If music be the food of love, play on!

Graf grabs the musical interest with Petrushka

2012-02-06T19:41:00.000-08:00

Yet another wonderful concert programme at DFP. We were treated to a rarely performed piece - Rimsky-Korsakov's "A Fairy Tale". Usually, we always hear "Capriccio espagnole", the "Russian Easter Festival Overture" and "Scheherazade" on records and in the concert hall.

It is wonderful that guest conductor Hans Graf programmed this piece, as it educates the Malaysian public on the various other compositions of this wonderful and colourful Russian composer.

The star of the show was supposed to be the violinist, Benjamin Beilman, who performed the Dvorak Violin Concerto. This was a straight, slowish and technically secure performance from Beilman. He is only 21 years old and will mature in time. He would eventually make a larger palette of sounds, but on this showing, this student who is still in the Curtis Institute would still have much to learn about the Dvorak Concerto and violin playing.

The best performance of the evening was Stravinsky's Petrushka, played superbly by the MPO under conductor Hans Graf in the 1947 version. This was an accurate and rhythmic interpretation of the ballet - performed with precision and riotous colour and nuance of all the scenes. I believe that Graf has charisma and a good rapport with the MPO. He deserves another invitation back to the DFP in the coming seasons.

Bavouzet's Beethoven day out

2012-02-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

Concert programming has improved at the DFP this season. Debut conductor Alexander Shelley gave us a concert of inspired selection by programming Hubert Parry's Elegy for Brahms prefacing Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in C minor Op 37 - played magnificently this time by rising French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

On his prior visit, Bavouzet appeared to be finding his feet in a shaky interpretation of the evergreen Schumann Piano Concerto. However with an additional couple of years of the world concert circuit and a few fine CD releases on Chandos (like the Gabriel Pierne Piano Concerto), this has given him more musical depth as well as sure confidence that was lacking on his previous debut visit.

This was heroic Beethoven interpretation at its best, with Bavouzet providing pellucid trills especially in the first movement. The second movement provided a temporary meditation, before we were treated to a cheeky and joyous interpretation for the third movement.

After the interval, we were entertained to a mature interpretation of Brahms' Second Symphony by conductor Alexander Shelley. The MPO sounded well in his confident control and we certainly will hear greater things of this conductor in years to come.

A sumptuous Sibelius feast

2011-10-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

I generally do not like a concert of a single composer fare (unless it is Beethoven!). But this concert on 16 October 2011 that comprised Sibelius' Finlandia, the Violin Concerto and the 2nd Symphony was perfect as the artists made sure that the MPO and audience enjoyed themselves immensely.

Both artists were on their return visits to DFP, KL and the half-filled hall enjoyed the musical feast thoroughly. Commencing with Finlandia, the MPO played this most nationalistic of Sibelius' output with sumptuous feeling and expression, yielding a "Bravo" from a member of the audience at the end.

Soloist Barnabas Kelemen (who played Mozart's Third Violin Concerto on his prior visit) was in his element for the Violin Concerto - which was played with immaculate bow control and pin-point intonation throughout. What was more important was that he was entirely submerged in this unique piece and its subtle nuances. One negative point that I would like to mention is that his phrasing was a bit "rushed". As he matures, I think Kelemen would take a bit more time for his solo phrases.

However, what resulted from this young player was one of the very best interpretations I have ever heard (Heifetz and Neveu are amongst the top players in the Sibelius). After many curtain calls, Kelemen returned to play us an encore of the Gigue from JS Bach's Second Partita BWV1004.

Continuing the superb collaboration, Estonian conductor Olari Elts led the orchestra in a dynamic, compact and well-phrased interpretation of Sibelius' lush 2nd Symphony. The audience gave him a very long and heart-felt ovation. The MPO should have him back in a future season - perhaps to flank a violin concerto (that had not been played at DFP like the Khachaturian Violin Concerto) with Sibelius' Karelia Suite and the Fifth Symphony.

Kaspszyk & Kovacevich's mixed bag

2011-10-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

8 October 2011 saw two DFP debutants - namely conductor Jacek Kaspszyk and pianist Stephen Kovacevich. For the reputation that Kaspszyk garnered by winning the Karajan conducting competition in 1978, some of the conducting was quite disappointing.

In the opening Beethoven Egmont Overture, there was an obvious lack of tension in the earlier sustained portion of the piece. After the initial flaccid opening, I also felt that there was a lack of triumphant feeling at the coda of the overture.

In the Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1 (part of yet another DFP Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle), 71-year old Stephen Kovacevich took to the stage. I remember him very well through his superb Beethoven cycle with Sir Colin Davis and the LSO & the BBC SO. I am still particularly taken with his interpretation of the Emperor Concerto, which is one of the "best" available. Anton Kuerti played the piano in all the concertos in a previous Beethoven cycle at DFP but this cycle is split between various pianists, of which Kovacevich is one of the most distinguished. (By the way, the DFP has not even done a "mature" Mozart Piano Concerto (Nos 12 to 27 say) cycle since 1997).

Barring some minor finger slips, Kovacevich gave a brisk and no nonsense interpretation of the First Concerto. His pianism still remains alive and dynamic at his advanced age but some of his chording seemed a bit biased towards the treble register instead of it being balanced throughout the piano's register. Nevertheless, the audience loved his playing and he rewarded them with an encore of Bach's Sarabande from the Partita No 4.

The lovely discovery of the concert was Karlowicz's Lithuanian Rhapsody - a superb example of having a native conductor from Poland conducting his own countryman's music. DFP is to be congratulated on having this bit of innovative programming. However, the next piece was yet another favourite DFP/MPO repeat: Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin Suite. The MPO played the piece well under Kaspszyk but it had been the umpteenth time the orchestra had played it in the hall since 1997. Isn't there any extra budget to buy and play new and exciting scores like Khachaturian's Spartacus for example? I rest my case.

2011/12 - a festive gala to remember

2011-09-26T01:38:00.000-07:00

17 September 2011 was the 2011-12 season's opening gala. It brought together the MPO's music director Claus Peter Flor and three Malaysian pianists who had made their debuts before in previous seasons. The pianists were Foo Mei Yi, Bobby Chen and Tengku Ahmad Irfan. Despite a long holiday weekend (due to Malaysia Day on 16 Sep), there was a very decent turnout of guests (which included previous PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed).

The evening began with a sprightly account Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, with fine solo contributions from the principal flautist and oboist (Hristo Dobrinov and Simon Emes respectively). Bobby Chen then gave a fluent account of Prokofiev's youthful Piano Concerto No 1. In my opinion, it is still an immature composition, which lags behind Prokofiev's 2nd and 3rd Piano Concertos. An alternative to the 1st Concerto could have been Kabalevsky's dashing and also youthful 3rd Piano Concerto or Shostakovich's 2nd Piano Concerto (both of which have not been playing at the DFP Hall - even after 14 years).

After the interval, we were treated to Bach's Double Piano Concerto BWV 1062 with Foo Mei Yi & Tengku Irfan. This is a transcription of Bach's famous Double Violin Concerto BWV1043 in D minor. Now there were some weird musical and interpretative choices here, with the tuning pulled down a semitone from D minor to C sharp minor. Also, the orchestra was quite gargantuan for historically informed performance (HIP)-type of interpretation. Finally, the 3 double-bass players trooped in late after the conductor and soloists were already set to commence playing.

This interpretation was notable for Mei Yi's lyrical playing but Tengku Irfan was very much in the background and was not able to compete and converse musically in Bach's contrapuntal melodic lines. A great disappointment.

The Mozart Triple Piano Concerto K 242 fared a little better. By far, Mei Yi was again the dominant and most lyrical player here, with Bobby Chen trailing slightly behind. Tengku Irfan was yet in the shadow of the other two more mature Malaysian pianists.

They then emerged to play an encore each. Bobby Chen played Stravinsky's Russian Dance from Petrushka, with many clusters of wrong notes and mishits. Most impressive was Mei Yi with her rendition of JS Bach's Sarabande from Partita No 1 BWV825, full of lyrical grace, with lovely sustained playing and phrasing. Tengku Irfan performed an astounding Liszt Transcendental Etude No 10, with aplomb. If only he had been braver and played with more conviction in the Bach and the Mozart! Then, that would have been a more enjoyable concert.

Virile Flor Beethoven opening concert

2011-09-11T05:42:00.001-07:00

10 September 2011 was the MPO's opening concert of the 2011-2012 season. A programme of Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh symphonies under MD Claus Peter Flor brought an almost full house to the DFP. The musicians were generally well-chosen with superb principal flautist and oboist Hristo Dobrinov and Simon Emes respectively. A disappointment for me was that Paul Philbert was not on the timpani and he would have been a better player to co-ordinate rhythmic elements of the 2 Beethovenian scores.
The trumpet playing was generally poor too.

Previously MD Kees Bakels led some good performances of the Beethoven symphonies but the level of the prior performances was not a match for these two new interpretations by Flor - a superior conductor to Bakels. His tempi are fast, with no-nonsense playing - an "a tempo" Germanic feel (a la Karajan) and without much or any slowing down (unlike Furtwangler's Beethoven). Rhythms were very clear most of the time and dynamics and phrasing were generally very well-terraced.

The famous opening movement of the Fifth was fast and furious but perhaps lacked some Karajan "fire". The next movement was flowing and nicely played. The third movement was well handled and the transition into the fourth movement was exciting. An unusual interpretative gesture was that the first three held notes of the fourth movement were at the third movement's tempo and then Flor took off at a much swifter speed for the remainder of the movement. Texturally, Beethoven wrote similar speeds for both these movements and the dotted minim speed (for the third movement) should equal the minim speed (for the fourth movement).

After the interval, we were treated to a lively and rhythmic performance of the Seventh symphony. Tonal depth was much better than MPO Beethoven performances under Kees Bakels. The sharp rhythms in the first and third movements were a delight to listen to. The second movement was played swiftly and the gravitas (in the fugato section) seemed slightly lost here. The horns are a very important part of this Beethoven symphony and the new hornists that are now in the MPO are much better than those that used to play in the orchestra. Though they are now better, the playing is still not beyond reproach (note a fluffed section at the end of the first movement).
The last movement was slower than I would expect Flor to take it at (Karajan and Carlos Kleiber are very swift here). A disappointing feature was that the first and second violinists were unable to capture the mounting excitement of the oscillating phrases at the end of the symphony.

Nevetheless, this is one of the more distinguished Beethoven performances that the MPO has given in the DFP hall. May Claus Peter Flor be our MPO MD for a long time and may he lead them to further glory and higher standards in time to come.

A Don Juan to savour

2011-09-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

11 June 2011 saw Lidia Baich's return to the DFP, KL with yet another virtuoso offering in the shape of Bruch's First Violin Concerto. Fabio Luisi (previous general music director of the Staastkapelle Dresden) was scheduled to conduct the concert but was indisposed and replaced by Julian Kuerti (son of the pianist Anton).

The most highly satisfying performance was that of Richard Strauss' Don Juan - which was given an interpretation of ardour and passion. For once, the MPO horns (which are crucial in Don Juan) did not disappoint with any obvious cracked notes and fudged entries.

Baich's previous performance in KL was with Lorin Maazel in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. As with her previous performance in KL, there were shortcomings in her technique. This is surprising as she studied with such a notable pedagogue (Prof. Boris Kuschnir). The technical shortcomings were notable in the swifter portions of the Bruch 1st and 3rd movements. Her best moments came in the lyrical 2nd movement.

