiery, to the lullaby, the understated passion in sweet lyricism; from the nostalgic, Romantic, to the pompous then playful; and then right down to the Bach-like angst and solemnity - all were there. Noras' performance was strong of character yet intimate. He communicates well with the audience, and also offers a sense of his admiration, love and respect for the music.

The only big boo-boo came not from the stage, but from a very annoying member of the audience, who chose to give out two phenomenally loud coughs (of the baritone variety, remarked my fellow reviewer Johann) during a moment of silent rest in the work. I think it's the pause between Variations V and VI, but I can't recall exactly. Anyway, it completely shattered the meditative, sombre atmosphere of the music. Much to Noras' credit, it did not affect his playing (and of course it shouldn't).

The last time the SSO played Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, as far as I know, was in late 1996 under Choo Hoey. Memory tells me that it was a fine performance. Now, about 1˝ years later, the SSO delivers another enjoyable performance. I had the feeling that their feel for the colour of the piece has increased - colour of course being an important aspect of this huge score. The large orchestra employed tonight had its two harps divided on both sides of the stage - great move! Stereophonic harps!

Bartók (left), who was offered US$1000 commission for the work, wrote of it as representing "apart from the jesting second movement, a gradual transition from the sterness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to the life-assertion of the last one."

The first movement was very atmospherically done, if just a touch hesitant. The Middle Eastern Magyar themes were played with ample understanding, without indulging in exoticism. The "Game of Pairs" of the second movement had a chamber-like interplay of instruments, but everything sustained with symphonic consistency. The SSO woodwind, here and in the following movement (an Elegy), were in very luminous voice, adding a "lugubrious" sheen of gloom over the hall. The Elegy's loud contrasting sections eventually gives way to the Interrupted Intermezzo of the fourth movement.

Here, Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony gets one of its themes, which Bartók considered silly and trite, slaughtered for humour. The Intermezzo begins with an irregularly metered but really very beautiful folk-like melody on oboe. The Shostakovich parody was executed with blinding speed and merciless efficiency. As soon as the orchestra mocked the theme, the strings sniggered evilly and ruthlessly, with much finesse and mirth, though perhaps just a touch more kick would have made it even better.

The pulsating and exciting Finale, with its "moto perpetuo" violin theme, ended the concert. The SSO was just this jubilant engine of roaring energy, and we go home with the whirlwind of high spirits and exuberant "life-assertion" that Bartók intended.

Writing reviews for the Inkpot often makes Chia Han-Leon very hungry.

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