Saturday 8 August 1998 Victoria Concert Hall	Singapore Symphony Orchestra
	GIOACHINNO ROSSINI Overture to Il viaggio a Reims ("The Journey to Rheims", 1825) EDVARD GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor, op.16 (1868, rev.1906-7) IGOR STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird (1945 version) MAURICE RAVEL Boléro (1928) Per TENGSTRAND piano Okko KAMU conductor

OVERALL NOISE RATING: 1 (Soft hum comprising pitter-patter of rain outside. Wasted though...)

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

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

I hate to swallow my words after saying that Okko Kamu's concerts with the SSO are NEVER to be missed but I did regret having braved the rain to attend tonight's performance which was much to my disappointment.

The highlight of this evening's program was Grieg's evergreen A minor Piano Concerto performed by Swedish virtuoso Per Tengstrand, and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. These were sandwiched between a piece I've never heard before, Rossini's Overture to Journey to Rheims, and a piece I'd hate to hear again, Ravel's Boléro.

The evening had a very, very promising start. The Overture to Journey to Rheims was a most impressive piece to begin with. What struck me immediately was how "un-Rossini" this piece was, having expected staccatos and driving rhythms a la Barber of Serville and William Tell, etc. This one was more 'Straussian', as described by my fellow reviewer. For me, I was simply charmed by the lilting melody carried by the strings, with elegant phrasing by the SSO and superb control by the conductor. Kamu's interpretation was humorous and witty, most noticably the subito sforzando in the middle of a flowing melody line surprising every time. His operatic experience shows in his purposeful and concise (but not rigid) conducting, allowing the orchestra to play with a relaxed precision. This was certainly the SSO in a fine shape.

Our soloist for the evening, Per Tengstrand has won numerous accolades including the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1997 and the International Piano Competition (CIEM) in 1996. Though relatively unknown as compared to other big names that have graced our stage in the past weeks, much has been said about this upcoming talent that raised my expectations of this concert. Sporting a loud crimson red shirt and a black vest, the very young Tengstrand projected an air of confidence. Taking a particularly long time adjusting his piano stool because he turned the knob the wrong direction , he cheekily turned to the audience and exclaimed "Oops! Wrong way!"

The biggest prolem for this entire piece was apparent from the moment Tengstrand hit the first few notes of the familiar introduction to the concerto: the piano sounded really strange.

We all know that the VCH grand piano has been a letdown more often than not, but tonight it was so bad that during the interval after the piece, several members of the orchestra even went up to it and gingerly peered under the lid to see what was wrong. Besides the notes Tengstrand intended to play, one could hear another tone, especially in the upper registers. This was a peculiar "bonging" noise (like some sub-sonic thud finally finding its way into the human range of hearing). In addition, the piano's tone was flat and metallic. Maybe it was the weather.

Other than that, Tengstrand's technique proved to be top notch besides being very 'interesting' to watch (though this may not be to everybody's taste). In my mind, his reading of the familiar favourite was fresh. I found the opening cadenza sounding rather detached from the orchestral entry on the whole, but Tengstrand eases into the Kamu's tempo soon after. The SSO and Kamu seem to lack the usual chemistry, here and there we notice some co-ordination slips with the soloist. Tengstrand sounds best when he is alone, with a dramatically delivered final cadenza in the final bars of this first movement.

The second movement of the concerto was much warmer, as contrasted to the cold first movement. I thought this slow movement worked very well with Tengstrand's lyrical touch and the Kamu's sensitive accompaniment. An attaca into the third movement of the work brings back the energetic rondo theme which Grieg (right) derived from a Norwegian folk dance. Tengstrand goes for a very strict but driving rhythmic feel for this which I thought worked well. However, the brass section of the orchestra seemed over-enthusiastic, sporting a rather brash sound (including a buzzing horn section throughout the night). The slower interlude in this movement returns us to the tranquil mood of the second for a brief moment before taking off into another dance section. Tengstrand handles this with great skill but the orchestra did not match this with their playing.