The Beethoven Eroica that followed after the interval was a good interpretation but I believe that Kuerti has yet to fully form his ideas of this massive masterpiece. One of the very best performances at DFP of the piece remains in the memory and this was of the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin under previous principal conductor Ingo Metzmacher.

A "very fast" Mahler 9

2011-08-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

The MPO under Claus Peter Flor played Mahler's valedictory Ninth Symphony for the second time on 7 and 8 May 2011 in the DFP. Benjamin Zander led the MPO in first set of Mahler Symphony No 9 performances played at the DFP in September 2002. That was a wonderful occasion with Zander personally giving the pre-concert talk as well.

Claus Peter Flor is a wonderful conductor - especially in the great Austro-German works. He however has a penchant for swift speeds. Unfortunately, the fast speeds do not work so well in Mahler 9 and throughout this performance on 7 May 2011, there was a lack of repose in what is arguably Mahler's swan song.

The lack of repose were quite apparent in the long 1st and 4th movements. The 2nd and 3rd movements (Im Tempo eines gemachlichen and Rondo Burleske respectively) were given the virtuoso orchestral treatment - especially the latter.

The audience was a bit more "polite" and lukewarm in its applause (than Zander's performance) and this shows that Flor's performance this time out was very good, rather than great.

de Maistre's innovative harp concert

2011-04-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Kudos to the DFP for organizing a very interesting harp concert. Ex-VPO harpist Xavier de Maistre presented 2 harp concertos - the first by Boieldieu and the second was by Haydn. Flanking the two harp concertos at this concert on 12 February 2011 was Mozart's Serenata Notturna K 239 (with principals from the MPO taking on the solo string parts) and Haydn's Farewell Symphony.

The Mozart was well played but the soloists seemed submerged in the musical texture and they did not stand out except for the prolix cadenzas that each played. Harpist de Maistre then played Boieldieu Harp Concerto superbly. This composer also played the harp and obviously he understood how to write the correct figurations for this lovely instrument.

After the interval, de Maistre treated us to a less-satisfactory performance of Haydn's Harp Concerto in D major. Normally, this is heard most of the time as a keyboard concerto. In my musical opinion, this concerto should remain a keyboard concerto and should not be transcribed as a harp concerto. The rapid figurations in the outer movements naturally did not work out very well in concert and there were quite a few finger slips by de Maistre.

At the end, we were treated to a fine performance of the Farewell Symphony by the MPO and maestro Claus Peter Flor. Yet again, this symphony had been performed at the DFP hall before. Surely, it is time for the DFP to invest in new musical scores - rather than re-hash the old library music.

The superb Berlin PO & Rattle in Singapore

2011-03-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

(Photo: Esplanade Hall, Singapore)

This was my first concert outside Malaysia for sometime and what a better way to see my first concert in Singapore's Esplanade by witnessing the Berlin PO (BPO) and chief conductor Sir Simon Rattle on their second night in Singapore. Their programme comprised of the Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances and Mahler Symphony 1.

Since the heydays of Herbert von Karajan (BPO chief conductor 1955-1989), there has been a move towards enlarging & diversifying the orchestra's repertoire (traditionally Germanic fare) by previous chief conductor Claudio Abbado (1989 to 2002). Present chief Rattle (2002-present) has been enlarging the orchestral canvas by performing diverse Russian fare (like Borodin's Symphony No 2, some Shostakovich symphonies and the first piece in this concert), some Dvorak tone poems as well as some exotic Messiaen & Ravel pieces.

I had been blessed to watch the BPO & Karajan in London twice in the 1980s (Bruckner 5 in the first concert and Beethoven 4 with R Strauss Ein Heldenleben in another) and once in Lucerne (Schoenberg Transfigured Night and Brahms 1) in 1988. What I can say about the BPO is their exalted standards had maintained over the years - even despite their hiring top musicians from all over the world now. Previously, it was an all-male & German dominated orchestra in Karajan's time.

The Rachmaninov was superbly played , with that gorgeous saxophone solo so lovely and haunting in the first movement. The second movement (like a Valse Triste almost) is spooky waltz - played with so many inflections of rubato that the BPO followed Rattle so closely (in a "leech-like" manner). It was always very precise and accurate but moving in the best BPO manner and tradition. The Slavic-coloured finale was extended to breaking point and the riotous ending brought the house down.

One marvelled at the fine degree of control in the opening section with its sustained octave A's (superior to our recent MPO performance under de Burgos), but its journey from the softest pianissimo to the gleam of a bright day had its slightly uneven tempo changes that Rattle & the BPO still have to iron out before committing this symphony to disc for EMI. (The second symphony has just been released on EMI).

The second movement's Landler was suitably heavy and the trio was gorgeously sung by the violin section with delightful glissandos. If there were a minor quibble, the Jewish-like episodes of the third movement’s funeral march could have freer and played with a bit more abandonment.

The anguished finale’s from the depths of despair to a blazing close (a shift to a glorious D major ending) was deliberate and with again some dubious (and lugubrious) tempo changes. But as usual, the superb BPO brass had a field day, with the excellent French horns and trumpets playing their hearts out in the coda. The standing ovation and chorus of bravos that greeted its conclusion was truly lengthy and awesome.

Doubly repetitive Dvorak concert

2011-03-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

I love Claus Peter Flor's conducting. Make no mistake about that. I generally love his concert programming too. Make no mistake about that too. But having yet another Dvorak Cello Concerto and Symphony No 9 is programming overkill. I also love Dvorak's Cello Concerto - which I think is the finest cello concerto in the repertoire.

The sudden resignation of Kees Bakel as conductor laureate left maestro Flor with little choice but to do a programme swap from Elgar Symphony No 1 to Dvorak 9 on 29 January 2011. Maybe if we could have hear the Suk Asrael Symphony (which the MPO have recorded for BIS) instead of the Elgar, would been very nice indeed. Asrael had been performed before but this would be a nice change from Dvorak 9.

Jean-Guihen Queyras plays a cello made in 1696 by Goffredo Cappa. The interpretation of the Dvorak Cello Concerto was sweet-toned from the French cellist (who was making his DFP debut) without being large than life. There were a few minor technical slips but his interpretation was hugely enjoyable and the audience was rewarded with a Bach Cello Suite encore.

The Dvorak 9 (after the interval) was well played but the dynamism of Flor's previous DFP concert of the same piece was more memorable in my mind. Perhaps the MPO was still feeling the effects of Bakel's very sudden withdrawal and resignation.

James Ehnes' very polished Prokofiev

2011-03-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

A James Ehnes concert is a guarantee of technical excellence. This concert on 27 November 2010 with Claus Peter Flor and the MPO was a great follow-up from his previous showing here with the Glazunov VC.

As one can hear from his recent superb recordings (like the Paganini 24 Caprices on Onyx, Mendelssohn VC (with Ashkenazy) & the Octet as well as the violin encores played on the Fulton collection), Ehnes' name on a concert programme ensures technically perfect playing, superb and classy violin ("Heifetz-like") playing, a warm rounded tone and an excellent understanding of the idiom of the piece.

The Prokofiev VC 2 fared very well indeed - and received one of the best interpretations ever in the DFP Hall. It even surpassed a previous Boris Belkin concert. My only grouse is that the soloists that the MPO and DFP invite collaborate on giving audiences here repeat performances of the same core orchestral and solo repertoire. Why can't we have a premiere performance of the Khachaturian VC, Kabalevsky VC or even the Miaskovsky VC instead?

With the excellent Ehnes performance of the Prokofiev VC 2, what followed after the interval - Shostakovich's Symphony No 8 fell short of the pre-interval performing standards. It was well played despite the MPO musicians coming to the piece probably for the first time.

Superb Sleeping Beauty

2011-03-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

The perennial loved conductor of film with live music from the MPO, Carl Davis completed the third installment of the Tchaikovsky set of three ballets. This time, he played Sleeping Beauty on 6 November 2010 - having performed Swan Lake and The Nutcracker in previous years.

As usual, the DFP projected the film onto the big screen over the orchestra (in the "pit"). There were some inevitable ensemble problems and timing within the orchestra and co-ordination with the film sequence. The Bolshoi ballet production was excellent but the film colours was slightly dated.

Again, Carl Davis provided the audience with yet another enjoyable night out. I wonder what other movie & music magic that Davis can unearth in future concerts in the years ahead.

Thibaudet's superb St Saens PC 5

2011-03-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yet another mix & match from the MPO - this time Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice and Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet make their umteenth appearance at the DFP. The saving grace this time was St Saens Piano Concerto No 5 (the Egyptian) with the superb Jean Yves Thibaudet on 30 October 2010.

Stephene Deneve, a rising French conductor (who is making his reputation in the UK) made his DFP Hall debut. This was enjoyable conducting - especially in the Dukas - nothing like French conductors conducting their own music. It definitely conjured images of Mickey Mouse in the 1939 Fantasia cartoon.

The Prokofiev R&J was well played but I think a more memorable performance of this was given at a gala before Claus Peter Flor became MD of the MPO.

The star of the show this night was definitely Thibaudet, with his lovely tone and shading in all three movements. The first movement's opening was so lovely and hymn-like, whilst the exotic second movement had some fine playing. Most impressive was the last movement with its lively inter-play of pianist & orchestra and a surging coda to end it all. Thibaudet's performance this night even superceded his high standards set on his recent CD of the same piece. Bravo Jean-Yves!

Russian & Ravel orchestral night

2011-03-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Yet another re-hashed programme from the MPO and Claus Peter Flor. This is especially true of the Glinka Russlan & Ludmilla Overture as well as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Perhaps the Ravel Left Hand Concerto was a relatively rare visitor to the DFP Hall - played by up and coming DFP debutant Alexandre Tharaud on 25 September 2010.

Despite hearing the Glinka many times in the DFP Hall, Flor's interpretation was briskly played but with much additional colour that was missing from previous showings. The second subject has much nuance and shaping and on the reprise, there were subtle dynamic shadings and colouring that made it sound different from its first appearance. A much enjoyable morsel.

Tharaud played Ravel's concerto magnificently. To play a piano with 2 hands is a difficult enough feat but to handle Ravel's one-handed piece (with parts that often sounds like 2 hands playing together) is magnificent - especially when superbly played by Frenchman Tharaud.

In the second half, we were treated to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Flor's interpretation was quite good but it did not seem to efface memories of Lorin Maazel's "one-night" stand with the MPO some years back. Now that was a truly excellent performance and the MPO almost sounded like the NYPO (Maazel's orchestra at that time).

Now a suggestion to the DFP Hall, Russian orchestral nights can comprise of so many other pieces (like Gliere's The Red Poppy, Kabalevsky's Violin Concerto and Third Piano Concerto, Shostakovich Second Piano Concerto, Khachaturian's Violin Concerto, etc - which all have not been played at DFP). But the DFP Hall chooses to re-hash their limited scores and dishes out "classical oldies" to the public. What happened to educating the public here about good music that is out there?

A mixed gala performance

2011-03-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the golden age of singers have passed us by. Young and up & coming soprano Nicole Cabelle (2005 Cardiff Singer of the World winner) graced our 2010 gala concert on 18 September 2010. Unfortunately, she has a bad habit of garbling her words and her diction was in general very poor. There were various tests of her ability as she sung arias by Mozart (from Figaro), Puccini (Gianni Schicchi & La Boheme), Dvorak (Rusalka) and Gounod (Faust). An encore of Gershwin's Summertime re-inforced my view that she has poor clarity of diction and articulation.

