CD Reviews (The Straits Times, June 2013)

CHRISTIAN FERRAS plays

TCHAIKOVSKY & BRAHMS

Testament 1337 / ****1/2

The world was robbed of a would-be legend with the suicide of French violinist Christian Ferras (1933-1982), a rare genius who would have celebrated his 80^th birthday this year. His famous 1964 recording of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan on Deutsche Grammophon remains in the catalogue, but this 1957 version with The Philharmonia led by Constantin Silvestri is grittier and more exciting. While he sounds staid and respectful alongside Karajan, here he lets rip with liberties galore. There are some unsanctioned cuts in the first and third movements, but his additional touches in  the 1^st movement’s cadenza have a gypsy élan and flourish that are inimitable.

Ferras is joined by legendary French cellist Paul Tortelier in Brahms’s Double Concerto, a 1962 recording again with The Philharmonia, but presided by Paul Kletzki. Both soloists are well-matched and play with a togetherness that fits like hand and glove. Their exchanges are timed to perfection and unison passages are sung with an evenness that is a joy to behold. Add an exciting rocking rondo finale, this comes close to the perfect performance of a well-loved classic, aided by excellent recorded sound even by modern standards. One only wonders what further riches Ferras could have offered us were he still living today.    

VIVA VERDI

Overtures and Preludes

Filarmonica della Scala / Riccardo Chailly

Decca 478 3559 / ****1/2

While Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) is considered by many as the greatest opera composer ever lived, this accolade would not have been possible if his orchestral writing to precede and accompany the singing was not up to scratch. This celebratory disc for the Verdi bicentenary highlights orchestral music from his operas. The Preludes are brief, and set the mood for each act as the curtain rises. There are no better examples than those written for Act 1 of La Traviata, portraying tenderness and fragility, and Act 1 of Aida, which is intimate but mysterious, and alludes to the Triumphal March to come. 

The Sinfonias or Overtures are longer, more dramatic and may quote melodies from the opera itself. The overture to Nabucco gives away a secret – the rousing Va, Pensiero, better known as the chorus of the Hebrew slaves. As stand-alone music, the best are the overtures for La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny) and I Vespri Siciliani (The Sicilian Vespers), where the violent hand of Fate is most eloquently represented. The longest music is also rarely heard, 19 minutes of Airs de Ballet from Jerusalem, the French production of I Lombardi. Pleasant but not the most inspired of music, it is nevertheless performed with dedication and conviction by the Orchestra of La Scala. Long live Verdi indeed!   

CLIBURN FINALISTS NAMED

The six finalists of the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition have been named, close to midnight of Tuesday 4 June 2013 at Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth. They are (in alphabetical order):

SEAN CHEN (USA)

FEI-FEI DONG (China)

VADYM KHOLODENKO (Ukraine)

NIKITA MNDOYANTS (Russia)

BEATRICE RANA (Italy) and

TOMOKI SAKATA (Japan)

The final round of concerto performances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin begins on Thursday 6 June 2013. Performances may be caught via Internet at the competition website (www.cliburn.org)

The concertos that will be heard include:

MOZART Piano Concerto No.20 (Mndoyants & Sakata)

MOZART Piano Concerto No.21 (Kholodenko)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.3 (Rana)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.4 (Dong)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.5 (Chen)

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.2 (Mndoyants & Rana)

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.3 (Kholodenko)

RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.3 (Chen & Dong)

TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No.1 (Sakata)  

I do feel for old Alessandro Deljavan, denied at the semi-finals stage of the Cliburn for the second consecutive time. Hopefully he'll have better luck at the Cleveland International Piano Competition coming on shortly. 

Interestingly, all the pianists whose CD and DVDs I purchased from the Cliburn Shop (at USD 10 and 15 a piece) happened to make it to the finals. They include Rana (CD), Sakata (CD), Kholodenko (DVD) and Fei-Fei (DVD). The impulse of wanting to experience those performances again was probably similar to the jury wanting to hear them again in the final. Uncanny but true.

