OVERALL NOISE RATING: 2 (the odd hand phone buzz and alarm watches- but generally a group of die-hard pianophiles who made it for the second installment after hearing him in the concerto on the weekend.)

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 Company.

Many of the pianophiles who went to hear Stephen Hough over the weekend in the Saint-Säens’ Fourth Piano Concerto would have gone quickly to grab tickets to hear him in this recital as well. However, I am saddened by the reality that the hall was still relatively empty tonight, which was a real pity because we have not had a major piano recitalist since the Piano Festival in July 2000 (see right sidebar)

My review of this recital is going to be marked with a certain sense of biasness. Firstly, the fact that I have all the major recordings of Stephen Hough, and that I think his playing is superb considering that everything he puts his fingers to comes out sounding like magic. Whether he plays Mompou, Schubert, Liszt, Franck or Liebermann, his Merlin touch induces me to run and get the latest recordings he has released. I think Hyperion has got a jewel of a pianist who is not only a provocative thinker but a great person. I for one have not been impressed very much by the English school of pianists in recent times until Stephen Hough came along.

The programme was a very mixed one with a relatively late Haydn Sonata, the big Brahms F-minor Sonata and the four Chopin Scherzi.

His Haydn was interpreted with a sense of complete warmth, grace and vivacity. Every trill was well-articulated and his pedaling is really clean and exacting. His phrasing was always well thought-out and thought-provoking. His ability to hold back a chord to the maximum always draws me to re-look at phrases again. This was quite apparent in many of the other phrases in the other works, especially in the Chopin. The speed in the Haydn was never rushed yet not taken too slow. All running passages especially in the Rondo-presto were done effortlessly. Hough has the ability to make both hands think so separately yet so together and this can account for the beautiful colour that he produces in the works he performs.

His rendition of Brahms was a spectacle of fortitude, strength and power. From the opening bars of the F minor Sonata, Hough struck a strong note in the hearts of avid Brahmsians. The strength in his chords, especially in the opening bars, were very similar to how the "Hammerklavier" Beethoven Sonata takes off. Right through the half-hour work, Hough demonstrated his ability to maneuver through the tricky intricacies in the Scherzo and the Allegro moderato ma rubato last movement.

What particularly caught my attention were his ability to build up tension in his runs and his beautifully syncopated staccatos - even yet demonstrating difference. His rubato was so sensitively used at such right moments that notes often not heard took on distinct roles for the listener. Never through the performance was there any sign of strain or pianistic fatigue. I particularly enjoyed how he was able to demonstrate the massiveness of this work which is very much in the style of Brahms as seen in his First Symphony and his First Piano Concerto.I do hope that he does record this sonata because there are so few pianists who attempt it because of the various problems that it poses.

One's respect for Hough grew as the evening progressed.

The four Chopin Scherzi were played in record time. Hough played them in a different sequence - 1,4,3 and 2 - and seemed pretty sure of himself. I won’t say I particularly enjoyed the speed but noticed that he seemed so at ease at the tempo he was playing. Hough possesses an immaculate touch in the right hand - its filigree is so silky smooth, he just makes the average pianist ponder with sheer jealousy at how just he does it. His running notes across the keyboard and use of the sforzando pedal demonstrated how easy it can be done. I particularly loved the performance of No. 4, which is my personal favorite. The Second in B-flat minor was played at breakneck speed but still nothing like what I heard a while ago when Pogerelich played this at the Victoria Concert Hall.

Hough is well-known for his own transcriptions, having already recorded a few discs of short works, featuring unknown composers as well as his own arrangements. While he did play a Chopin Mazurka and a short Macdowell piece for encores, it was his rendition of Carousel from The King and I which bowled the crowd into a frenzy. I have been told that the score looks virtually unplayable. Hough demonstrated all the demonic/angelic attributes one is capable of doing on the keyboard. In true Lisztian style he tore right through the piece with ease. Hough makes everything sound so easy yet you know and can sense that while it may have been his own transcription and that it was written by him, it must have taken hours and hours of practice to get it right. Some of us got a chance to speak to him and asked him when he will come back to play in this part of Asia and he said that he is slated to play in Malaysia in the year 2002. So if you enjoyed what you heard- look out for the date.

Johann D'Souza works with fraud detection experts who love singing Sting’s favourite song- Every breath you take I’ll be watching you…… and they mean it.

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805: 20.12.2000 ©Johann D'Souza

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