Saturday 22 August 1998 Victoria Concert Hall |
Singapore Symphony Orchestra |
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture, Op.84 (1809-10) ROBERT SCHUMANN Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. posth. (1853) MODEST MUSSORGSKY (orch. MAURICE RAVEL) Pictures at an Exhibition (1874; orch.1922)
JIN Li violin |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
2 (uncomfortable silence during the Schumann, otherwise the usual coughing, throat-clearing, sniffling, etc)
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
by Isaak Koh
Egmont is a play by the German writer Goethe about the fight for freedom by the people of the Netherlands against their Spanish conquerors. The central character Egmont is captured and hanged but his death inspires the people to overthrow their masters. This idea of freedom from tyranny had already been expounded in Beethoven's sole opera Fidelio and is obviously close to Beethoven's heart. He composed the music to the play, of which the Overture is a mainstay of the concert repertoire.
It is obvious from the opening chords of the Overture that Chen has worked his magic on the SSO. The sound was richer than usual, despite the small number of musicians on stage. There is also a distinct improvement in the balance and clarity of the sound as many intricate details could be heard without coming out as a muddy whole. The phrasing was beautifully done as the ominous opening transformed into radiant beams of liberty. Chen made a serene transition into the adagio-like section, settling into a lyrical development that brings to mind the slow movement of the "Choral Symphony". The quickening of the finale was chracterised by an impressive swell that can be described as music freed from the restraint of the conductor. The soaring strings, punctuated by joyous brass ran jubilantly towards the conclusion. Chen's light handling of this energetic music made me look forward to the rest of the concert.
Jin looked slightly apprehensive as he took up his position. The heavy downbeats that begin the piece led into unpredictable notes by the orchestra. Holding the scrollwork higher than his chin, Jin slid quietly into the work as the orchestra subsided. A distinct sound emerged - it was not lush, but slightly steely, which clearly differentiated Jin from the other violins. There is much that is disturbing and threatening in the first movement, with unexpected dissonances, similar to Prokofiev in parts. It was the aural equivalent of a painting by Edvard Munch. Jin played beautifully, handling the fiendishly difficult bowing at the end of the movement expertly.
The second movement consists mainly of a dreamy, flowing melody that is descriptively elusive. Unfolding gently, it leads straight into the dance-like Polonaise third movement, where the mood changes into a happy and whimsical one with repetition of a singing melody. Jin kept closely to the controversial tempo marking of one crochet=63 (considered too slow by most musicians), bringing out the relaxed yet soulful aspect of the music. The ending was a virtuosic continuous stream of notes which was easily dispatched by the accomplished Jin.
Chen's inclination towards brilliance rather than darkness again revealed itself in his handling of the Mussorgsky/Ravel "Pictures". The emphasis was on colour as he consistently sought to bring out the imagery suggested by the notes rather than on any emotional content. Chen also seemed to be following the tempi of the original piano score instead of adding his own touches to the orchestration. As a result, the opening Promenade was brisk. The horns figured strongly in Gnomus (other than a slight wobble in the trumpet), blaring away to great effect while the percussion added spine-tingling impact. In contrast, "The Old Castle" lacked mournfulness, coming across blandly - the saxophone solo was delivered with absolutely no appreciation of either the melancholy or the singing nature of the music. The technical difficulties of Tuileries were capably surmounted, though the running notes in the woodwinds were slightly fudged and lacked playfulness.
"The Little Chicks" was also well-done, the swinging notes conveying the scurrying motion very well. Chen also brought out the interplay of parts pointedly. A similar approach was used in "The Two Jews" and Limoges, all the notes coming out with great clarity. "The Catacombs", like "The Old Castle" was quiet and understated, treated more like an interlude to the brilliant parts.
"Baba Yaga" was another highlight, the trumpet bright and forceful, standing out of the orchestral tapestry. The momentum was snowballed into "The Great Gate of Kiev", where Chen's mastery of the orchestral palette was shown off to its maximium. Ultimately, this rendition of "Pictures" is more brilliant and colourful rather than profound and dark-hued. On this level, Chen is one of the most capable of all the conductors I had the good fortune to observe, and he thoroughly deserved the thunderous applause he received.
It is a pity that the hall was not full, most probably due to the inclusion of the obscure Schumann. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful evening and is direct testimony that the SSO is "young and brilliant." Jin has proven himself to be an immaculate exponent of his art and Chen will definitely have me attending his next concert here.
Chen Zuo Huang (left) is a conductor who has taken up appointments in Europe, China and the United States. A student at the Tanglewood Music Centre and the University of Michigan, he was the first to be awarded a Doctorate in Musical Arts for orchestral conducting from Michigan. He is presently the Artistic Director and Conductor of the newly established China National Symphony Orchestra in Beijing.
Jin Li (left) is presently a first violinist with the SSO. He was a student of the Yehudi Menuhin School and was described by the master violinist himself as "natural and highly expressive." In 1989, he studied with Gingold at the Indiana University School of music and was then called "one of the best among his generation." This is not Jin Li's first concerto performance here - he did a fine Sibelius when he first joined the SSO, as well as the Elgar further in the past. The choice of concerto this time was the Schumann, a work that was completed only three years before the composer's death. It was never performed until 1937 as Schumann's wife Clara and his violinist friend Joseph Joachim did not consider it appropriate due to Robert's intermittent insanity.
Bydlo was marked by the sound of a cavernous tuba which lacked weight and experienced a slight flub. The snare drum was fantastic, looming out from the left side of stage. However, there was no shifting of gears in the last part, thus an absence of a swell of sound which I had expected. Interestingly, it would seem that Chen has taken note of recent discoveries that Bydlo begins on a forte, which was mistakenly printed as piano on the score Ravel used.
Isaak Koh is at page 225 of Richard Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" instead of reading his textbooks.
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