OVERALL NOISE RATING: 2 (relatively quiet when the music is playing but when it stops, everybody has tuberculosis)

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 Esplanade Co. Ltd

The programme of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra this night is possibly one of the most exciting ones I have seen this last 12 months, which have seen other world-class orchestras and ensembles perform in Singapore. Unlike most of the other visiting ensembles which programme popular favourites, this renowned ensemble brings a more varied repertoire and clearly attempts to put forward a mix of the usual and unusual.

For me, the highlight was Charles Ives' Three Places in New England (the programme booklet had it as "Three Places in England" - a gross geographical mistake to say the least), coupled with three other pieces with roots in the 18th-century Classical period.

Mozart's Symphony No. 34 in C is one of those Classical symphonies that did not figure importantly in his output. Resident are the usual "Mozartian" characteristics, but the Orchestra brings the music to life with thoughtful phrasing demonstrative of the performers' musicianship and maturity. Firm intonation and excellent ensemble-playing are the hallmarks of this orchestra; this was apparent from the beginning. The balance of the Orchestra was also of concern right from the start as the 1st and 2nd Violins seem to be overpowering everybody else. The wind instruments were especially soft. This would pervade the whole concert to much dismay especially as we hit the second half of the program.

Yang Wen-Sinn performed admirably on Tchaikovsky's "Rococo Variations", a piece of music that I must say I have been bored with. Yang's moving statement of the Rococo theme made me sit up because it was played so beautifully, and he continued singing beautiful phrases through each variation which was to me a breath of fresh air. There were awkward moments starting from the third variation in the very high registers where he had pitching problems, resulting in a few notes that made my hair stand. Other than that, Yang's technical proficiency is prodigious, making him one cellist we should look out for. Already, his credentials look mighty impressive; in time, he can make a name for himself.

Hugh Wolff (right) and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra are first class accompanists, not only supporting the soloist extremely well but also making each passage as appropriately musical. I appreciate all the phrasing and lines in the pizzicato sections, and the orchestra soli which were wonderfully done. The soloist was placed between the conductor and orchestra - this initially seemed strange at first but later on, I understood why. The communication between Yang and Wolff allowed the orchestra to anticipate the soloist's tempi, while taking prolonged pauses between variations, which the music requires to breathe. Shows that there is nothing wrong breaking a few conventions to make the music sound better!

Three Places in New England started off promisingly, with the Orchestra's strong hold on the dissonant harmonies played to good advantage. Hugh Wolff reads more life into the music than I have ever heard in any recording. Ives (left) had referred to this movement as the "Black March", as he quotes three civil war melodies with Negro-spiritual elements. After this dissonant and "aimless" movement, the audience clearly showed their aural discomfort by coughing much more audibly and murmuring. I found the reaction rather fun to observe, though I knew for a fact that this wasn't the kind of audience that would get up and riot =).

Anyway, moving into the second movement, I was very disappointed. Already I had suspected that the size of the orchestra was not adequate to support the sounds that are needed in this piece, which is after all scored for a large orchestra. The result of "Putnam's Camp" was, therefore, marches (fragmented or otherwise) that lacked gusto and the presence of brass. Though taken at a relatively slow tempo than what I am used to, the ensemble-playing here was not as precise. Ives's music is already as broken up as it is, it takes more skill for an orchestra to put the thing together than one can imagine.

Many of the humorous takes on popular marches of the day and nice counter-melodies were lost as winds and brass were drowned by the strings most of the time; this should definitely not be the case in this movement. I thought the percussion was a bit off as well, adding to the chaos that eventually rounded up the piece to end with a bang. Such was the chaos that the quotation from America, the beautiful was missed. This movement left the audience bewildered - you can tell from the reaction between movements.

The last movement conjuring up "a walk in the meadows along the river", listening to "the distant singing from the church across the river" (Ives) is a superb piece of composition and was wonderfully performed. The shimmering chords and soulful spiritual tune work against dissonance from the piano works very well, a stroke of genius on Ives's part. The orchestra opted for a dramatic climax which was once again lacking in brass but still effective because of the passionate playing of the strings. The piece ends subito piano on an unresolved chord, mysteriously dangling in the air. After the movement ended, there was instantaneous applause and shouts of 'bravo' -there and then I realised there were those in the audience secretly rooting for the modern works - like me.

Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite can be said to be the turning point of his musical life which led him to Neo-Classicism. His work in this later part of his musical life never received much popularity, not as much as Petrushka or Rite of Spring anyway. Nevertheless, a few lesser-known pieces like the Symphony in Three Movements and this Pulcinella Suite remain in the repertoire of many orchestras.

The opening movement of the Suite recalls in my mind, the opening of the concert in the Mozart Symphony. A kind of restrained elegance prevails that is slowly torn down, as if Stravinsky (above left) couldn't bear staying in this pseudo-classical mode for too long. As movements go by, the music (as well as the Orchestra) became more "Romantic" and as it hit the trombone and string bass duet section, the music had the audience giggling uncontrollably. As it developed, the ensemble playing of the orchestra seemed to deteriorate as if they were moving away from familiar ground to unfamiliar ground. An interesting phenomenon, I thought. At this juncture, the bassoons were already rushing their semi-quavers, causing some tension in the usual ease of the performance. Overall, the Suite was still very much a success and a joy to listen to that earned the orchestra a good ovation at the end of the performance.

For this, Hugh Wolff treated us to two encores; the first is one of Béla Bartok's Romanian Dances and the second, Hoe down from Aaron Copland's Rodeo. The latter piece stole tonight's show with the cellists cheekily twirling their instruments after the first few bars of introduction and its rhythmic interest. With that the concert on a high note, and I'm sure everyone went home with no complaints.

I take home with me the impression that The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (left) is a fabulous orchestra indeed with impeccable consistency in terms of ensemble playing and intonation. However, their renditions of the modern works did not impress me as much as the Mozart and Tchaikovsky; but due to the acclaim they have received in the promotion of new music, I honestly dare not forward the opinion that they are not good at it. Well, I appreciate that they tried. Hugh Wolff's reading of the music is interesting (though he seems a terribly busy conductor on the podium) and often searches for new angles and fresh perspectives. The musicians are wonderful; each soloist tonight played so beautifully that I could not possibly single any one of them out for praise.

All that's left for me to do is to wait anxiously for the coming of the English Concert and Trevor Pinnock to deliver an equally high standard of performance but of a very different kind of music. I hope the Hope Charity is doing well, and surely The Esplanade Company deserves a double pat on the back for doing its bit for charity and for bringing these wonderful musicians to our shores.

[...while we at the Inkpot bury our faces in shame at having procured sponsored tickets for this review... - Ed.]

Adrian Tan's three places in Singapore are Holland V, Marina South and Jurong West St 51.

Click to Return to the Concert Index!... or Visit the Inkvault archives!

402: 4.2.1999 ©Adrian Tan

Explore the Flying Inkpot