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Rushing
from Trengganu across mother Malaysia with my heavy backpack and
snorkeling equipment - I reached the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala
Lumpur on the 10th April 1999. My main aim in travelling to K.L.
despite the pain from my sunburnt back and coral-cut toes was to
try my luck at the Malaysian
Philharmonic Orchestra - I had hoped to hear them since they
began operations on 17th August 1998. Lucky (and not so lucky) I
was when I had discovered that they were indeed playing that night
but they were playing in reduced formation. Only a string orchestra
formed from members of the MPO was to be conducted by Stig Nilsson
- the concert master of the new orchestra - in a programme of Scandinavian
works.
Booking my tickets through a public phone in Merdeka Square - I
found out that the tickets were so very dear - RM 40, 60, 100, 140.
I had to settle for RM60 as the cheapest were sold out. The ticket
operator was not capable of telling me what they were playing except
that they were to be "short pieces by various composers". The Malaysian
Philharmonic Orchestra had its inaugural performance on 17th August
1998 in its spanking new home - Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (right),
part of the Petronas Twin Towers which at this time of writing is
defacto the world's tallest building. Under music director Kees
Bakels and resident conductor Malaysian Chean See Ooi, the orchestra
has been built steadily over the past months - realising a dream
of Malaysians to have a world-class orchestra and concert hall in
Kuala Lumpur.
Whoever
the organisers may be, there are clearly traits of meticulousness
and musicianship here. Already the list of visiting luminaries have
had many Singaporean music lovers drooling in envy: Sir Neville
Marriner, the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Ashkenazy, Stephen Hough,
the Empire Brass, Simon Preston, Libor Pesek, Peter Jablonski, Julian
Lloyd Webber, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Andrew Litton, Christian Lindberg,
James DePriest, Daniele Gatti, Vadin Repin, James Judd (The Planets),
Wolfgang Sawallisch plus many more. Indeed, in the next few months,
classical lovers can look forward to Wayne Marshall, Lesley Garett,
Lynn Harrell, Wolfgang Sawallisch (you read that right), the Philadelphia
and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras.
Their
programming is by far most ambitious and many series have been created:
Family Concert Series, Chamber Series, International Series and
the MPO Series each promising to develop an all-rounded audience
in the classical concert-goer. Other examples of its mighty efficiency
include its good efforts to cater to the disabled and the deaf,
remarkable taste in programme design, ticket layout, efficient and
extremely courteous staff who could accommodate my many requests
during the concert.
As
I was not told of the attire of the night concerts - which was to
be lounge suit and Batik Formal - I arrived in T-shirt and jeans.
However, as the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS did not have any attire
rental facilities, they allowed me into the hall and offered to
take care of my heavy bags during the concert. Further, as I had
to leave immediate after the concert to catch a bus back to Singapore,
the staff helped to relocate me to a seat that gave me convenient
access to the exit.
Walking into the concert hall, my immediate impression was formed
by the amazing beauty and acoustic perfection of the hall. I could
literally hear a pin drop and a member of the audience talking up
in the front stalls had me inadvertently eavesdropping on his conversation
- I was in the last row of the stall! As I had the benefit of sitting
at two different places due to my change of seat - I could attest
to the fact that each instrument could be heard clearly and loudly
even from the last row in the stalls. The magnificent Klais Pipe
Organ (all 44 stops and pipes of it, pictured on the left) framed
the backdrop of the magnificent stage area built in mellow shades
of timber and the plush carpeting and seats all contributed to remarkable
comfort and enjoyment. I read that Cesar Pelli & Associates designed
the shoebox shaped concert hall and Kirkegaard & Associates had
its acoustics fine-tuned. Kudos to them!
Settling
into the night's programme took a bit of getting used to. The new
acoustics had to sink into my ears before I could decide what was
due to the orchestra and what was due to the hall. The reduced MPO
produced a fine mellow sound that is most agreeable with my ears.