WINNERS OF QUEEN ELISABETH INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2013 NAMED

The winners of the 2013 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels, Belgium have been named. The top six prizes go to:

1. Boris Giltburg (Israel)
2. Remi Geniet (France)
3. Mateusz Borowiak (Poland)
4. Stanislav Khrystenko (Ukraine)
5. Zhang Zuo (China)
6. Andrew Tyson (USA)

The unplaced laureates cum finalists are (in alphabetical order):

Tatiana Chernichka (Russia)
David Fung (Australia)
Roope Gröndahl (Finland)
Sean Kennard (USA)
Sang-Young Kim (South Korea)
Yuntian Liu (China)

The good news is that BORIS GILTBURG gets to play a solo recitals in Hong Kong and Singapore! The tentative dates are as follows:

Saturday 19 October (7.30 pm), Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall

  part of The Joy of Music Festival

Sunday 20 October (7 pm), Singapore Conference Hall

  part of the International Laureate Series

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, 30 May 2013)

THE FIRE PHOENIX

Ding Yi Music Company / ****1/2

Formed just 6 years ago, the Ding Yi Music Company has become one of Singapore’s most dynamic and successful ensembles, a chamber-sized counterpart of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. This début recording conducted by Young Artist Award winner Quek Ling Kiong showcases a cross-section of its repertoire, including contemporary arrangements of ancient Chinese classics and modern works. The former are characterised by exquisite instrumental solos from pipa, guqin, yangqin and dizi, lightly accompanied by percussion and general ensemble. Excerpts from Kun Opera (Ming Dynasty), settings of Xi’an drum music and poetry by Wang Wei (Tang Dynasty), and the titular Fire Phoenix (Northern Wei Dynasty) give a clue to the antiquity of Chinese music.

There is a Singaporean element to the new pieces, which highlight symphonic effects. Young composer Wang Chen Wei’s Confluence is a good example of Nanyang music, incorporating Malay, Indonesian and Indian elements into the melting pot. Eric Watson’s Pearls is a westerner’s highly assimilated thoughts of the genre, crafted in the form of a tone poem. The longest work, Tang Jian Ping’s Ji Ji Ru Ling, also the most dissonant, is an indictment of the stressful lifestyles people today adopt as a matter of fact. This enjoyable and vividly recorded hour-long anthology shows this virtuosic outfit at the very heart of an ever-evolving and expanding musical tradition. 

SGAMBATI Symphony No.1

Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma /

Francesco La Vecchia

Naxos 8.573007 / ****1/2

In the opera-obsessed land of Italy, Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914) stood out by being a virtuoso pianist, conductor and composer of purely orchestral works. He conducted the Italian premieres of Beethoven’s Third and Seventh Symphonies and is chiefly remembered for his intricately poised piano transcription of Gluck’s Melody from Orpheus. His early compositional efforts were encouraged by Richard Wagner, and his First Symphony (1880-1881) was championed by Arturo Toscanini no less.

This sprawling 43-minute work in five movements bears the hallmarks of a master craftsman rather than genius. The influences of Liszt (in the transformation of motifs and themes) and Wagner (in harmonic language) may be discerned in the first two movements. Whiffs of Schumann and Mendelssohn scent the short Scherzo and the lilting Serenade, while the busy Finale closes the work on a festive high.

The very substantial filler is the Cola Di Rienzo Overture (1866). Its score was recently discovered, and plays like a dramatic 18-minute Lisztian symphonic poem. The performances are very persuasive, and should win this very engaging music many new friends.       

Direct from THE CLIBURN / MY PICKS and THE JURY'S PICKS

Every member of the audience was a jury member in his/her own right.
Eight of my semifinal picks made it through. 