Though I thought it was not a spectacular rendition of the concerto, it was a fairly good showing. If anything, with a clean rendition of Grieg's March of the Dwarves as an encore, Tengstrand is proves his mettle as certainly more than competent. He made good contrasts between drama and lyricism with an easy technique which is good proof of his virtuosity. We thought he would perhaps have been better playing the G major Ravel instead of this rather Lisztian-sounding work, despite the clear influence of Chopin in the slow sections. The orchestra showed signs of trouble, particulrly from the bassoons in this piece right from the first movement. Somehow, the tone of the wind instruments did not sound quite right tonight. Again, it could have been the stormy weather.

Deeply impressed by last season's Concerto for Orchestra (Bartok), I had expected Kamu to deliver an equally brilliant Firebird Suite. The opening was dark and sinister with the violas playing at an almost inaudible dynamic range, bassoons making their menacing entrance, all with great precision. A startling string tremolo bursts into excitement, introducing the theme of the Firebird. I noticed that the violins sounded particularly shrill - I suspect a result of the scoring, giving a rough edge to the sound that was particular effective. What was disappointing though, were the horns which lacked control and made a few very suspicious entries. The "Dance of King Kashchei" was dramatic and powerful, the horns delivering the soaring theme well, if a little out of control. The rest of the brass lived up to this section, and I thought particularly well of the trumpets with their great precision and clear, clean articulation.

Kamu (left) seems to have been reserving the sheer power of the orchestra for this dramatic climax which he delivered powerfully, a stark difference from the sinister mood that he created earlier. A calming oboe solo returns the atmosphere of serenity, setting a soft colour for the "Berceuse". I was rather disappointed by the bassoon solo which carried the lullaby theme - I thought this could be made more relaxed. The solo horn which reprises an earlier flute melody failed to make an impression either.

The final hymn was sonorous and joyful. Kamu opted for a more restrained brilliance which seems to me appropriate. Overall, good less the many solos which were really disappointing and disruptive to the fairy illusion that the rest of the orchestra was weaving. Stravinsky's 'exotic' scoring which brings out the most exciting and colourful tones from the orchestra was not as thoroughly explored as the music's clear dramatic value.

I remembered a time when Choo Huey was the music director of the SSO that Boléro was constantly on the program for a few seasons running. I remembered being disappointed when I heard that the NYPO would play it in Singapore as I had so badly wanted to hear something fresh and more exciting, but I did hear something beautiful that night made me once again raise Ravel's orchestrational abilities to the highest.

Tonight, however, the SSO was really off-form in this piece. One could feel a yawn coming just by watching the violinists doing their pizzicato with a look of sheer boredom on their faces. From the un-steady drum taps (I have never heard so many different kinds of triplets before) from the beginnning to each individual soloist taking his/her turn on the melody, it was generally a disaster. As each instrument/section took their turns with the melody, the range of sounds went from thin to tortured. There was no Ravellian colour nor any Spanish fire, no voluptiousness to the sinuous tune. The performance actually brought to mind a circus act. I could even see people in front of me flinching when the celeste, piccolo and horn harmonization of the melody went so badly out of tune. (Yes, it is meant to be a sour harmony, but not this rotten).

Despite all this, the performance was still awarded with whistles of approval(!) and a generous ovation. I guess that is what they meant by saying that Boléro is an enduring melody that reaches the audience no matter what. For those of us who have heard it many times though, this was really a storm-soaked wet blanket that sent me out of the hall back into the bad weather, terribly upset with what I had just heard. I hope the SSO simply had a tough night which they will recover.

I await Okko Kamu's spot in the next season with baited breath to quell any suspicions that he has lost that precious chemistry with the SSO that has brought our Orchestra to such heights so many times. Meanwhile, I look for a stronger showing from the SSO in the next concert. Deja vu continues as we will hear the SSO's rendition of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, last heard (or rather NOT heard ) with the NYPO.

Dr. Adrian Tan advises a cup of warm music as the best remedy to cold instrumental flus.

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