The MPO under Flor gave a mixed performance. The first overture (Mozart's Magic Flute had some moments of un-characteristic poor ensemble as well as staid woodwind phrasing (in the flute & oboe scales). The Verdi Sicilian Vespers Overture was much better played - very dynamic playing. Dvorak's My Home Overture fell into an area of relative uninspired playing again before some superb and elegant phrasing (with lovely rubato) in Gounod's Faust Ballet Music (slightly abriged) from the MPO & Flor.

For my money, the Gounod Faust Ballet Music was the best piece of the night. Hopefully, Flor & the MPO can programme the whole piece in a future concert in the coming years (as I was taken by their performance this time).

Mahler 3 premiere at DFP

2011-03-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to the Mahler 3 in the DFP on 17 July 2010, but the programmed conductor and MD of the MPO, Claus Peter Flor fell ill and had to be replaced with Jahja Ling. Now Ling had conducted the MPO before with some measure of success, but I believe that Ling and the MPO had less practice time that what MD Flor would have enjoyed with the MPO.

The first movement (of about 35 minutes duration) was obviously the best prepared among the six movements. Here, we saw concentration and fine ensemble playing. In the later parts of the symphony, there were certainly niggles and tiredness creeping into the MPO's playing.

The CBSO and KL Children's chorus groups certainly acquitted themselves in the fun "Bimm Bamm" movement after the mezzo soprano Yvonne Naef sung the previous "O Mensch" very well.

The last movement (What Love Tells Me) was played slowly - perhaps far slower than the tempo I am used to. Therefore, it was difficult for the MPO (who were coming to this massive and long score first time) to sustain a performance with a slowish tempo. Nevertheless, it was great to hear Mahler 3 in the DFP hall. Perhaps MD Flor could re-program the piece and conduct himself with the long and arduous hours of rehearsal that would eventually make the performance wholly worthwhile attending.

Maestro Ling did quite well given the circumstances in a very difficult piece - which not many guest conductors filling-in in the last instance can do absolute justice to. One exception to the rule of doing well is Esa-Pekka Salonen's debut in 1983 in the Mahler 3 with the Philharmonia in London. This concert really enhanced Salonen's reputation and set him up for life as a conductor.

What a brilliant Mahler 1 from de Burgos

2011-03-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Having missed Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos previous concerts with the MPO in the past years, I was determined to attend this concert on 12 June 2010, with his own orchestration of the Albeniz Suite Espagnole (5 pieces of 8 orchestrated) as well as my favourite Mahler Symphony No 1. My friends said that de Burgos is a phenomenal musician and conductor. Therefore I had to see for myself and witness first hand on what the all fuss was about. All lot of conductor reputations are sometimes media-made and de Burgos is certainly a low-keyed personality amongst the elderly conductors today.

I bought a highly priced XRCD of the Albeniz (which is now autographed by maestro de Burgos along with an EMI Mendelssohn's Violin Concertos LP with Lord Menuhin!). On that XRCD, the Suite had a running order of Castilla, Asturias, Aragon, Cadiz, Sevilla, Granada, Cataluna and Cordoba. In concert with the MPO, 5 pieces were chosen and the running order was Castilla, Granada, Sevilla, Asturias and Aragon.

This was indeed a refreshing concert as the Albeniz was receiving its premiere at the DFP hall. Concert programming had become somewhat stale at the DFP and this was a refreshing change from the norm. Obviously with the excellent clarity of the DFP hall, the lovely orchestral version of the Suite had its brilliant moments including one very gorgeous flute solo (by Hristo Dobrinov).

After the interval, I witnessed one of the very best Mahler 1's in the DFP hall. This probably included MPO/Bakels as well as Pittsburgh/Jansons here. The playing was not flawless with little niggles here and there (like the ensemble playing was not spot on when the orchestra did not change together at the multiple octave "A" at the beginning of the symphony).

However, the MPO musicians really adore de Burgos as a man and conductor. They built up the interpretation of the Mahler lovingly with ideal tempos and relished the complex details of nature that Mahler "painted" on his first massive orchestral canvas. Even the usual brilliant-toned trumpeter Jon Dante played with an unusually warm tone. The grand conclusion brought the house down and the audience gave maestro de Burgos a long and rousing standing ovation.

If the DFP ever release a live series of CD performances, I believe that this one performance would be an excellent one to launch a DFP-Live CD series. I would certainly be the first in the queue to obtain the disc. I believe this performance is one of the 3 best Mahler 1's I have heard. The other two on CD are Gary Bertini/Cologne RSO (EMI) and Rafael Kubelik/BRSO (Audite).

Now the next interesting comparison is to see how the Berlin PO & Sir Simon Rattle fare in this very same symphony in the Esplanade in Singapore in November 2010. I already have the tickets for this and will report back here in due course.

A memorable Schumann tribute

2010-05-30T02:05:00.000-07:00

This Schumann's bicentenary tribute featured the Overture, Scherzo & Finale, the Piano Concerto Op 54 and the Spring Symphony. John Neschling and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet made their DFP conducting and piano debuts here at this event respectively. Of the two artists, the conductor is a very impressive musician with very interesting credentials.

His grandmother was a cousin of the great composer Arnold Schöenberg and married Arthur Bodanzky, music director in Ulm, Germany. He studied conducting under Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and under Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa in Tanglewood. Later, he won important international conducting competitions and went back to Brazil in 1973 to assume the position of music director of the municipal theatres of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and has recorded extensively for BIS.

I particularly enjoyed the orchestral pieces as the control the conductor exerted over the MPO players was very impressive - with clarity of execution, depth of tone, unanimity of phrasing, tight ensemble and great interpretive ideas. Even the usually poorly tuned MPO horns played with an unusual accuracy and steady pitch, without any discernable cracked "notes".

The pianist must still be a rising star in the making with a good touch. However, in the first two movements, he appeared nervous and had quite a few keyboard mis-hits - resulting in wrong chording within his pianistic line and the orchestra too. The last movement surged with an excellent swagger - so much better than the previous strained outing with that horrible pianist Andreas Haefliger (who last played this concerto with the MPO). Bavouzet duly rewarded the audience with a French encore in the form of Debussy's Preludes Book 2 No 3 La puerta del vino.

I believe that the MPO played very well with Neschling and he should be invited back for a return conducting visit.

What a superb Buchbinder triple act

2010-05-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

The Viennese Piano Concert on 25 April 2010 featured Haydn's D major Piano Concerto, Mozart 's Piano Concerto No 22 K 482 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 1. At hand to oversee the proceedings on the piano and conducting the MPO, was 64-year old Rudolf Buchbinder. Buchbinder perhaps took the Haydn at too slow a speed overall and I felt that this concerto had a slight lack of sprightliness that Haydn needed. I remember an unforgettable concert by Leif Ove Andsnes and the Norwegian CO here at the DFP and the interpretation was just lovely and so similar to their EMI CD of 3 Haydn Piano Concertos.

The Mozart was the best performance of the afternoon, with the first movement given its due grandeur, the second movement a lyric grace and the third movement a lilting playfulness. The Beethoven concerto was well played but did not surpass Ashkenazy's interpretation here in the DFP a few years ago. The audience were very taken by Buchbinder's triple act and refused to let him go. He obliged by playing Godowsky's Symphonic Metamorphosis on Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus. What an encore!

The DFP must invite Buchbinder to direct the MPO from the keyboard in more Mozart concertos. This man is a genius but the media have not made him out to be sufficiently "marketable" in the classical music sphere. A great pity.

Spectacular Tchaikovsky from Oue

2010-05-01T23:44:00.000-07:00

We are resigned to the fact that we may never see Seiji Ozawa in the DFP hall but a perennial favourite Japanese conductor with the MPO and the KL audience - Eiji Oue - was in charge of the great Tchaikovsky evening on 10 April 2010. Replacing Yevgeny Sudbin in the First Piano Concerto, was the rising Japanese-German star of the DG label - Alice Sara Ott. Her interpretation of the concerto was good and perhap even slightly sluggish in the famous opening tune. It was a reasonable interpretation but she lacked some tonal heft (that someone like Arcadi Volodos could muster up). There were some missed notes near the end of the third movement but the audience were treated to an encore by Liszt (La Campanella), which did not out-do Yundi Li's interpretation a few years ago.

The second half belonged to maestro Oue and he gave a very direct yet soulful interpretation of the dramatic fourth symphony. Simon Emes played a superb and haunting oboe solo in the second movement, which the strings scampered along with in the third pizzicato movement and whirled at a fantastic speed for the last movement. Nevertheless, it was an extremely good performance of the Tchaikovsky Fourth. This is not out-do the visiting Philadelphia Orchestra's interpretation under maestro Sawallisch years ago at the DFP. However, the MPO is improving vastly and steadily under Claus Peter Flor and its current crop of visiting conductors.

Mozart galore

2010-05-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

We had an abundance of Mozart for this 4 April 2010 afternoon concert. The best item of the concert was the first piece, Mozart's famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - played with loving care for detail, phrasing and colour by the MPO strings and guest conductor Christian Arming (who was making his DFP debut). Next up was also soloist Barnabas Kelemen (who was also making his DFP debut in Mozart's Third Violin Concerto). Playing a Guarnerius del Gesu violin on loan to him from the state of Hungary, Kelemen's performance was too robust for my liking. It was un-"Grumiaux" like altogether [The Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux is one of the best interpreters of the Mozart concertos on CD].

Nevertheless, the audience loved Kelemen's performance and he had to perform 2 encores (Paganini's First Caprice Op 1 - which was astoundingly delivered and also Bartok's Solo Sonata (last movement)) to satisfy the KL audience. In the second half, we were treated to a good performance of Mozart's penultimate symphony (No 40) but Arming's interpretation sounded slightly too "bloated" with its many polyphonic lines clashing for attention.

Lovely Czech Landscapes

2010-05-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

The concert on 6 March 2010 featured a first half of unusual Czech works (Dvorak's The Wood Dove and Martinu's Violin Concerto No 2) but was balanced with Dvorak's great Symphony No 8 in the second half. The concert opened with a rarely played tone poem by Dvorak - The Wood Dove. The Wood Dove has a casual, unhurried majesty, tensions and textures whose occasional modulations even recall Tchaikovsky. Congratulations to Flor for choosing to educate us on the beauties of unusual Dvorak, of which conductors like Sir Simon Rattle and Nikolaus Harnoncourt are also making recent recordings with the BPO and RCOA respectively. Next up, was Isabelle Faust to play the Martinu Violin Concerto No 2 (which was written for Mischa Elman). It was a good performance but ultimately, this concerto was not entirely memorable for the reason of a lack of good tune.

In the second half, we witnessed a superb performance of Dvorak's Eighth Symphony that far surpassed any other interpretation of the same piece at DFP by the MPO (especially by previous MD Bamert). There was dramatic playing in the outer movements, with every nuance given full meaning and colour. The third movement with its delicate string portamentos was brilliantly played by the MPO upper strings. Maestro Flor really excels in the great classical masterpieces and I hope that he re-visits the major compositions in the Romantic era in the seasons to come.