MY 12 PICKS FOR THE SEMI-FINALS

So we’ve reached the end of the Preliminary Rounds, after a whopping 60 recitals by 30 pianists, 29 of whom I’ve liked. So it remains the onerous task of picking just 12, and disappointing 18 others. This is one competition where there are no weak participants (including the artistically wayward ones), and any of the 30 would walk into another competition and be its winner stat. Here are the 12 pianists I have chosen (in alphabetical order, and a capsule summary):

ABROSIMOV (Substitute pianist, best Prokofiev 8)

CHERNOV (Mature and solid musician)

DELJAVAN (Angst-ridden Italian, possible winner)

DONG (Passionate China doll)

DUMONT (Mature Frenchman, ready to conquer the world)

FAVORIN (Loved his offbeat repertoire, and Tannhauser)

GILLHAM (Warm-hearted and genuine Queenslander)

KHOLODENKO (Rock solid Ukrainian, best ever Petrushka)

RANA (Old soul in a young body)

SAKATA (Japanese wunderkind)

SUNWOO (Gangnam Style and panache, by way of Vienna)

ZUBER (Rock solid American, most improved of 2 rounds)  

Dark horse:

BURATTO (I’ve always love the underdog)

So there have been some changes from my last pick after Phase One of the preliminaries. The Russian wunderkind Khozyainov has dropped off because I felt he could still develop in the area of feeling and living the music, like the way his older compatriot Chernov already has. The judges might differ and crown him the winner, but will he become a true musician under the hothouse and microscope Cliburn winners have to live with?

The jury's final twelve. The absence of Francois Dumont
remains a sore point.

Here are the judges' pick (In the announcement ceremony, they were seated in the balcony, separated from the audience and participants, which was a good thing in case of lynch mobs) and my own comments of their choices:

ABROSIMOV (Agree)

CHEN (Excellent first recital, but after that Hammerklavier?)

CHERNOV (Agree)

DELJAVAN (Agree most definitely)

DONG (Agree)

GILLHAM (Agree)

HUANGCI (I may have underestimated her having played so early.)

KHOLODENKO (Agree, especially for that Petrushka)

KHOZYAINOV (I knew the judges would pick him)

MNDOYANTS (I almost forgot about him, so Agree)

RANA (Agree, happily so)

SAKATA (Agree, whole-heartedly)

WHAT, no Dumont?

Sadly, my journey in The Cliburn ends today, as I return to Singapore to be with my family. Seven days of intense piano playing seems all too short, and time slips away ever so imperceptibly. I have enjoyed myself  greatly in Fort Worth, made many new friends (the photos will come soon), enjoyed its warm, hearty Texan hospitality and had a whale of a time. Will I be back in 4 years time? It certainly is tempting indeed...

All 12 semi-finalists line up (roughly in alphabetical order) for their press photo.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 30 May 2013 Recital 1

Preliminary Rounds

Day 7 Recital One (11 am)

Thursday 30 May 2013

I felt that SARA DANESHPOUR (USA) played better today, opening with Haydn’s Sonata in F major (Hob.VXI:23), a very polished performance with wit and humour. The slow movement was crafted with a beautiful velvety sonority that made one wish it could continue for longer. The mood changed for Granados Love and Death (La amor y la muerte) from Goyescas, which was dark and brooding, captured with a style that is wholly appropriate. Her Prokofiev Seventh Sonata had less power that Garritson’s (Daneshpour being of far slighter built) but it was subtler in certain ways. The tolling bells of the second movement were memorable, and even if the Precipitato finale did not race off the tracks, it built up to a sufficiently big climax before closing in a flourish. Standometer: *1/2

My view: A better show today, but that may not be enough.

After all the glorious music making that has come before, it appears that GUSTAVO MIRANDA-BERNALES (Chile) has arrived at the wrong party. If this were the Gottschalk-Guastavino Carmen Miranda Piano Competition, he would be pronounced its champion in an instant. He plays with a distinctly unpleasant sound, apparent immediately in a Chopin Mazurka and Gabriel Faure’s Second Valse Caprice, both dances infected with an irritating beat of his own making. It gets worse in Schumann’s Fantasie Op.17, with conscious posturing posing as profundity, attention-grabbing accents, funny eyes and extreme facial grimacing. While Deljavan’s faces come across as genuine, Miranda’s looked like faked orgasms. And he comes from Juilliard? Standards must have fallen, I’m afraid. After this, I’m off to Ojos Locos for some real eye candy. Standometer: **1/2

My view: Adios, please.

