Saturday 12 July 1997 Victoria Concert Hall	Singapore Symphony Orchestra
	JOHN HARBISON (b.1938) Remembering Gatsby (1985) MAURICE RAVEL Piano Concerto in G major (1929-30) DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93 (1953) Dmitri ALEXEEV piano David Alan MILLER conductor

This review has been kindly sponsored by the Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd

John Harbison's Remembering Gatsby is described in the concert's programme booklet as "another in a line of modern day foxtrots". That is sooooo useful. Well, the music is surprisingly banal. It's scoring is so thick that it would probably sound better played by a chamber orchestra - interesting material, but not much made of it. But wait: who's this "Gatsby"? Although much music can be appreciated without ever knowing anything about it, sometimes a piece comes along sporting a particular title which turns out to be the vital key to the work.

So, bear with me - here we go: in 1926, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his famous novel "The Great Gatsby" which startlingly captures the tragic decadence of a post-war America wallowing in its delusionary pursuit of the "American Dream." In the story, Gatsby, a rich "romantic" helplessly seeking moral, social and spiritual fulfilment, has a habit of holding huge parties attended by the rich and the richer - but he hasn't the faintest idea who these people are, and they don't care either - just here to party! The simple banality of the music suddenly turns out to portray exactly the spirit of the party guests' dances: thick, colourful, mindless, insubstantial. The solo violin, as if symbolic of Gatsby himself wandering among the guests who don't even recognise the party's host, literally plays second fiddle to the brass and percussion in this jazzy work. Like Gatsby, the violin is drowned among the noise and colour. It plays its part efficiently, but no one recognises it.

Is this what Harbison meant? I myself cannot be sure. I do maintain that this sounds like a second-rate composition, but in my rememberance of "Gatsby", this is exactly what Fitzgerald depicted in his novel: modern society as a second-rate composition - thick, colourful, mindless, insubstantial...

So soon after the fireworks of the Piano Fest, we welcomed again another great living pianist, Dmitri Alexeev (left), in a powerful performance of Ravel's G major concerto. As skilful as he is absorbed, Alexeev was intricately in-sync with the SSO, while the orchestra itself was in beautiful form and balance, with Miller the impeccably concise conductor. Even so, I felt that Alexeev was somehow "impersonal" ... but allow me to explain that I do not mean that he was unemotional, only that his dazzling skill seemed to leave everything around him a whole world behind, as if he was a Concorde flying at the same speed as a squadron of C-130s.

In the wonderful second movement, Alexeev produced notes which were solid like wavering drops of water, creating a floating, nervous atmosphere in the midst of the beautiful melody. Although the flute was strained at the top, it could not match the peerless inevitability of an audience which chooses to cough repeatedly during this, one of the most serenely rapt of all piano concerto slow movements. Alexeev's quiescent skill, nevertheless, retained its splendid concentration right through to the final trill, a perfect cascade of water. The final Presto involved some delightfully lunatic woodwind playing, which with Alexeev, created a massive movement marked by a fluid mechanicality which was relentlessly exciting from start to end.

Miller is very obviously a *big* Shostakovich (right) fan, delivering a long but concise essay on his thoughts about the Russian composer's Tenth Symphony, which he (Miller) jokingly called a "darn long piece." But Miller's vision is broad and superbly crafted, precise and deeply concentrated. Combining his simple but effective conducting with a remarkably responsive SSO, this turned out to be a performance of extraordinary quality. In the huge 25-minute first movement, the performers must have produced, surely, some of the loudest (a better word is "massive") climaxes ever heard since the SSO performed Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony. The players succeeded, much to my admiration, in creating an excruciatingly intense chamber-like concentration, richly arching with lyricism, in the final moments of the movement.

In the 5-minute second movement, Miller demonstrated a good sense of control, obviously relishing his parts. The following Allegretto, featuring the DSCH motto, was distinguished by its well-executed woodwind, and again a tendency to achieve chamber-like sonorites. The grotesque "circus march" section was very effective in its festive gruesomeness! Overall, I was extremely impressed with the SSO this night - they were in *extremely* polished form. I say again: the SSO was very very polished this night. Very polished indeed, with a genuine decrescendo at the end of the movement. As for the finale, I forgot to take notes. It was just too good to look down and write. After all, I would have missed Miller's dancing flying feet.

Chia Han-Leon is presently watching his deadlines at NUS pile up before his eyes. They go way, way up....

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