Brilliant Alpine, Awful Lefevre

2010-05-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

The concert on 27 February 2010 was one that had curious extremes. The piano soloist Alain Lefevre returned to the DFP for another visit. Thank God I missed his first concert. This concert saw him performing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. I rather think he bashed through the whole of this concerto with an exceptionally fast tempo which saw no moments of repose. Also, he did not have a good touch on the piano either - often it was heavy (and indeed he thumped the poor DFP Steinway piano) and he did not play anything soft at all. Those delicate and far-reaching Beethovenian modulations from E flat major to B major had no impact on my sensitive ears at all. In my professional opinion, he is the worst pianist that I have heard in the DFP - even worse than Andreas Haefliger (I did not like his interpretation of the Schumann Piano Concerto).

Thank God, I heard a stunning performance of the Richard Strauss Alpine Symphony by the MPO and their chief Claus Peter Flor. We had been treated to 2 prior performances of this symphony but this interpretation easily surpassed those performances. There was precision, drama, a drive and most importantly, a picturesque interpretation of all the 22 sub-sections of this magnificent work. On this showing, the MPO and Flor is one of the classiest orchestral-conductor acts in the Asia-Pacific region. Kudos to the DFP management for bring Flor and the MPO together and may they bring great music to the DFP-going concert public for many, many years to come.

Ivanov in a lovely Mendelssohn VC debut

2010-02-17T23:44:00.000-08:00

The concert on 30 January 2010 had the "Fair Melusine Overture" by Mendelssohn as the unusual first opening piece of a fine MPO/Kees Bakels concert. The overture was quite well played, except some uncomfortable moments in the upper string parts (when performing the rapid string crossing passages).

The previous Mendelssohn VC performance by Chloe Hanslip and Claus Peter Flor at one of the earliest DFP gala concerts was very poor - with Hanslip rushing and garbling her triplets in the first movement of this masterpiece. In fact, the Mendelssohn VC was too tough a piece for Hanslip to sustain. There was no such misadventure on Ivanov's part. He was entirely in command technically, producing a very sweet tone from the 1699 Lady Tennant Stradivarius.

This was beautiful playing on Ivanov's part, with subtle shading and portamento sparingly used in the lyrical portions of this most seamless of all violin concertos in the repertoire. Tempi chosen were standard fare and articulation was very fine too. Again, with young and up-and-coming artists that have come to DFP recently, they lack a special persona and lack something individual to say. This was also true of Ivanov and a comparison could be made with a supreme artist in the Mendelssohn VC (like Alfredo Campoli in a fantastic 1954 Beulah CD with Sir Adrian Boult). He gave a superb encore in the form of Ysaye's Solo Sonata Op 27 No 2 (Les furies - Allegro furioso).

After the interval, we were treated to a good performance of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. Kees Bakels is a good conductor but does not highlight contrasts and magnify interesting points of the score. Indeed, he is no Karajan, Böhm, Bruno Walter or Andre Cluytens and did not give a cutting edge performance of the score. Dramatic contrasts were under-played (e.g. timpani in the storm movement as well as a simple triplet motive in the first movement). Nevertheless, the audience enjoyed themselves in a well-thought out programme.

Sleepy Kraus, excellent Mozart, dramatic Schubert

2010-02-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

Joseph Martin Kraus was a classical composer who is sometimes referred to as the "Swedish Mozart". Whoever who coined up this "Swedish Mozart" title, in my opinion is entirely misled and it is an utter misnomer. Frankly, the Symphony in C sharp minor was utterly boring and does not warrant any modern concert attention.

The concert on 28 November 2009 opened with this moribund and meandering piece. Claus Peter Flor and the MPO should not waste their effort and audience attention on such trashy compositions. Perhaps a better first piece to begin the concert with is a Sinfonia by JC Bach (Anything from the Op 3, 6, 9 or 18 set should be anytime better than the Kraus).

Things perked up when Robert Levin came on to play Mozart's Piano Concerto No 23 - one of the Austrian master's most jolly creations of the genre. There was a joyous feel about the piece, the tempi were lively, articulation was clear and phrasing was also very sharp. Levin played his own cadenzas for the Mozart, which was a welcome change from the usually played ones. The audience gave him a very warm round of applause.

The Schubert "Unfinished Symphony" that followed after the interval was warmly played with singing lines in the cellos and woodwinds. The MPO and Flor gave a suitably dramatic account of the first movement, with a delightful rendition of the second movement. This was a lovely concert in the "Age of Elegance" series but the Kraus Symphony was far from elegant.

Dong-Hyek Lim's fine Chopin debut

2010-02-17T23:06:00.001-08:00

21 November 2009 saw the DFP debut of Dong-Hyek Lim in Chopin's Piano Concerto No 2. A famous protégé of Martha Argerich under the EMI CD label ("Martha Argerich Presents"), he is well known in the concert circuit and has played concerts with Dutoit, Temirkanov, Masur and Ashkenazy.

This piano concerto is a difficult one to bring off. In so many ways, it is different from the war-horse concertos (like Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky). Its difficulty is in the florid writing and rubato timing that is essential for a fine performance. The pianist's rhythm has to be immaculate and yet this Chopin concerto needs an improvisatory feel to it.

In this aspect, Dong-Hyek Lim satisfied the audience fully. Technically, he was up to the challenges of the concerto. With time, he will improve and have something unique to say in future. Claus Peter Flor and the MPO accompanied him respectfully and musically.

The concert began with Mozart's The Magic Flute Overture - a fine and swift rendition with superb flute solos. After the interval, Flor and the MPO gave a sleepy performance of Copland's Appalachian Spring. I find that Flor is a great conductor of the great classical masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire. But when he conducts lesser pieces, he seems to be at sea with them. In that manner, Riccardo Muti is a superb conductor who can elevate the most obscure piece to higher levels. Make no mistake, Claus Peter Flor is still a very fine conductor and has been the best music director that the MPO has had.

Flor and the MPO redeemed themselves with a superb rendition of Ravel's Bolero, with two side-drummers on either side of the conductor in front of the stage. This was excellently played and received rapturous applause.

Joo & Igudesman give KL audiences a hilarious time

2010-02-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

Joo and Igudesman are what Victor Borge was to my father’s generation. With the wonders of the Internet and YouTube, it was simple to view what I was letting myself in for when I wanted to go to the double-bill of their concerts on 16 and 17 November 2009. Looking on their official website (http://www.igudesmanandjoo.com/), I managed to view clips like “A Little Nightmare Music”, “Rachmaninov had Big Hands”, “I will survive”, “Mozart Bond”, “Riverdancing Violinist”, “Alla Molto Turca”, “Being Gidon Kremer”, “Fistful of Dollars” and my then favourite clip – “Where is the Remote?”

All these musical comedy snippets and many more to boot were played at the 2-night bonanza at the DFP. The two shows were played right through from beginning to end without any interval in between. This takes enduring stamina and concentration from both Joo and Igudesman. The shows were spontaneously performed and had the KL audience in fits from beginning to end. This musical comedy material is constantly evolving and as I found out from the duo in a press conference, they set aside time from performing to come up with new skits.

On the first night, they had the musical company of Gidon Kremer and the superb Kremerata Baltica to re-enact “Being Gidon Kremer” – a hilarious narration of Kremer’s musical life. This included Joo interrogating “Kremer” and ensuring that he would win the Paganini competition to make sure that he could survive in this most challenging profession in the performing arts. A sketch that was not seen on the net also put “Kremer” (played by Igudesman) in a recording studio cutting a movement from a Bach Partita (BWV1001 in G minor, 1st movement). Add some vibrato, Joo says. Add reverb. Add some scratchy LP noises to sound like Yehudi Menuhin. Try to play in a historically informed manner. Make the CD cover. The CD cover must have a scantily clad girl in a wet-shirt in the Baltic Sea (A Vanessa Mae marketing gimmick). Kremer’s name on the CD cover must be larger than Bach’s. You get the drift.

The DFP is to be congratulated on bringing this fantastic musical duo to KL. Several years down the road, the DFP should bring them back again to grace our concert hall with their new skits. Great shows and keep up the innovative programming, DFP.

Ashkenazy & the Sydney SO

2010-02-16T19:22:00.001-08:00

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and Vladimir Ashkenazy brought about very sincere and honest music-making. They also brought along rising pianist Behzod Abduraimov in two war-horse piano concerto performances that were excellently played. The programmes (on 26 & 27 October 2009) comprised mainly Russian Romantic repertoire that maestro Ashkenazy excels in – Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and also some English music from Elgar (The Enigma Variations). The piano concertos featured were those of Tchaikovsky (No 1) and Rachmaninov (No 3).

The Prokofiev symphonies chosen for this SSO tour were the First (the most popular) and the Fifth (the masterpiece) – amongst the seven that the composer wrote. The First was played in sprightly manner and the epic performance of the Fifth was thoroughly enjoyable.

As for the piano concertos, the London International Piano Competition winner Abduraimov clearly has a great future in front of him. There was no great interpretive stance in the concertos that is very individually unique yet from Abduraimov but at least his playing was not as exaggerated as Lang Lang (in his awful Tchaikovsky PC 1 performance with the touring Philadelphia Orchestra some years ago in KL).

Tonally, he lacks some weight and heft (Arcadi Volodos who also toured KL some years back is supreme in this characteristic) but given time, he would improve in this aspect. Nevertheless, these two concerts were very enjoyable and it is always a pleasure to watch Ashkenazy make music in KL. He is a much welcome and honoured musical visitor here.

The most fantastic Fantastique I've heard

2010-02-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

It was a pity that I could not attend the previous week’s 2009-10 gala, in which the MPO played Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 under Claus Peter Flor. Repeat performances of symphonic masterpieces under Flor always beg comparisons with previous MD Kees Bakels. This concert (10 October 2009) entitled “French Devils, Games & Fantasies” brought out the best in the MPO in an exhilarating performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. It was one of the very best interpretations of Berlioz’s masterpiece that I have ever heard in concert or on disc.

There was a very precise idea of what the piece meant to Flor. There was a moving tenderness when the “idée fixe” appeared in the first four movements. The ballroom scene (the second movement) was swift and elegant, with lovely cornet playing from principal Jon Dante. Usually Dante’s trumpet tone is too bright for my liking, but his cornet tone sounded aptly warm and rounded that night. The fourth movement was full of menace as the hero was taken to the scaffold. The fifth and final movement was full of spooky sounds and the MPO dispatched the piece with gusto. I played my usual favourite CD versions (Sir Colin Davis and Marc Minkowski) of the piece after the concert and my memory of this MPO concert came up trumps. Congratulations maestro Flor and the MPO!

The concert opened with Auber’s Fra Diavolo Overture (a premiere performance in the DFP) but this paled by comparison to Paul Paray’s fantastically energetic CD version on Mercury. Debussy’s Jeux with its complex rhythmic patterns had many moments of uncertainty amongst the MPO players but they redeemed themselves with that fantastic performance of the Berlioz.

A star conductor is born

2010-02-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

Being a violinist, I usually attend concerts to see the star solo violinist. However this time, I was transfixed by the conductor Xian Zhang, who premiered Respighi's Three Botticelli Pictures at the DFP. These were lovely little musical portraits, inspired by three Botticelli paintings in Florence, Italy.

However, the evening's success was mainly due to her superb interpretation of Robert Schumann's Fourth Symphony (which I have also performed in an orchestra in England). It is not an easy symphony to bring off - especially in the seamless transition from the third movement to the fourth movement. Xian Zhang had the whole MPO eating out of her hand and received rapturous applause.

