Saturday 2nd October, 1999 Victoria Concert Hall	Great Classics Mendelssohn Plus!
	Albert ROUSSEL Suite from Le festin de araignée ("The Spider's Feast"), op.17 Felix MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor, op.64 Felix MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.4 in A major, op.90 "Italian" LIM Shue Churn violin LIM Yau conductor

OVERALL NOISE RATING: 1 (It was almost too good to be true. The announcement now cautions against beeping digital watches too - and it looks like it works.)

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

I've only heard Roussel's The Spider's Feast Suite a couple of times on CD (Tortelier's Chandos recording); so, no expert I am here. The influence and impression of Ravel as the performance began augered well for the SSO, and I was also impressed to see the deliberately reduced orchestra that former Associate Conductor Lim Yau had fielded. The result aided in the production of sugarpuff delicacy (such as that for the Butterfly - the object of the feast...), or the brash colour, as required. But I felt still that the full potential of colours in this Ravellian/Stravinskian score (The Rite of Spring was premiered eight weeks after Le festin, overshadowing the latter) were not reached. The SSO completed a fine reading, responding well to Lim Yau, if overall a little more Russian in tonal range than French. But let me not dwell on this too long.

I suspect it had a little to do with lowered expectations. The audience was a quiet and calm bunch (except maybe Miss Lim's fans) - I myself attended this night for the programme, not the soloist. This I admit.

I was very tired from a long day out. I was falling asleep. But the soloist and orchestra made me really sit up in the Mendelssohn concerto . First, Ms Lim plays with a big, strong, unfaltering tone. Everything tonewise was excellently sustained, barring a few slips in some of the long notes and at the tessitura range. Articulation was a bit muddied in some of the quick phrases of the beginning, and I found her vibrato a little too rigidly applied (beginning and ending too abruptly).

Similarly, in the performance of the "Italian Symphony", the strings sounded smudgy; detailed if not transparent. I feel the SSO needs to cultivate a more consistently focussed and clean, liquid tone. Here was a big-boned performance, not always fine - but they were enthusiastic, as in the bright, sunny opening (in the best tradition of A major) - and especially those horn staccati!

Ms Lim's solo perhaps also lacks the finer nuances of interpretation, but it was strong on character nonetheless. Hers was a rather "neo-classical" reading - I hesitate because to be really neo-classical (an important feature of Mendelssohn string writing), one should have very clear lines. But in fact, as the playing went on, I became more and more impressed with the honesty of the interpretation - there were absolutely no signs of pretence from this lady. Mendelssohn (left), I think, would have enjoyed this somewhat homely take on the work, for it catches the unassuming genius and free-spirited personality of the composer on many levels. I could feel the collective admiration of the audience at the end of the first movement, as Shue Churn rushed ahead of the orchestra with her exciting score, and Lim Yau led the SSO in the chase to the end.

The concerto's Andante was played sweet and simple, with Mozartian grace, as this music should be. The SSO followed their soloist with lightly-breathed accompaniment, so very cosy was the atmosphere. The Italian's "Pilgrim March" and third movement were also gracefully and delicately delivered. Likewise, Ms Lim showed no sign of intensity in her facial expression, despite some of the more appassionato moments of the concerto - but I think this added to the general calmness and confidence of her reading.

The spriteliness of Mendelssohn returned in the finale. Though again the articulation could be more pointed, this did not detract from the spirit of the music, concerto or symphony. The SSO was bright, forward and jubilant - honest to goodness Mendelssohn. As Ms Lim reached the bridging section to the recap, she exploited the expectancy of the moment very well. In all, I was full of admiration for these performances, right up to the high speed rush of triumph to the ends of both works. For Ms Lim: more mistakes than Anne Akiko Meyers/HKPO, but also much much more satisfying.

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Chia Han-Leon also prefers KFC to the enslavers of children at Macs.

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