Singapore Symphony Orchestra – Jason Lai, conductor; Steven Osborne, piano. October 25, 2013.

Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore.  Foyer Stalls (Seat EE33, S$45.)

Program

Prelude to Parsifal by Richard Wagner (1813-1883).

Piano Concerto, Op. 13 by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976).

Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 by Robert Schumann (1810-1856).

We are on a short visit to Singapore to visit Anne’s aunt, and found out about this concert by searching on the web.  The concert is billed as “Young Britten” as the concerto was written in 1938.  I saw Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Met a few weeks ago.  That was also written when he was young, and I was surprised at how complex it was compared to the (little) Britten that I knew.  I was wondering what this Piano Concerto would sound like since it was also written when he was quite young.

Turns out this concerto was also quite accessible and quite enjoyable.  Not that I can give an analysis of it, but I certainly enjoyed the virtuosity of the music and the give and take between the soloist and the orchestra.  While the acoustics of the hall was quite good, the piano was at times overwhelmed by the orchestra, not during the quiet passages but during those that the pianist pounded on the instrument.  On the many occasions the pianist played against only a few of the orchestra players, he produced a very good sound.  A great example would be the part with the viola solo.  There was also a part where the bass drums and the cymbals were the only instruments used, the cymbals could sound a lot more confident.

The Program Notes contains a description of the four movements (Toccata, Waltz, Impromptu, and March) and helped in the appreciation of the music.  It also has some explanatory remarks that added to one’s understanding.  One example is how Britten described the ending of Waltz: “War … and end to all this pleasure – end of Concerto, friends, work, love – oh blast, blast damn.”  Another example is how the fourth movement echoed the work of Shostakovich and his political commentary.  I hope these are not obvious to a first time listener as I didn’t get any of it.

Let us get back to the start of the evening, the Prelude to Parsifal.  A few minutes in, I was already impressed.  First was the acoustics.  I have been to a few nice looking new concert halls and found the acoustics to be unsatisfactory.  Not this one, despite (or because) of the huge space above the seating areas.  The individual parts can be heard clearly, and the overall sound was great.  (I did have some trouble with the balance between the orchestra and the solo piano, as noted above.)  The seats were comfortable, with a lot of leg room in front.  The orchestra also sounded precise.  While four hours of Parsifal is a bit much, 13 minutes of it is certainly enjoyable, especially if one recognizes some of the leitmotifs.  I do want to go to concerts whenever I visit a new town, but mostly out of curiosity to see how well these orchestras and concert halls compare with one another.  I was glad this evening could be revised upward as a genuine musical happening.

After the intermission, we heard Schumann’s Second Symphony, written when he was already ill (I assume it was depression, the Program Notes doesn’t say.)  Here I thought the orchestra could use more people, even though Schumann wants to take the musical world back to Mozart.  There are enough passages that are weighty enough to justify more musicians.  The Symphony is about 38 minutes in duration and contains four movements: (i) Sostenuto assai – Un poco piu vivace – Allegro, ma non troppo; (ii) Scherzo (Allegro vivace); (iii) Adagio expressive; and (iv) Allegro molto vivace.

We had seen Jason Lai before, conducting the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, of which he is also associate conductor.  Small world.  He was again energetic and got the job done.

The concert hall and the theatre comprise the Esplanade Theatres, with a unique architecture that evokes of a durian, a puffer fish, or the Sydney Opera House.  The concert hall is quite small, seating perhaps 1500 people.  Tonight’s was the only performance of the program, which seems to be the norm for the Orchestra, and the auditorium was only about 70% full, if that.  Which is a pity.  Singapore is a city of over 5 million people, so you would think there is more support of the arts.

Comparison with the Hong Kong Philharmonic is inevitable for someone like myself.  In Hong Kong most HKPO programs are repeated, and attendance is usually quite good.  With the HKPO I already remark that the orchestra deserves a better audience; it is even more so in Singapore.  When I was growing up, Hong Kong had the reputation of being a cultural desert, that analogy when carried over the Singapore would make it the Atacama desert.  I realize I saw only one performance of the SSO, but I do feel a bit sorry for them.

Now HKPO has been inviting world class conductors as its music director (Atherton, de Waart and now van Zweeden) and I notice SSO’s directors have been Singapore natives.  Not that I want to knock local musicians, but perhaps they should expand their recruiting horizon a bit?

Anyway, this was for me an overall great experience.