Li Chuan Yun was the violin soloist in Lalo's Symphonie espagnole. Relative to Feng Ning (who impressed me greatly in Paganini's VC No 1 in 2008), Li seemed intent on showing his technical skills on the violin - rather than showing how great Lalo's music is. I sent my friend Harry (in UK) both Feng Ning and Li's CD but Harry was impressed with Li's CD. However, when you see these two Chinese violinists perform - I'd certainly know who I would like to see again here in KL. Feng Ning wins hands down.

As I said, the night belonged to Xian Zhang. In March 2009, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi announced the appointment of Xian Zhang as its next music director, the first woman to be named music director of an Italian symphony orchestra, effective with the 2009-2010 season. The future of conductors and conducting seems more secure with Gustavo Dudamel and Xian Zhang around.

A magnificent Mahler Sixth

2010-02-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

Years ago, Mozart and Beethoven recordings dominated the record and CD catalogues. More recently, Mahler has taken over the mantle and top position for CD shelves in classical music shops. Octogenarian Mahlerian Bernard Haitink is probably working on his fourth Mahler cycle with the Chicago SO currently.

When Mahler turns up at the DFP Hall, there is also the guarantee of a full hall. Again, it is also refreshing to compare Claus Peter Flor's interpretation with Kees Bakels version. It is more direct and faster interpretation than Bakels, which had a slower fuse and had more emphasis on structure.

The Andante was especially lovely (here the string tone was just out of this world) and was placed third in the context of the whole symphony. This is fortunate, as my personal conviction is that it should also be placed third in the whole scheme of things - in line with what Benjamin Zander discussed on his Telarc CD of the Sixth. I was disappointed that Flor adopted the two "hammer-blows" approach to the score in the finale (rather than three hammer-blows that I prefer).

Nevertheless, I never tire of Claus Peter Flor's energetic conducting and I felt that this Mahler Sixth was even more enjoyable than Kees Bakels' interpretation. I would be looking forward to Flor's Mahler Third and Eighth if he were to do these gargantuan symphonies in the near future.

A "cool" Shostakovich VC No 1

2010-02-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

This 23 May 2009 concert was probably the third performance of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 in the DFP Hall. The two previous performances were given by Vadim Repin and Ilya Gringolts - very stupendous interpretations given by 2 distinguished Russian artists.

Prefaced by Lindberg's Arena (I did not find much to enjoy in this piece - relative to the same composer's Clarinet Concerto), Isabelle Faust's interpretation was much "cooler" than that of Repin and Gringolts. It was less brooding and had less "angst". Nevertheless, it was a very fine and technically assured performance - which unfortunately lacked the last ounce of "Russian-ness".

After the concert, we heard a premiere performance of Borodin's Second Symphony. It was an innovative piece of concert programming that the DFP Hall and conductor Hannu Lintu must take equal credit for. Unfortunately, Borodin's Second Symphony is not as memorable as Rachmaninov's Second and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphonies.

Nevertheless, this was an excellent piece of concert programming. Maybe I could put in a request for Arensky's Variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky and Gliere's The Red Poppy Suite in future Russian-themed concerts.

A wonderful Haydn & a good Bruckner

2010-02-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

11 April 2009 saw the DFP debut of rising French pianist Cedric Tiberghien in Haydn's Piano Concerto in D major. A BBC New Generation artist as well as a rising recording star for Hyperion and Harmonia Mundi, Tiberghien certainly lives up to the fine reputation that he is steadily garnering from the international music critics.

Prefaced by a short Haydn overture (La Fedelta premiata) which was also in D major, Tiberghien performed admirably with a light and classical touch and also an informed awareness of articulation and phrasing. The Haydn Piano Concerto emerged with a sprightliness. As an interpretation, it was on par with Leif Ove Ansdnes's concert performance here in KL with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra some years back.

The concert seemed over-long with Bruckner's massive Fifth Symphony programmed after the interval. This is my favourite Bruckner symphony - having heard Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin PO perform it in London in 1981. It was also good to hear a different interpretation from Kee Bakels this time, relative to Claus Peter Flor and the MPO's concert a few years before.

This time, there was more time for Bruckner's vistas of large symphonic sound to expand into the glorious DFP Hall. The performance was overall slower (but not sluggish) and also grander at the final coda than Flor's interpretation. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this concert immensely.

Magnificent Metzmacher & the DSOB

2009-09-22T02:33:00.000-07:00

17 March 2009 saw the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin (DSOB) debut under Ingo Metzmacher. The programme was originally Berg's Violin Concerto followed by Stravinsky's Firebird but the latter piece was replaced by Beethoven's Eroica at the last minute. Webern's Passacaglia also preceded the Berg in a late programme change.

We have heard a few Berg Violin Concerto performances in the DFP - namely by Chantal Juilliet (a shaky interpretation) and Frank Peter Zimmermann & the LSO (an impressive performance). But this Christian Tetzlaff outing with the DSOB was probably the most impressive showing at the DFP Hall yet. Blessed with outstanding bow control, he gave a most technically secure interpretation that was so expressive of the grief that Berg had to suffer over the loss of his daughter.

We were then treated to an impressive showing in Beethoven's Eroica - played swiftly using "period" performance ideas. The first movement really went at a tremendous lick (an almost 1 beat per bar feeling) and the second movement's Funeral March had some suitable gravitas despite its fast tempo too. The Scherzo & Trio was also impressive in its clear articulation of the strings and woodwinds with fine horn playing to boot. The Finale went at a great lick as well but DSOB is a fine orchestra under Metzmacher and coped extremely well.

The best piece of the evening was the encore - Brahms' Hungarian Dance No 6 in D major - played with such elan and verve - despite the musical rubato hesitations, the DSOB and Metzmacher gave us a very wonderful and memorable interpretation.

Lively Tiempo, sleepy Sinaisky

2009-09-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

On 28 February 2009, I attended a debut concert by pianist Sergio Tiempo and conductor Vassily Sinaisky at the DFP. The programme comprised of Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. We have heard better renditions of the Dvorak at the DFP by orchestras like the Philadelphia on tour here. Played with livelier tempo and with greater emphasis of the syncopated rhythms by the Philadelphia, this rendition by the MPO was slightly staid in comparison.

The small-built Sergio Tiempo then emerged to play the Liszt concerto. He possess a lovely tone but the tempo set gave him some trouble articulating all the elaborate notes that Liszt penned down. As a result, there were some finger slips and some questionable ensemble with the orchestra. Nevertheless, it was an impressive debut but still fell short of the standard that Arcadi Volodos set in his magnificent debut recital a few years ago.

Sinaisky then led the MPO in a sleepy performance of the Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony. Perhaps the tempi adopted were traditionally slow and sluggish and this symphony may be over-played in the DFP Hall. Much as I love Rachmaninov's 2nd Symphony, I felt that this was another sleepy occasion and a disappointing Sinaisky debut at the DFP.

A very successful LOTR's symphonic concert

2009-09-22T02:03:00.000-07:00

A sold out audience for 3 days clamoured for the tickets for the Howard Shore score of the LOTR Symphony conducted by Markus Huber. I attended the concert on 21 December 2008 and had a fun time too. The DFP ushers were all dressed up as characters from the award winning trilogy of films. This added to the fun of the occasion as well.

To aid the pictorial elements to the very long score, there were lovely drawings that projected onto the screen to help with the narration. The Young KL Singers and the KL Children's Choir were also in attendance but the intonation of the choirs went slightly awry in places. However, the boy treble (Andrew Sanjay George) and soprano soloist (Ann de Renais) were duly impressive in their delivery. The MPO played with gusto under Markus Huber's direction and this proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable concert.

The DFP should take great credit to organize such a concert - it really helps bring the Malaysian public (that may be shy of a serious Classical concert) into the DFP Hall for their first visit to a world class concert hall.

Hamelin's Brahms Concerto debut

2009-09-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

Having a long church programme on Sunday and taking lunch after caused me to miss the Nielsen Symphony No 2 (the 1st of 2 items of the concert on 7 December 2008). Joining the concert after the interval, I was glad I did not miss Marc-Andre Hamelin's debut performance of the Brahms Second Piano Concerto. His massive CD discography of unusual and very difficult piano repertoire for Hyperion is already daunting enough. So, indeed it was a great treat to hear him in the better of the two Brahms piano concerto - the No 2 in B flat major.

Well, suffice to say that Hamelin did not disappoint his audience with his strong and passionate performance of the Brahms. Despite his superlative technique, there were some finger-slips in the concerto but this did not matter as the MPO under the excellent Osmo Vanska aided him in a magnificent and taut account of this romantic score. Of particular delight were the lighter than usual effects in the Scherzo and the last movement - often played in a heavier and more Teutonic manner - but done just right with the sufficient amount of "lift".

We should invite both artists back and pair them in slightly more obscure and diverse repertoire like the Busoni and/or the Shostakovich Piano Concertos. Now that would be an appealing thought indeed!

Katsaris & Kalmar's classical show

2009-09-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

22 November 2008 saw conductor Carlos Kalmar and pianist Cyprien Katsaris in a Classical period programme of Haydn's Symphony No 102, Mozart's Piano Concerto No 21 and Beethoven's Symphony No 2. Generally well-played with reasonable sized forces, the Haydn and Beethoven were suitably programmed before and after the Mozart respectively.

Tempi in this concert were well chosen and the Haydn and Beethoven were played in a sprightly manner. The Mozart Piano Concerto followed in much the same vein - often very light and aerial in mood and feeling. Katsaris played it so very fast (it had some obvious finger slips too) that it did not even much time to breathe and ensemble with the orchestra suffered. However, the audience loved Katsaris's performance and there was a long queue post-concert for his autographs (on the programme and the Piano 21 CDs that he brought along).

The best performance of the evening was the Beethoven - which put the piece in its proper context and chronology between the Haydn/Mozart era and Beethoven First Symphony and the massive "Eroica" Symphony. Kudos to Kalmar for placing the piece so precisely.

Excellent Ehnes excels in Glazunov & Ravel

2009-09-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

The next concert I attended was a great tonic after Sarah Chang's very rushed Bruch Concerto No 1. The soloist on 8 Nov 2008 was James Ehnes - a very musical and talented violinist who had played at DFP before. Since the release of his first CD on Telarc of the Paganini 24 Caprices, his musical career has gone from strength to strength. The conductor for this concert was Gilbert Varga - son of the famous violinist Tibor Varga. Varga was making his DFP debut.

Humperdinck's Overture (Hansel & Gretel) was the curtain raiser to Ehnes' superb interpretation of the romantic Glazunov Violin Concerto. Playing the Marsick Strad (by courtesy of wealth philanthropist Dr David L. Fulton), he gave a marvellous rendition of Glazunov's work - secure in its execution, played with the requisite warmth and romanticism and accurate in technique. A similarly excellent rendition of Ravel's Tzigane followed after this.

The second half belonged to maestro Varga - who might have a lower profile than his illustrious father, but should be much better known in the conducting circles. Taught by the famous Sergiu Celibidache, he led the MPO in two entrancing performances of Ravel's Mother Goose and La Valse. Now, I am not a keen fan of French music in general but when Ravel is played the way Varga did with his commanding but yet elegant manner, I sat glued to the magic spells that maestro Varga conjured up. A definite conductor and soloist combination to invite back to the DFP in coming seasons!

Sarah Chang's speedy Bruch concerto

2009-09-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

1 November 2008 saw the revisit of Sarah Chang to the DFP Hall after a hiatus of a few years. The concert opened with Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol Op 34, one of my favourite orchestral pieces because of its colourful and vivid orchestration. I especially love the Berlin PO's version on DG under Lorin Maazel.