    

The second recital of JIE YUAN (China) consisted of 27 short pieces, beginning with three rhythmically interesting numbers from Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata (Nos.3, 6 and 10), each based on the same number of notes as its numerical order. So each piece gets more complex as the numbers rise from 3 to 10. It does not take a mathematical genius to enjoy his account of these. There was little to separate Yuan’s magnificent performance of Chopin’s 24 Preludes Op.28 from the earlier one by Ruoyu Huang. Technically, it was beyond secure, and that is when the true music making starts. Each piece flowed into the next seamlessly, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Standometer: **1/2

My view: His stock has further risen, and hopefully we’ll get to hear more.   

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 30 May 2013 Recital 2

Preliminary Rounds

Day 7 Recital Two (3 pm)

Thursday 30 May 2013

FRANCOIS DUMONT (France) again appears the most mature of all the contestants. His whole demeanour seems to rise above and beyond the rough and tumble of competition; he is already a fully-formed artist who just happens to be playing a couple of concerts in Bass Hall while a competition is taking place. He is Mr Cool, like most Frenchmen tend to be. That is the feel I get in Debussy’s Estampes, one of few Debussy pieces programmed in the Preliminaries. Everybody wants to play Gaspard (Dumont included) but in his hands, the anti-virtuoso impressionist numbers truly ring out with colour, from the delicate tinkles of Pagodes, the sultry atmosphere of Soirees dans Grenade, to the patter of rain in Jardins sous la pluie. His Chopin Third Sonata was outstanding, breathing music from every pore. When you hear this warhorse in his hands, you do not think of a competition, but rather a recital where a close friend pours out his heart to you in his art. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: Does someone like Dumont need a competition? He should already be playing around the globe.  

Of all the Chinese pianists (Chinese-Americans included) in this competition, RUOYU HUANG (China) strikes one as the most human of them. Everything he does sounds heartfelt, even if it isn’t the most technically clean or accurate. I would hear his Schumann Fantaisie (Op.17) any day, because of its sincerity and genuine depth of feeling. Sure he struck wrong notes in the treacherous quick passages leading up the second movement’s octave leaps, but I would rather have these frailties than Carmen Miranda’s ultra-correct feints. The slow movement to close was warmth and reassurance itself. He added two Debussy Preludes – the stormy What The West Wind Saw and a somewhat heavy-handed Minstrels – before closing with the Preliminary round’s only Balakirev Islamey. His conception of its opening rhythm sounded unusually clipped, but still finished with a flourish. Standometer: ***

My view: He may not proceed, but I’ve enjoyed much of his playing.

YURY FAVORIN (Russia) has the most unusual programming in the entire competition, and that may be his undoing. Competition juries often stick with tried and tested repertoire, and mostly fear the unknown, especially when they don’t know or play those pieces themselves (or are unable to). For this round, he chose four movements from Liszt’s Harmonies poetiques et religieuses, two of which are very well known and two hardly ever performed. In Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude, I felt the opening could be smoother; this is the ultimate study in marrying left hand melody with right hand filigree. He generated a huge sonorous climax towards the middle, something he does well also in Funerailles. As with the chord laden Pensees de mort and Cantique d’amour, he makes me want to find out more of these spiritually inspired works. His playing is thunderous, and I am looking forward to his Alkan in the next round, that is if he makes it. Standometer: ***

My view: He’s done enough to make me root for him

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 29 May 2013 Recital 1

Preliminary Rounds

Day 5 Recital One (11 am)

Wednesday 29 May 2013

ALESSANDRO TAVERNA (Italy) has returned with the most atypical competition programme thought possible, beginning with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in B flat major (Op.106). This is not “Hammerklavier Lite” even if it begins with crashing chords, but something lighter by far. There’s some gratuitous note-spinning about, but what sticks out is the “song without words” slow movement which the Italian crafts most sensitively. Following that was Nikolai Medtner’s Sonata Minacciosa (Op.53 No.2), which I believe means “Menacing Sonata” or something to that effect. It is very dramatic and dark, trenchantly brought out, but seems to belabour its point (a two-note motif that hangs like a curse) too much. Ligeti’s etude The Devil’s Staircase – equally dark and threatening - was very impressively played, and the same dissonance occupied much of Messiaen’s Contemplation of the Spirit of Joy (from his Twenty Contemplations of the Infant Jesus), its chord-laden pages lit up by a transcendent chorale melody that is its valediction. Standometer: **   

My view: Very impressive, but I fear this cerebral recital may have flown over the top of most heads (including mine).