Grieg's Holberg Suite was controlled but suffused with a sweet indulgence
bordering on excessive. This was due mainly to Stig Nilsson's charismatic
direction. As a result, the prevalent qualities were more towards
that of night music than the sprightly dance suite as I am accustomed
to hearing the Holberg as. The most uneven section appears to be
the First Violins. It appears that the superb acoustics amplifies
all the minor imperfections in instrument qualities and tone colour
of instruments so much so that I could hear them clearly right from
the back of the hall. This was confirmed when I moved to the different
seat after the interval.
Right:
The concert programme booklet.
Johann
Svendsen (1840-1911) was consistently overshadowed by his peer Edvard
Grieg during his lifetime. While Grieg favoured miniature ensembles,
Svendsen preferred to employ large symphonic forms. Born in Oslo,
Norway, to a military musician father, he was taught to play several
instruments and by nine could play the violin in the local orchestra.
His attempt to carve a career as a violin virtuoso fell flat when
a nervous complaint to his left hand fingers compelled him to concentrate
on composition instead. Nevertheless, it was his conducting that
made him truly appreciated in his lifetime. His various skills and
superb understanding of the violin led him to write this Romance
for violin and orchestra - a well-balanced work with much opportunity
for the solo violin.
Stig
Nilsson demonstrated a beautiful sweet tone with clearly secure
technique, leaving me with little more to desire of the Svendsen
except that the orchestra should follow suit with an equally cogent
playing. It seems that this chamber group of MPO members had trouble
with ensemble work every time the concert master had to concentrate
on solo playing. Playing in a chamber orchestra without a conductor
is one of the most difficult things to do and the players have much
to work on in this area. These problems also plagued the Atterberg
Suite for Violin and Viola.
Sadly,
the viola solo played by Anatoly Zelinksy was not a match to Nilsson's
commanding account and this incompatibility very much destroyed
the entire piece. Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974) was an unlikely composer
with a degree in Technology from a Stockholm College. His reputation
and stake in composition is suspect as he had admitted to rampant
copying from other composers. Nevertheless, his music is generally
traditional and his belief that music should be 'approachable' led
to his eventual despair and cessation of composition in the wake
of 'innovative' writing from younger generations of composers. His
works include several ballet and opera scores among nine symphonies,
two concertos for the violin and other choral and orchestral works.
A
lack of concentration resulted in the 3rd movement of Nielsen's
Little Suite for Strings falling apart. Somehow one feels
that this chamber orchestra will need more work and practice playing
together to achieve a certain cohesiveness and intuition expected
in the performance of chamber music.
A very fine Sibelius was delivered by the MPO - as with its other
performances after the interval. The MPO managed to bring out much
of the essence of Sibelius' Romance in C for String Orchestra and
one could appreciate the warm acoustics of the new hall contributing
to the music.
The
gem of the night was clearly the Serenade for Strings by Dag Wirén
(1905-1986). There is a very familiar tune which I had heard before
in this work in the last movement indicated Marcia. This
work - noted to be one of the most popular ever to have come from
Sweden, not withstanding those of popular ABBA - was Wirén's most
successful work in his lifetime. Despite that, Wirén was known to
have regretted its huge success.
Strongly
influenced by composers such as Poulenc, Honegger, Stravinsky and
Prokofiev, Wirén took a serious attitude to composition and often
experimented with new forms and structures. His output included
concertos for both violin and piano as well as five symphonies,
chamber and instrumental music. The MPO's playing of this Serenade
for Strings was most pretty and convincing as Stig Nilsson led the
entire ensemble speeding towards the end of the concert.
A
new concert hall creates much excitement in the music community.
Perhaps the building of a hall is easier than the building of an
orchestra. Nevertheless, the strengths of this new organisation
seem to lie in the ability to achieve what they set out to do and
it is my hope that they will see fruition in the Malaysian Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Ng
Yeuk Fan ate Dim Sum in K.L. while waiting to go to the Malaysian
Phil and remembered that his late grandfather used to wake him up
at 5 in the morning to go for Dim Sum in Hong Kong - his birth city.
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