Despite the attentions of Chilean conductor Maximiano Valdes, there was insufficient colour and drama in Rimsky-Korsakov's masterpiece (that also rubs shoulders with Scheherazade and Russian Easter Festival Overture).

Now a Sarah Chang concert is an event not to be missed - because of her showmanship. I had met her for a press interview before the concert and she told me that she is preparing a EMI of the Bruch Violin Concerto No 1 and Brahms Violin Concerto with Kurt Masur. It is due for release this fall.

The impressions of the Bruch is typical of a Sarah Chang concert - with generally excellent technique and passion. However, intonation in the higher registers veered on the sharp side and vibrato tending to be very fast and accentuating the sharpness of the intonation. There were some inconsistencies with the score (like pressing ahead of the final coda at the end of the concerto in the 3rd movement), thereby losing ensemble with the MPO. If the forthcoming EMI CD of the Bruch is of this standard, then the international critics would have a field day making similar musical criticisms.

I was not well with a bad cold and therefore had to miss the second half of the concert - which was an interesting concert concoction of Penderecki's Symphony No 2 (Christmas Symphony).

Fabulous Fabio Biondi & Europa Galante

2009-09-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

30 October 2008 saw the 1st performance in Malaysia by Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante. Biondi has the excellent reputation of being one of the foremost exponents of period-violin playing. The other prince of period-violin playing is Giuliano Carmignola (who has yet to play at the DFP).

The programme consisted of Vivaldi (Sinfonia RV 693, Violin Concerto RV357 and The Four Seasons) and Purcell (Abdelazer). Their concert here in KL certainly confirmed the dramatic impressions of their CDs, which is vivid and pictorial music-making - at the expense of beauty and lovely tones.

At times, one wished that Biondi and his orchestra played less vividly but with a more ingratiating tone. The Berlin Baroque Soloists under Rainer Kussmaul that came to DFP a few seasons ago, play with a lovelier tone but still a vivid imagination of the musical line and a very firm technique.

Nevertheless, all in all, it was a marvelous experience for the audience. Now, the next period instrument group that DFP could consider bringing in for a future season is the Venice Baroque Orchestra under Andrea Marcon and violinist Giuliano Carmignola. Now, that would be a really excellent treat for the Malaysian audience!

Solid Germanic performance from Flor

2009-09-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

After the previous concert disappointment of the Ma Vlast concert, the MPO and Claus Peter Flor redeemed themselves by playing an excellent German programme of Beethoven Egmont Overture, Mendelssohn's Double Piano Concerto in A flat (with Robert Levin & Ya-Fei Chuang) and Brahms Symphony No 1 on 11 October 2008.

Beethoven's Egmont Overture is my favourite overture of that German composer. Having heard the Vienna PO under Eugen Jochum years ago in the Royal Albert Hall at the PROMS, it sticks out as a wonderful piece in itself. The MPO's performance was full of tension that the piece requires and the lyrical woodwind lines stand out in the memory.

The Mendelssohn Double Piano Concerto is a concert hall rarity and I am grateful to maestro Flor for programming this piece. Obviously, Mendelssohn was one of the world's most gifted musical prodigies and this youthful work with its florid runs were very well-executed by the husband-and-wife soloists.

When I hear Brahms Symphony No 1, memories of Herbert von Karajan's live performance (which I attended in Lucerne 1988) flood back. Karajan is a master of transition and speed changes in this tricky symphony. When musicians like Flor (and even Gunter Wand) interpret this symphony, its tricky gear changes do trip them up. However, the concert was a valiant effort on Flor's part and certainly triumphed over previous music director Bamert's interpretation. Over time, Flor would refine his interpretation and improve on this very good performance. One bright spark of the concert was the un-named guest leader who played a wonderful solo in the 2nd movement of the Brahms though.

Flor and the MPO's first Ma Vlast

2009-09-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

What an excellent two days to choose to perform Smetana's magnificent cycle of six symphonic poems called Ma Vlast (that were composed between 1874 and 1879) - the dates were 29 and 31 August 2008. The idea of performing Ma Vlast on National Day (31 August 2008) must have been MD Claus Peter Flor's brainchild. It could not have been more appropriate as Ma Vlast means My Country.

Maestro Flor generally adopted fast tempi (as he usually does) but the orchestra (made of many musicians from different countries) did not quite adapt to Smetana's Czech idiom. Ensemble suffered as a result of Flor's swift tempi. Personally, I believe that slower speeds in Ma Vlast works better as the tone poems reflect musical life in the Bohemian countryside.

The Eastern bloc musicians identified with Smetana's idiom but some Western musicians were at a slight loss with the cycle. I wonder how the DFP/MPO orchestral management choose its players for each concert. One musician of note that was missing was the excellent principal flautist Hristo Dobinov. The MPO brass were not on their best form that night unfortunately.

Anyway, it was a good premiere performance but I am sure that the MPO would eventually get to grips with this wonderful score in time to come. A Czech conductor leading the MPO in a repeat performance would also help. Not one of the MPO's better efforts but there will be scope for further musical improvement next time around.

Two great Borodin Quartet performances

2009-02-08T16:54:00.000-08:00

We have seen the Emerson Quartet from USA a few years ago. Personally, I do find the Emerson ensemble over-rated (despite the long-standing DG recording contract) and found that to be so in that concert live. The Borodin String Quartet has been around for about 60 years and has changed personnel. However, the traditions (of the previous members that have moved on) are still maintained and remain intact.

They play 2 varied programmes of quartet staples as well as some rarities. The first concert (20 Aug 2008) comprised of Tchaikovsky's String Quartets Nos 1 and 3, Stravinsky's 3 Pieces and Smetana's String Quartet No 1 (From My Life) , whilst the second concert (27 Aug 2008) consisted of Beethoven's Op 18 No 2, Shostakovich's No 8 and Borodin's No 2.

A clear sign of their musical, technical and ensemble superiority could be heard in a direct comparison of the Shostakovich String Quartet No 8, which was also common to the Emerson Quartet's concert. Their performances of the great Russian quartets in the 2 concerts are beyond compare. It is always a pleasure to hear the Russian musicians at the DFP in the music of their own countrymen. (This also brings back great momeries of Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists at the DFP a few years before).

Encores at the concerts were a short piece by Stravinsky and a late Beethoven quartet movement - all beautifully played yet again.

The new broom (MD Claus Peter Flor) sweeps well

2009-02-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

A new season, a new breath of fresh air and new MD (Claus Peter Flor) to spruce up the 3 years of stale musical air at the DFP. Indeed, the last 3 years under Matthias Bamert had dampened the MPO musicians' enthusiasm for coming half way around the world to bring classical music to Malaysia.

Generally, the musical planning of the new season is also superior to the last 3. I am able to choose at least 30 concerts I wish to attend, whilst I struggled to reach 20 in the past 3 seasons.

A pre-concert season highlighting the famous Borodin String Quartet was also a good musical idea, and besides performing on its own, the quartet played with the MPO in a number of concerts. The concert under review opened with the favourite Rossini William Tell Overture, which was quite well played. Lead cellist Csaba Koros was expressive in his opening solo and the MPO was by and large inspired by Flor's direction. Flor had changed the seating of the orchestra around - with basses to the conductor's left, cellos right of the first violin and the second violin on the conductor's right. This allowed for better sound separation. However, although the performance of William Tell was memorable, it did not wipe off the memory of the magnificent performance of the same by the La Scala PO under Riccardo Muti some years ago.

The next piece was indeed a rarity. It was Spohr's Concerto for string quartet and orchestra in A minor. I heard it years ago on our local classical FM radio channel here but had not heard it since. Spohr's most famous composition is his Violin Concerto No 8 which has some recordings but is still a rarity in the concert hall. (Perhaps our MD can be persuaded to invite Hilary Hahn (who recorded it for DG) to perform this at the DFP in a forthcoming season).

We could see that the concerto for string quartet and orchestra is not a major work and despite the great efforts of maestro Flor and the superb Borodin Quartet, it may be one for the curiosity bin as its lacks melodic and compositional value. Nevertheless, it was nice to re-visit the piece after so many years.

What came after the interval was a stupendous performance of the Dvorak New World Symphony. If DFP recalled the recording that Bamert did during one of the previous opening galas, you'd hear the difference in the great things that maestro Flor did on this opening concert for the Dvorak symphony that Bamert strived to do but failed to achieve in 3 unproductive years in KL.

Tempi were generally lively, with every detail of Dvorak's wonderful scoring pointed with a sure and deft touch. Maestro Flor gave every single tremolo clarity, played the dynamics of the score so surely (so vital to the rise and fall of the phrases with appropriate accents), introduced some relaxation of the basic speeds at the lyrical moments, ensured rhythmic accuracy and gave the other minor musical details (subsidiary musical lines that would have got lost under Bamert) a through scrub down.

All in all, this was an auspicious start to the season that promises to yield so much in musical riches to come. Bravo maestro Flor and bravo MPO - thanks to our new musical broom that sweeps very well - Claus Peter Flor!

Boring Bamert signs off with Beethoven

2008-09-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

A full house is always guaranteed in most concert halls - that is, if you programme Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the concert. Boring maestro Bamert in his final concert managed a full house (quite unlike most of his other concerts) - because of the Beethoven 9. Well, the Eighth Symphony that began the concert was just played so-so for me. In my opinion, the size of the MPO was over-large and the tempi were a bit sluggish to say the least. This symphony is one of the most jovial amongst the nine and so it needs a lighter touch. But the sheer size of the orchestra just bogged the whole piece down - too heavy, without rhythmic lift and jollity.

In the second half, the Ninth Symphony is a colossus of a piece - the first ever to use a chorus in such a piece - preceding Mahler and his gargantuan choral-symphonic creations. However, Bamert chose to use a HIP (historically informed practice) manner of playing the whole piece. It just zipped swiftly from beginning to end without much drama. Transitions were not specially taken care of, dynamics were also under-played, the intensity of the piece was simply non-existent and the slow movement lacked any spirituality or repose. Again the final movement passed us by without any great musical interpretation. The most distinguished vocalist was the mezzo, Natascha Petrinsky (who had taken part in our Mahler 2 here years ago). The audience liked the performance but I think they were listening more to the notes that Beethoven wrote rather than what little Bamert was able to bring out from this massive piece.

Anyway, for my musical opinion on Bamert - he had spoilt the good work that Kees Bakels and the MPO began with. The orchestra (whilst still not that good yet) went seriously downhill during his tenure and I am really glad to see him go. Now, we look forward to the new reign of MD Claus Peter Flor (who is one of the best guest conductors to the MPO previously) who will now help to restore what Bamert had destroyed and to rebuild the MPO beyond the standard that they achieved under the Bakels tenure.

Bakels' magical Tchaikovsky evening

2008-09-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

You can guess that one of my favourite orchestral composers is Tchaikovsky. He is one of the top composers when it comes to finding the relevant orchestral colours to shade a musical passage. For musical structure, he defers to the great composers like Mozart and Beethoven. This concert on 28 June 2008 depicts his talent to adopt other composers' idiom as his own. In the opening piece, Bakels and the MPO played the Introduction and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin with the proper Polish swagger and colour.

In his homage to Mozart, Tchaikovsky's Fourth Orchestral Suite is labelled "Mozartiana". The MPO and Bakels were on top form for this intimate setting of 4 Mozart melodies into the four movements that make up this gorgeous suite. Playing with orchestral as well as soloistic refinement, the MPO performed this suite brilliantly.