NIKOLAY KHOZYAINOV (Russia) continues to impress, not by just his prodigious technique, but also his restraint. His Chopin set was lovely, opening with the singing lines of the Barcarolle (Op.60), and closing with an ultra-smooth Berceuse (Op.57), both crafted to perfection. In between was the Chromatic Etude in A minor (Op.10 No.2) which was pristine and accurate to say the least. Then came his Liszt Sonata in B minor, which was a textbook account that would please anybody and everybody. The climaxes were plangently built up, and he does not bang. The quieter passages were poetically conceived and pleasing to the ear. All this sounds very good, by why doesn’t this constitute a rave? I just have the niggling feeling that something is missing; this interpretation sounds like the life experience of a 20-year-old that has been carefully cultivated, watered and pruned in a sterile bubble, one that has yet to taste life in a rough and tumble world. Standometer: ***

My view: Would progress to the next round. Juries just love these kind of students.

   

The polar opposite to the young Russian would be ALESSANDRO DELJAVAN (Italy), who looks battle-scarred, appearing at least twenty years older than the 26 listed in the Cliburn book. His recital was one born of trials and tribulation, but that had yet to surface in Mozart’s Variations on Gluck’s Unser dummer Pobel meint, which had an operatic and comedic theatricality that was enchanting. His Schumann Fantaisie in C major (Op.17) would be, in my opinion, the performance of the Preliminaries. With agony and ecstasy etched on his face to equal degree, the music came through with molto passione, molto dolore and molto amore. His sound was gorgeously projected, and those crazy octave leaps – nailed with an inexorable finality – sounded like some sort of vindication, of one whose dark inner secrets remains unrevealed. The audience applauded spontaneously after the first and second movements, but Deljavan got his own back when after the quiet C major ending, he continued unmolested into Schubert’s lovely Variation on the Diabelli Waltz (also in C major), almost a built-in encore. Standometer: ** only? (the audience was probably stunned into ultimate reverence)   

My view: I am almost speechless myself. If he does not progress, some people need to be shot.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 29 May 2013 Recital 2

Preliminary Rounds

Day 5 Recital Two (3 pm)

Wednesday 29 May 2013

I’ve always liked the playing of JAYSON GILLHAM (Australia/UK). Today he opened with Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata (Op.53), which displayed his usual warmth and generous sound, which is sincere yet not wanting for passion. There is gravity in the slow movement, building up nicely into the flowing lines of the Rondo which gave a visceral thrill when those octave glissandos trickled and tickled like fresh spring water. Credit goes to the camera crew which knew exactly the right moment to focus on his hands and capture that little piece of musical magic. The balance of his programme was poetic Liszt (a lovely Petrarch Sonnet No.123) and virtuosic Liszt (the Spanish Rhapsody), both of which came through with great immediacy. There I no barnstorming in Gillham’s music making, only musical love making. Standometer: **1/2

My view: I hope he goes as far as possible in this competition.  

ERIC ZUBER (USA) more than made up for the relative disappointment of the earlier phase, and this is why the two-phase format in the Preliminaries of this competition has been so vital. It hopefully keeps the right people in the running. His view of Beethoven’s final Sonata in C minor (Op.111) was a revelation. There is true struggle and strife in the opening movement, borne by the power and passion of the playing. This is Beethoven in his final pianistic act of fist-shaking and hell-raising. Then anger and angst gave way to reflection and contemplation of the second movement’s Theme and Variations, which came across like a benediction with faith restored in this troubled world. The selection of four varied Rachmaninov Preludes (Op.32 No.10, 12 and 5, and Op.23 No.2) revealed more poetry and passion. He has now become my favourite American pianist in this competition. Standometer: ***

My view: Possibly the only American to be elected a semi-finalist, the last since Jon Nakamatsu in 1997.

