Augustin DUMAY violin
WANG Jian cello
SHUI Lan conductor

Friday 25 September 1998 Victoria Concert Hall	New Asia Series Pre-Tour Concert
	SAMUEL BARBER Overture to the School for Scandal, op.5 (1931) JOHANNES BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, op.102 (1887) RICHARD WAGNER "Siegfried's Rhine Journey" and "Funeral March" from Götterdämerung (1869-74) • Overture to Tannhäuser (1843-5)

OVERALL NOISE RATING: 3 (except for the person behind me who suffered from bouts of snoring during the concerto which partially marred the outstanding atmosphere surrounding the auditorium)

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

When one thinks of Barber's music - the first thing that comes to mind is the ever famous Adagio for Strings and indeed that has become his signature tune. I for one had such a mindset when I first heard for myself the Overture to the School of Scandal - it did seem like a bit of a scandal to me. The reference is to the play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, which is full of soap-opera 'affairs'. I really had to get away from the transfixed mind of his famous Adagio, which is so melancholic in nature. This overture however seems completely opposite with its dissonant start and bears no reminiscence.

Shui Lan (left) quickly took control as the SSO went through a blistering pace, and the woodwind section, especially the oboist, has to be commended for their depth of soulful tone. The tuttis were powerfully executed and the attention of the orchestra was fixated on Shui Lan conducting. I have to point this out: our Music Director seemed rather fleet-footed that night and was slightly short of jumping off the podium. The work scores for full orchestra and harp with the virtuosity coming mainly from the woodwind section and judging from that night, I can safely say that the orchestra is quite ready to do Singapore proud when they tour Hongkong in the coming weeks. The work ends on three sustained syncopated chords that ends in a glorious flourish. Shui Lan gave the crowd a wide smile and the audience acknowledged quickly.

The highlight of the evening was the Brahms Violin and Cello Concerto in A minor. Augustin Dumay arrives in Singapore for the second time (previously playing Lalo's Symphonie Espagnola) and for Wang Jian, this is his third visit time (previously to play the Dvorak and Shostakovich No.1 Cello Concertos). This pair together with Maria João Pires are creating waves in their trio performances of Mozart and other composers on the Deutsche Grammophon label. However I was saddened to find that the concert hall was only ¾ full and considering that these two performers are of world-class stature - it is a real pity that the general audience in Singapore missed a truly awe-inspiring concert.

When I first heard Wang Jian play the Dvorak, I was truly astounded at his clarity of tone considering that I was sitting in row V for that particular concert. He was able to bring you into the music with him and I got this feeling once again when hearing his Shostakovich No.1, performed with Choo Huey in January 1996, which was a deeply-thought and emotional reading. This time around, together with his partner, he gave Singapore a night to truly remember. It struck me immediately that Augustin Dumay looked like a giant amongst two midgets - Shui Lan still looked short when he was on the podium and literally had to look up to him in every which way.

Dumay (right), who incidentally plays on Nathan Milstein's violin which in turn belonged to Fritz Kreisler has a warmth of tone very similar to his teacher (Milstein). However one thing that came to mind was the fact that when Milstein made his famous recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto (now available on DG Double 453 142-2, with other works and soloists), he borrowed Kreisler's violin - this is the recording with Eugene Jochum conducting. That night as I heard the Double Concerto, which has such similar tonal structural passages to the violin concerto, I could literally hear the Milstein/Kreisler sweetness in his playing.

While this concerto may have been scored for two instruments the bonding between these two soloists narrowed that perception. From the start of the work separate entities emerged with their tonal sweetness - Augustin Dumay manages to ooze sweetness from his Stradivarius while Wang Jian is a true master with his extensions in phrasing which, when one visually watches them, with facial gestures and all, one is totally immersed with them in the music. Shui Lan took the tempi in strict time and rather tightly which is important so that the soloists were able to dictate the pace through him. The syncopated double stoppings for both instruments were a joy to watch as each took direction from each other. Sometimes a concerto for two instruments could sound like a mini chamber recital, with that vitality which we have come to expect in quartets and quintets.

It is a pity that Brahms never composed a cello concerto - the second movement of the Double Concerto has the sweetness of the third movement of the Piano Concerto No.2. This performance started with a rather weak horn solo, with some faintness, before a dialogue between the two solo instruments, the violin introducing and the cello replying. Wang and Dumay seemed to have this magnetic effect of drawing the crowd into the music, making the audience part of the whole programme. I think the word "rivetting" does them justice - I felt something beyond just 'feeling' and am sure I was touched deep in my soul.

The third movement starts with the main theme in the form of a rondo by the cello and this is very reminiscent of the Piano Quintet. It is interesting to note that Albert Jochum, a friend of Brahms, had commented that the composer had said that both soloists had to be complete masters of the bow to obtain a sense of clarity and vision. Wang (left) and Dumay have this special insight into the music, with mutual bonding that extends to the composer. While there was thunderous applause from orchestra as well as audience at the end, the only sad thing was that there was no encore. While I am saddened to say that they had performed for only one night, I would have definitely been there on Saturday to hear them again if they had stayed one more night.

The second half of the concert was presented with mixed blessings. The SSO's performances of "Siegfried's Rhine Journey" and the "Funeral March" from Götterdämerung was not able to endorse the pathos that was needed for these epic pieces by Wagner (right). While Shui was able to produce quite a credible reading, I did find that the much needed strength and confidence of the brass was lacking. Although this strengthened with time, especially with the interplay between the brass and woodwind with the occasional Wagnerian atmosphere coming through, I simply did not feel the melancholy nor the spirit of the music.

The Overture to Tannhäuser was taken a bit quick yet the strings were true to form and produced the needed boost for this work. The struggle of two dynamic forces of Good and Evil is depicted between God and Satan. The tension produced by the various sections clearly depicted the tension. However a slight disappointment was the descending strings in the middle portions of the overture. This started off finely in the upper sections of the first violins but this strength did not filter downwards and one could see the struggle to play catch up. For the encore Shui Lan dished out Brahms Hungarian Dance No.6 which ended off the concert on a high note.

Johann D'Souza is wondering if it would be feasible to set up a restaurant called The Monastic Kitchen, serving soups and chants...

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