After the interval, Bakels announced the movements of the Sleeping Beauty as the orchestra performed various selections from the acts of this great ballet. As in the first half, the MPO and Bakels were on top form in this colourful and wonderful music from Tchaikovsky. Bravo maestro Bakels and the MPO!

Prince Znaider meets Cinderella

2008-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is the sort of imaginative programming that I would expect from the DFP and the MPO's music director. Unfortunately, we had been given about 3 years of mediocre programming from the previous incumbent - Matthias Bamert. It needed former MD Kees Bakels to devise a concert programme that I had always dreamt about - 2 musical takes of Cinderella, framing another piece. The opener was Rossini's La Cenerentola Overture, played with gusto and great care over dynamic shading (especially the repeated echoing passages).

Nikolai Znaider, a rising prince of younger concertizing violinists, made his DFP debut in Mozart's Violin Concerto No 1 K 207 (which received its premiere at DFP too). This was very beautiful playing indeed from Znaider who was performing on the ex-Kreisler Guarneri del Gesu. Golden rich tones enveloped the hall, with clear definition of detache, spiccato and legato from Znaider's lovely bow arm. There were 2 instances of poor orchestral co-ordination from the MPO & Bakels (a false entry after the cadenza and an oboe solo that went off-key from Joost Flach). Otherwise, it was a superbly conceived performance. The audience gave Znaider a long and rapturous rhythmic applause (normally reserved for artists like Kavakos and Volodos) and he obliged by playing JS Bach's Sarabande (from the BWV1004 Solo Partita).

After the interval, we were treated to some fine dramatic playing from the MPO and Bakels in selections from Prokofiev's Cinderella. We are blessed with fine acoustics at the DFP and this is the sort of piece that stands out in our wonderful hall. As an encore in keeping with the Cinderella theme, Bakels offered us yet another take on the Cinderella theme - the midnight scene from Massenet's Cendrillon. This was simply magnificent programming and a superb concert - thanks to maestro Bakels!

Hough's high-powered Tchaikovsky PC 2

2008-09-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

This was the second performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 2 in the DFP Hall. The first was given by a visiting orchestra, the Sydney Symphony in an early International Series concert. So, in short, this was the MPO's debut performance in this piece. Prefacing the Tchaikovsky in an unusually composed programme was Handel's Concerto Grosso Op 3 No 1 in a bright and delightful performance; it then involved a lot of stage re-arranging (taking off the harpsichord and pushing on the Steinway grand).

Typical of Hough since the first time we saw him here in Malaysia, his performance of the Tchaikovsky was brisk, virtuoso and business-like. Hardly any dwelling on the more lyrical portions of the concerto, but stressing the fast and furious - with virtuoso handling of the challenges of this second piano concerto. Always hidden behind the first concerto's concert hall and recording popularity, this work deserves more than the occasional performance. The second movement featured a trio - the pianist Hough, leader Markus Gundermann and principal cellist Csaba Koros. This was a contrast in playing styles - with Hough keeping a quiet accompanying role, Gundermann playing accurately but not expressively enough with his bow arm and Koros being the main protagonist in a very impassioned display of wonderful rich-toned cello playing. The finale brought on more fireworks from Hough and he treated the audience to a lovely pentatonic encore (I wonder what this piece was as he did not announce his encore).

After the interval, Bamert and the MPO treated us to one of their better performances in the hall of Sibelius First Symphony. One standout moment in the performance was the fine clarinet playing of Philip Arkinstall. Our guest (Jane who was attending her first concert at DFP) enjoyed the Sibelius immensely.

Happy Haydn, slow motion Mahler

2008-09-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

The previous MPO music director, Kees Bakels directed a near completed Mahler cycle in his tenure here. Having performed Mahler's 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th (under various conductors), 6th, 7th and the 9th (under Benjamin Zander), the MPO entrusted the 10th (in the Deryck Cooke completion) to the up-and-coming Hannu Lintu, who made an impressive debut at the DFP Hall a few years ago.

The Haydn "Drum Roll" Symphony (No 103) prefaced the Mahler. Using period timpani, Lintu led a performance that was clear in textures, with warm phrasing and quite tight ensemble-wise. The highlight was the violin leader's solos - played neatly in tune by Markus Gundermann, without that soloist and bowing flair that the best concertmasters have inherent in them. This was the better of the 2 performances of the night.

The Mahler however, was over-long - a performance that stretched to about 85 minutes in total. Actually, Mahler completed only the first movement and left sketches for the rest of the movements. Conductors like Claudio Abbado and the late Gary Bertini only believed in the first movement and performed/recorded only that movement. Other maestros like Sir Simon Rattle, Mark Wigglesworth and Rudolf Barshai have played the symphony complete (using other composers' completions such as the Deryck Cooke version, etc).

The BBCNOW/Wigglesworth Cooke version (given with the BBC Music Magazine) took only 74 minutes to perform, whilst the award winning Berlin PO/Rattle EMI live Cooke version was 77 minutes long. Rudolf Barshai conducting his own completion also took 74 minutes over the whole piece, so I wondered how Lintu managed to stretch the piece to 85 minutes.

The Mahler was painful to listen to as the violins were not sure of themselves, phrasing was flat, the momentous moments lacked tension and the dynamics were compressed into a narrow range. The horns were typically out of tune in places and played with the usual and occasional split notes. However, the highlight of the performance was by Hristo Dobinov - one of the MPO's best woodwind players, in the fifth movement's unearthly and beautiful flute solo.

I believe that Lintu has to re-think his interpretation to make it a bit more taut. For now, Mahler 10 is out of his league. My parting shot is to wonder if we could have a Mahler 3 and/or 8 in the coming years, though the DFP Hall would be hard-pressed to accommodate the audience, let alone the orchestra.

Akiko Suwanai's superb Sibelius VC

2008-03-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

This evening really belonged to the superb violinist Akiko Suwanai, who made her long-awaited debut here in KL with one of the greatest 20th century violin concertos - the Sibelius. A few seasons ago, Suwanai was supposed to have made her Malaysian debut with the Dvorak Concerto but had to cancel due to illness.

I had watched the Sibelius Concerto on many occasions live (Vengerov at his Proms debut, Anne-Sophie Mutter with Sir Charles Groves in London, Pekka Kuusisto and Anje Weithaas in KL among some of the performances that I had seen). Let me cut to the chase and say that Suwanai's is the most stunning live rendition that I had heard. [Vengerov had a memory lapse in the last movement, whilst Mutter was not so technically secure at age 23. Kuusisto was very intent on dragging and then pulling ahead as he felt led to do so. Weithaas' rendition was hampered by a very dark sounding violin that was submerged by the MPO's accompaniment]

Armed with the 1714 ex-Heifetz Dolphin Strad, Suwanai's interpretation was stunning in its technical delivery - no hurdle was too difficult for this sweet-looking soloist. In comparision to her SACD recording with the CBSO and Sakari Oramo, the middle animated section of the second movement was excellently done, with a swifter and more passionate response than the SACD version. I had two bones of contention though with her playing - the rhythm in certain bars (e.g. Bar 9 after Figure 3 and Bar 16 after Figure 10 in the Eulenberg miniature score of the 1st movement) elongated beyond their written value and also the very swift speed set for the third movement by Kevin Field (resulting in some serious co-ordination problems with the MPO).

Apart from the less than inspired conducting from Field, I felt that it would have been better A&R practice to have Suwanai perform in KL with a recognized Sibelian like Oramo. I also felt that solo Bach is over-played as an encore (She offered us a movement from the D minor Partita, whilst there are many other choices for a solo violin encore e.g. a movement from Ysaye's Solo Sonatas or Herman Bellstedt Jr's "Caprice on Dixie" for a change). It was refreshing to hear Ilya Gringolts in Ernst's Der Erlkonig for a solo encore some months back.

I did not like the programming for the concert - which featured John Adam's Short Ride in a Fast Machine (yet over and over again at the DFP!) and also Tuur's Passion. Field could have just simply played a piece like Penderecki's Adagietto from Paradise Lost for a change before the Sibelius. For the post-interval closing piece, we had a highly charged interpretation of Copland's best symphony - his Third. It was not ideally precise from the trumpets and horns but at least the MPO played this with flair.

Awaiting Akiko Suwanai's Sibelius debut

2008-03-01T03:54:00.000-08:00

Akiko Suwanai (Photo: Philips)

Akiko Suwanai makes her DFP debut with the Sibelius Violin Concerto on 8 and 9 March 2008. She was supposed to play the Dvorak Violin Concerto here a few years ago but was indisposed. She was the youngest winner at 18 years of age when she took the 1st first prize at the Tchaikovsky Violin Competition in Moscow (1990). I'm really looking forward to seeing her live in one of the great 20th century violin concertos.

Fabulous, fearless & flawless Feng Ning

2008-02-24T00:06:00.000-08:00

23 Feb 2008 - MPO, Feng Ning, Matthias Bamert

The night really belonged to Feng Ning, who made his coruscating DFP debut in KL with Paganini's most famous Violin Concerto No 1, complete with the virtuosic Emile Sauret cadenza. The first of six violin concertos that were published, is notorious for its fiendish technically difficulties. Staggering feats of virtuosity is needed to play this concerto but to make it sound like a "mini-opera" for violin and orchestra despite the extreme technical hurdles [e.g. large arpeggio leaps, running parallel double-stops (like thirds, sixths and tenths), spiccato and ricochet bowings and the notorious double harmonic notes] was really proof that this is a major violinist & talent (who won the 2006 Paganini contest) is just embarking on his journey to the very top echelon of violinists currently performing. Given the typical rhythmic applause and a standing ovation that is only reserved for artists like Leonidas Kavakos here, he proceeded to play Paganini's God Save the King Variations Op.9 as an encore.

Feng Ning is not only flawless in his execution (pearl-like intonation with a sweet tone which is never under stress), but he plays with a daredevil-like intensity, which reminds me of Michael Rabin's manner in the 2 versions of that very same Paganini concerto from a 6-CD box set from EMI (my favourite CD version of the said piece!). He also performs with an expressive intensity of varying tonal colour (e.g. repeated phrases are played on different strings and subtle glissandi that also shade his fabulous playing).

The pieces that flanked the Paganini were Rossini's Il signor bruschino Overture - played with a lack of colour and wit and almost no famous crescendi at all. Poor orchestral playing (much maligned horn section were as usual - out of tune!) plagued Holst's The Planets and flat choral singing from the National Choir in Neptune was also apparent (almost a semitone out!). However, some movements (like Mars and Jupiter) were quite well played nevertheless. As mentioned above, the MPO and Bamert were much earth-bound but Feng Ning is certainly one of the brightest violinists performing in the sub-30 age category. Perhaps he could be persuaded to play either the Vieuxtemps Fifth Violin Concerto or Wieniawski's fiendishly difficult First Concerto for his next visit here?

