Concert Review – OMM’s Brahms–Schoenberg Steals the Spotlight – Orchestra of the Music Makers | The Flying Inkpot
Concert Review – One Melody
Jonathan Shin: What the Sea Was Whispering
Chopin: Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor
Brahms, arr. Schoenberg: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor
Kun-Woo Paik, piano
Orchestra of the Music Makers
Chan Tze Law, conductor
Esplanade Concert Hall
Review by Derek Lim
This concert, celebrating 50 years of harmonious relations between Singapore and Republic of Korea, comes at a time when Hallyu (the Korean wave) is more prevalent than ever – the catchy songs from K-pop Demon Hunters can scarcely be avoided anywhere you go, and in the past year, K-pop crossovers (APT, anyone?) have captured the imaginations of teens and toddlers alike.
But in classical music, Korean musicians had already become globally visible years ago with stars such as violinists Chung Kyung‑wha and Sarah Chang, cellist and conductor Han-na Chang, and tonight’s soloist, Korean national treasure pianist Kun-Woo Paik, 79, who has played many times to date on Singapore’s stages.
Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t a good representation of Paik’s artistry. The recently-concluded Chopin Competition will not have been off any piano-lover’s radar, so it was a puzzling change of repertoire (he was originally slated to play the Ravel) – and with the Polish composer’s less popular concerto at that.
Even without the inevitable comparisons that would arise this year, his performance felt detached. What might initially have seemed big-boned and unsentimental soon hardened into rigidity: his handling of Chopin’s embellishments was more emphatic than sparkling, and his square phrasing, coupled with a neglect of touch and colour, left the music sounding uninvolved. With a dearth of rapport between pianist, orchestra and conductor – frequently resulting in untidy phrase endings – the lack of poetry was most obvious in the first movement but more regrettably felt in the Larghetto, which was marred by a brittle piano sound and bald phrasing. The mazurka-inspired finale allowed a more showy virtuosity that Paik seemed more comfortable with – a late but welcome recovery.
The concert’s opener, Jonathan Shin’s eight-minute ‘what the sea was whispering’, completed this year, is a genial, feel-good short piece that incorporates three Korean songs into its short duration. Inspired by Singaporean poet Gwee Li Sui’s ‘Gyeongpo Beach’ (which is quite pretty, Google it), it is warmly orchestrated, with several romantic melodies and solos from various instruments (violin, horn, oboe), as well as twinkling percussion and swelling brass before its quiet coda.
But it was OMM’s Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’s Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor that was the highlight of the evening. Boldly conceived, with instrumental choices that Brahms would undoubtedly have found garish (all that percussion!), Schoenberg’s lovingly orchestrated reimagination allowed swathes of colour from the OMM under Chan Tze Law, with lovely dark strings in the first movement giving way to austere winds and passionate playing. The execution was winningly Brahmsian, the balancing transparent and clear, with the second movement Intermezzo unfolding with an almost Mendelssohnian delicacy. The last movement Rondo alla Zingarese (a gypsy-style Rondo, though the word ‘gypsy’ is rather frowned upon nowadays), was an absolute romp, taken at a challenging clip and full of fire. Colour was not in short supply, with a cadenza featuring the concertmaster and E-flat clarinet stealing the show for its duration, while the percussion played with precision in this movement, transformed by Schoenberg into an orgiastic bacchanalia. With everyone joining in at the final tutti, the dazzling coda glittered with brash energy that the audience responded to with appreciative applause and hoots of approval to the performers.
