Saturday 19 September 1998 Victoria Concert Hall

President's Charity Concert

RICHARD WAGNER "Entrance of the Guests to the Hall" from Tannhäuser (1843-5) RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Serenade to Music (1938; version for chorus and orchestra, 1940) HENRI VIEUXTEMPS Violin Concerto No.5 in A minor, op.37 RICHARD STRAUSS Burleske for Piano and Orchestra in D minor, op.11 (1885-6, rev.1890) GIUSEPPE VERDI "Triumphal March" from Aida (1870) Grace LEE violin Elaine CHEW piano The Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC) Bart FOLSE conductor

OVERALL NOISE RATING: 1 (Rather to my surprise, a very disciplined audience.)

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

Once again, Bart Folse presents another concert programme which, though involving seemingly unrelated pieces, turns out to be thoroughly entertaining in addition to being educational. Sandwiched between two spectacular - popular - opera choruses were three pieces, each relatively rarely played. In fact, you would think that a concert as "high up" as a Presidential Charity Concert would involve big warhorses - but no, here is proof that there are people involved here with more than just the usual good intentions. Bravo.

The first of the two trumpet-emblazoned choruses, Wagner's "Entrance of the Guests to the Hall" from Tannhäuser was delivered, as expected, with much relish. The Germanic tread of the work was palpable, with the SSO winds, strings (and triangle) in, I must say, perfect balance. As is often the case with the Singapore Symphony Chorus, the women are the more "obvious" voices - distinct compared to the rather murmurish tenors. I didn't really hear the basses. Perhaps they are not to blame, considering the acoustics of the VCH - which leads me to mention that I thought the entire group - orchestra and choir - could probably generate more power and weight, even volume. Nevertheless, this was a grand entrance for the concert, and the irresistible rush to the end of the chorus was brilliantly led by Folse.

A problem I feel worth mentioning is how Singapore choirs tend not to distinguish between the different 'musics' of different languages. I wouldn't blame the novice listener for thinking that the SSC was singing the same language in both the Wagner and Verdi (and possibly even the Vaughan Williams). The absence of the original text in the programme notes don't help either (and may lead some to think they are singing in English). I suppose Verdi isn't exactly a good example of the Italian language in action, but I found that throughout the concert the Choir sings with a general smoothness which does little to show off the qualities of each language.

Nonetheless, and not surprisingly, they sounded most at home in Vaughan Williams' setting of Shakespeare's "The man that hath no music in himself..." passage from The Merchant of Venice. Although this composer has often been accused of composing "water" (harmless, gentle, colourless), I found the SSC's reading to be very atmospheric and satisfying, and Folse's direction drawing just the right aural imagery. Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels - there is an inherent visual drama to the verses, something evident in and through Folse's impassioned conducting. The sight of our fine leader Alexander Souptel delivering his heavenly violin solo is part of the visual advantage of a "live" performance as well. His solo was delivered straightforward, with focussed momentum, unindulgent, and yet completely passionate. In this performance, his chosen tone is small and distant, like the moonlight shimmering from the night sky.

The SSO and SSC caught the dreamy pastoralism characteritic of Vaughan Williams with gorgeous lusciousness. The lack of focus between the various sections of the Choir actually added to this effect (bearing in mind that the work is originally meant for orchestra with sixteen vocal soloists). The highest notes weren't always cleanly achieved, and there was a distinct lack of darkness in the "treasons, stratagems and spoils" passage, but two points/climaxes were very well done - the heartbursting blossoming into "...And draw her home with music" and the hushed modulating magic of "Soft stillness, and the night..." Here is an example of music which is powerful but not forceful, contrasting with the heavyweight examples of the Wagner and Verdi choruses.

Not to mention those gleaming half-dozen trumpets - in Verdi's "Triumphal March" from Aida (the SSO accompanied the Singapore Lyric Theatre in a production in 1996), the festive grandeur was certainly obvious, so much so that this sextet alone would drown the entire choir, all singing with gusto. But the true triumph of this performance was the SSO. In the ballet music comprising the middle section of the March, the SSO gave excellent readings of the medley of tunes. Not only were they in extremely refined form, with the shape of the music clean, their playing was strikingly fresh and bore a sustained momentum, quick and lively, but never excessively rushing. At the end, with the recap of the "Gloria", even the men were singing out, everyone enthusiastically proclaiming triumph. The audience responded likewise for the massed performers on stage.

Our home-grown (though not home-based) musicians continue to do well, much to my delight. I remember a period when most youngsters on the VCH stage were your typical prodigy-technicians who could spin no emotion from their motor-honed strings.

Grace Lee, just 14, attained her ATCL (Piano Performance) and LTCL (Violin Performance) two years ago. I'm not one to talk about prizes but here we do have a huge talent in the making: first thing to notice is Grace's impressively consistent tone beauty across all registers - every string mind you. Her playing was marked by maturity of expression and confident technique (though she often looked a touch too solemn). Despite this she displays no egotism, no "I'm great, watch me!"; her playing has a kind of flowing discipline which demonstrates a honed-until-natural relationship with her instrument. Her running passages swirl with ease, and her cadenza was an architectural wonder - all in all, a very graceful and musical account of a concerto I used to hate (hey, I was only 15).

Let me be daring: Grace produces a lightly squeezed and focussed vibrato (always resounding naturally) characteristic of many great violinists (here we go...) and at one point her dark, human tone (especially at the lower register) actually made the words "Heifetz - Bruch" pop into my head. Words which I hastily brushed away, thinking that was too high a compliment. But nevertheless, that was my first thought - and Grace is just 14.

This is my first encounter with Richard Strauss's Burleske for Piano and Orchestra. A "burleske" is a humorous representation of something serious, or something trivial made funny by being solemn about it. So it was with an expectation of this kind of ironic wit that I watched Elaine Chew, a 28-year-old PhD candidate in statistics, Massachusetts, enter the stage with a Mona Lisa-ish half-smile. She is obviously in her element in this work. Not only was the performance totally unfazed, exuding an easy confidence (as it was for Grace), Elaine captures the music's mercurial pulse(s), belying a kind of subtle humour that never bursts out laughing. This subtle immersion is very much evident in her body language, as she swayed upper body to the orchestral accompaniment, head bobbing with the dancing musical lines, mouthing her parts and essentially loving every moment. Here is evidence that if the soloist is enjoying the music, you couldn't possibly not as well.

In addition, Ms Chew - founder of one Auvelius Ensemble, selected to accompany Yo-Yo Ma, chosen to premiere new music - has a really delicate touch. It isn't so often that the VCH piano (I don't know which one she chose - couldn't see) sounds so light, even "French". Obviously, the piano is responsive in her hands, those of an intelligent soloist at work, one with personality. She plays with a spontaneous quality, a kind of knowing nonchalance which fits so well into the teasing nature of this music. I thought this made the performance decidedly... sexy.

(Rather more fun way of expressing the "feminine touch".)

Chia Han-Leon remains the proud author of an 11,798-word thesis on Goethe's Ewig-Weibliche. He has elected to avoid seeing the thesis since its submission.

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