The terrific Trpceski

2008-02-20T00:38:00.001-08:00

12 Jan 2008, Simon Trpceski, MPO, Bakels

The Elgar Wand of Youth Suite No 2 made a charming musical entree to the highlight of the evening. Delightfully played by the MPO players (especially flautist Hristo Dobrinov in his solo), the Elgar made a welcome change from the "core repertoire" that has plagued most of Matthias Bamert's programming. It was also very good to welcome back former MPO MD, Kees Bakels at his sparkling best. I had not seen the famed Macedonian pianist at the DFP Hall before, having missed his prior 2 appearances. This time, with Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 1 on the programme, this proved to be an unmissable proposition. Rightly so, as his technical command is peerless, the tone is nice and rounded and his musical manner is straightforward (much like Andsnes but unlike Pogorelich and Toradze). After the interval, we were treated to a MPO premiere of Dvorak's Fifth Symphony. We had heard the symphony performed before by the La Scala PO under Riccardo Muti. However, maestro Bakels was not able to disguise the poor structural construction of the piece. Muti made the piece flow better and his interpretation was more coherent and enjoyable. Anyway, it was a fine night out - thanks to Trpceski's brilliant pianism.

Simply delightful Schubert from Bakels

2008-02-20T00:35:00.000-08:00

19 Jan 2008 Markus Gundermann, MPO, Bakels

A second week in a row with Kees Bakels and the MPO revealed musical riches in the form of very nice (but off-beat) repertoire. The concert began with an evocative interpretation of the Calm Sea, Prosperous Voyage Overture by Mendelssohn. Another DFP premiere that we had was Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto. Written in his late years and put aside for about 100 years after his death, the piece is unwieldy in places and has some tawdry construction. It really needed a better violinist than MPO concertmaster Markus Gundermann, to do it justice. Although Markus played very well and was in tune mostly, the speeds tended to still be slightly sluggish and the lack of Schumann's musical inspiration showed through. (I had just listened to Kulenkampff's version on CD after the concert but before writing this review to realize what was missing in Markus' interpretation). Nevertheless, the highlight of the concert was a most deliciously played Schubert First Symphony led by the marvellous Kees Bakels. The interpretation was really wonderful for its light-heartedness and Austrian charm. Perhaps we could hear the Schubert Second and Third Symphonies by maestro Bakels in future concerts.

A superb Swan Lake from Carl Davis

2008-02-20T00:24:00.001-08:00

17 Nov 2007 - MPO, Carl Davis

Perennially popular conductor, Carl Davis returned to the DFP with Tchaikovsky's wonderful ballet - Swan Lake. This is my favourite ballet - in terms of story line, the drama and the surging Romantic music. Of course, I'd seen this in London at the Royal Ballet about 25 years ago; here the MPO accompanied a film of the 1989 Bolshoi Ballet production. The MPO were in fine form and the trumpets and horns (usually the weakest links in the orchestra) played with a sonorous depth of tone and surprisingly - some good intonation too, without any perceptible cracked notes. So, all in all, it was a very fine night out for me and my spouse. More Carl Davis for me please! Thanks, DFP.

Good Brahms VC but a boring Schumann

2008-02-20T00:08:00.001-08:00

27 Oct 2007 Isabelle Faust, MPO, Bamert

Isabelle Faust made her DFP debut in the Brahms Violin Concerto. Unfortunately, the memory of previous great performances of the Brahms (in the DFP hall) was stuck in my mind. The virtuosic and brilliant rendition from Leonidas Kavakos and also the varied and subtly modulated/coloured performance by Joshua Bell were much better than Faust's rendition. Technically, she was up to scratch but in trying to be different, she drew attention onto herself (rather than Brahms). Tonally, she was not as brilliant as Kavakos or as subtly varied as Bell. Her playing was generally good but the tone was slightly ragged and ugly (when she had to do a heavy spiccato (or a colle stroke) at the heel of the bow). Bamert led the Robert Schumann Symphony No 2 with his usual boring & efficient manner - without imparting any great insights to this marvellous music.

The brilliant Berlin Barock Soloists (BBS)

2008-02-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

16 & 17 Oct 2007 - BBS, Emmanuel Pahud, Rainer Kussmaul

One of the highlights of the 2007/08 season was the visit of the brilliant young flautist Emmanuel Pahud and the BBS under leader Rainer Kussmaul. At the pre-concert press conference, they were very kind and entertained the press with the musical experiences and anecdotes of the Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan and the BBS. At the concert, they gave stunning historically-informed period (HIP) performances (the tuning was still concert pitch of A=440 Hertz). The most enjoyable items all involved solo instruments with orchestra. I enjoyed the Vivaldi Flute Concerto RV428 - with Pahud's immaculate musicianship and golden flute tone particularly. Other superb performances of note were the Vivaldi Concerto for 2 violins (RV522) and 4 violins (RV553). Violist Wolfram Christ also starred in two viola concertos - Telemann's delightful Concerto in G major (with its lively rhythms) and also Vivaldi's Concerto for viola d'amore in D major. This was the most enriching experience of HIP performances that I'd seen in the DFP hall - far exceeding the poor English Concert event under Andrew Manze. They are certainly a welcome group anytime for me at the DFP in future seasons and I'd be the first to queue for their concert-tickets.

Sumi Jo steals the show at the 07/08 Gala

2008-02-19T23:25:00.000-08:00

8 Sep 2007 - Sumi Jo, MPO, Bamert (MPO Gala 2007/08)

For the first time in 3 years, the MPO opening gala had a festive air about it. It opened with a poorly orchestrated version by Andre Caplet of Debussy's Children's Corner Suite. (The original piano version is far superior). Star guest artist was the superb Korean soprano Sumi Jo who was in very fine form. As an artist, she also has more personality than previous gala stars (Yvonne Kenny and Alexander Toradze). After a tentative start in Gounod's Je veux vivre (from Romeo & Juliette), she came into her own in Verdi's Sempre Libera (La Traviata) - a magnificent performance. Also very enjoyable was Meyerbeer's C'est bien lui (L'etiole du nord) with two flutes (in descant parts), adding to the already-florid soprano line. Best of all the songs that Sumi Jo sang was Offenbach's Olympia's Song (The Tales of Hoffmann) in which she sang magnificently (and also acted the part of a cranked-up doll). Bamert accompanied her very well in the Offenbach but did not offer any special insights into the last piece - Ravel's Daphnis & Chloe Suite No 2. But for once in the three years that Bamert had led this event, the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves - thanks to the superb Sumi Jo!

Claus Peter Flor - an inspired choice of MD for the MPO

2008-02-19T06:05:00.000-08:00

When the Kees Bakels reign as Music Director (MD) at the MPO came to end, the KL audience (myself included) felt very sad. Bakels had done great things with the MPO - like playing the core repertoire, introducing "new" (or rather) unusual pieces to the audience and conducting the bulk of a Mahler cycle here in KL. Bakels' replacement Matthias Bamert seemed to have a impressive CV but it was not reflected in his conducting and standards at the MPO went plunging swiftly . Repertoire that was played remained very "core" and audiences went away and numbers that appeared regularly at DFP, simply dwindled. When I heard that Claus Peter Flor was going to be the MPO's new MD, I was truly excited. Here was a major European talent that inspired the MPO to great heights in his guest stints here (like an unforgettable Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet and a great Bruckner Fifth remain in my mind!). I look forward to much more interesting music that maestro Flor will bring us and to rejuvenate the MPO's declining standards. Among the interesting pieces that I'd like to see at DFP are: Smetana's Ma Vlast, Khachaturian's Violin Concerto, Kabalevsky's Violin Concerto and Piano Concerto No. 3 and Mahler's Symphony No 3.

Magnificent LSO, FP Zimmermann & Harding concerts

2008-02-18T06:03:00.001-08:00

2 & 3 May 2007 (FP Zimmermann, LSO, Daniel Harding)

Another 2 international concerts of pith and moment! Thank goodness, Lang Lang was given a music award in London! He cancelled, I was pleased but there were many ticket returns from "lots of Malaysians that had musically-deficient ears". Dvorak's The Golden Spinning Wheel Op 109 (with the magnificent LSO horns, led by the superb David Pyatt) was the piece that replaced Mozart's Piano Concerto No 17. Our MPO horn players certainly could learn a thing or two from David Pyatt and company. Not only were the LSO horns superb, the excellent guest concertmaster was Andrew Haveron and he made some sweet and delightful sounds in the Dvorak. Another superbly played Mahler Symphony No 5 concluded the first night's programme (It was one of the very best Mahler 5s heard at the DFP hall!).

On the 2nd night, we had the privilege to watch Frank Peter Zimmermann in Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto (which was given a very poor showing by Chantal Juillet, Matthias Bamert and the MPO earlier in the season). This was how Berg should be played – technically secure and emotionally involving (unlike the uncertain Juillet/Bamert performance). The LSO and Harding gave yet another virtuoso showing in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with The Star Wars (Main Title) theme for the encore (on both nights). The audience truly enjoyed themselves.

2008-02-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

24 March 2007 (Viviane Hagner, MPO, Matthais Bamert)

A typical boring German programme that we'd come to expect from Bamert! Though Hagner (she met me "pre-concert" and stated her favourite version of the Beethoven Violin Concerto was the quite swift Heifetz & Toscanini one) gave me the impression she'd play in a less traditional manner, this was a more usual interpretation (with rubato and tempi changes in the 1st movement complete with the Kreisler cadenza). After the interval, we had a normal (even boring!) interpretation of Brahms' Symphony No 4 - which was redeemed by some magnificent flute playing (Hristo Dubrinov) in the fourth movement.

Rich-toned Renee Fleming recital

2008-02-18T05:46:00.000-08:00

20 March 2007 (Renee Fleming, Hartmut Holl)

I was most fortunate to meet both these artists (Pre-concert). Renee was particularly charming and kind. Renee sung magnificently (and she was superbly accompanied by Hartmut). 2 Handel pieces from Semele, a Schubert set of 4 songs, Renee's signature piece (Dvorak's Song to the Moon from Rusalka), a Brahms set of 5 pieces, Korngold's Die Kathrin Op 28, R Strauss's Cacilie Op 27 No 2 and Puccini's O, Mio Babbino caro and Vissi d'arte were delightfully sung with superb breath control, marvellous diction and great care for the language. Renee gave 3 encores including a wonderful R Strauss song Morgen (time stood still here!). One of the best vocal recitals ever given at DFP! Renee & Hartmut should be invited back for a return recital at the DFP in the near future.

Vogt/MPO/Bamert give less convincing accounts

2008-02-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

Well, a very busy work schedule took me away from reviewing concerts at the DFP for most of 2007. So, as the 2008 holiday season gave me a few days off, I wrote these belated comments on the concerts (some were magnificent, others less so).

3 March 2007 (Lars Vogt, MPO, Matthais Bamert)

Bamert began the concert with Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus Overture with a slightly over-sized MPO. The interpretation seemed to lumber along before a slightly turgid Lars Vogt DFP debut in Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. After the interval, we had a less-than-inspiring interpretation of R Strauss's Aus Italien (with some flat tuning from the flute section). Kees Bakels's recording of the very same piece seemed better than Bamert's live interpretation.

Mozart birthday (27 Jan) is a good day to start blog

2008-01-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

Well, I began this blog on 27 Jan 2008. 27 Jan, being Mozart's birthday (and also an uncle's birthday in the family) brings me to talk about that man's genius. A fantastic haul of masterworks (over 600 Kochel numbers) and most of them masterpieces - written before he was 20 years old. My general favourite Mozartians are Grumiaux (VC, VS, String Quintets, Divertimento K 563 etc), Haskil (Piano Concertos) and Vegh (Serenades and Divertimentos with the CAMS). Generally, my opinions and critically loved versions are by those performers who do not "add value" to Mozart's works but play them in a more Urtext manner.

Hello - new to blogging

2008-01-27T22:01:00.000-08:00

Hi friends - I'm new to blogging. Will try to publish one soon. Regards - RabinFan