The luck of the draw saw ALEXEY CHERNOV (Russia) perform exactly the same Beethoven sonata as Zuber, the Op.111. So soon after that, Chernov came up with a totally different conception of the work, equally valid and vivid. While Zuber ranted and raved, Chernov was more measured. His sound was more soft-focussed, less stark, almost a matte portrait to Zuber’s gloss and bright sheen. I was just as touched by this reading, which goes to core essence of classical music; differing interpretations could be appreciated on different terms but with the same satisfactory outcome. After all, who would want to hear a piece of music played in exactly the same way by everybody?

Chernov’s fillers were interest by their contrasts, Ligeti’s coruscating Autumn in Warsaw was followed by three waltzes, two folk-inspired numbers by Grieg (very charming as expected) and Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1, which provided a virtuosic close. Standometer: ***

My view: Should make it through. Beethoven Op.111 always helps.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 29 May 2013 Recital 3

Preliminary Rounds

Day 5 Recital Three (7.30 pm)

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Everybody seems to love YEKWON SUNWOO (South Korea), and they cannot believe he was merely a substitute pianist in this competition. The unusual choice of the Strauss-Grunfeld waltz that opened his first phase now becomes more apparent. He has built both his preliminary round recitals on the subject of Vienna. This is truly inspired programming indeed. For the second phase recital, he began with Scarlatti’s Sonata in D minor (K.213), a gem of a piece which showed that sadness has its own voice.  Then came Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival Jest in Vienna), a series of dances and interludes which sparkled in his hands. After Leon Kirschner’s brief and palate-cleansing Interlude No.2, his closing piece was Ravel’s La Valse, in a performance that began lean, shorn of cholesterol and corpulent excesses, rhythmically steady, but built up a head of steam to finish with the perfect embodiment of decadence and chaos. A thrilling performance, to say the least. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: A strong performer that gets even better.  

SEAN CHEN (USA), the Beatles mullet guy, had the courage to programme only one work in his recital, which happened to be Beethoven’s mighty Hammerklavier Sonata (Op.106). I won’t yet call it a travesty but his interpretation sounds like a revisionist one. What are they teaching them at Juilliard and Yale these days? He nails every page with the determination of a power-lifter and hardly misses a note, but it is the glib superficiality of it all that rankles. He treats the great work like some exercise workout routine and morning calisthenics, and having done that, ponders what the next conquest will be. This is a Hammerklavier as conceived by Ringo Starr and Carly Rae Jepson. Call me maybe? The charm and grace he exuded in the first phase had all but evaporated. Standometer: *** (quite amazingly, probably because he’s American)

My view: Sorry to spoil the party, but this doesn’t do it for me.  

To be honest, I had pre-ordered the DVD of this second phase recital by China doll FEI-FEI DONG (China) in anticipation of her sterling performance of Scarlatti, Debussy and Liszt. Thankfully she did not disappoint. The two Scarlatti sonatas – in D major (The Chase) and F minor – were wonderful studies in contrasts, while she made most of Debussy’s early Danse or Tarantelle Styrienne, which sounded balletic and almost orchestral in her hands. And the Liszt B minor Sonata was quite splendid. Even if she did not have the same blood and guts as Alex McDonald (which firmly sticks in the mind), she certainly had the raging hormones that mummy’s boy Khozyainov lacked. Although Dong is only two years older than the Russian, this sounded like a real performance from the cauldron of life. Standometer: ***

My view: Win or lose, Fei-Fei is on her way to Singapore. They will love her here (or there).

Wrap–up: Possibly the strongest day of the competition so far, I look forward to seeing KHOZYAINOV, DELJAVAN, GILLHAM, ZUBER, CHERNOV, SUNWOO and DONG all advancing.