recitals

The Hsinghai recital today (it's yesterday as I'm typing) was a mix of the very seasoned and those new to the stage performance. Understandably, solo performances on stage don't sound as well as they do off-stage, especially for newbies, and I can attest to that!

Some performers had dresses that were different from the standard dark and white outfits. One of them was in a red Chinese one-piece (aka cheongsam). Another had worn a traditional Korean costume. The younger performers had their families in the audience. The older ones (generally in their late teens or 20s) had their friends. The cosy auditorium was filled with parents and a young crowd. I feel old already! My teacher suggested that I perform at the same event next year. I guess I could pass off as a someone younger, but my supporters can't! From past experience, this annual showcase is attended by the early-20-something-and-younger and the late-thirties-and-older (parents). My social circle falls in the large gap between these age ranges.

As with the recital last year, some of the younger performers, probably still feeling unsatisfied with their playing, failed to properly acknowledge the audience at the end of their pieces.

I had my ears focused on the yangqin and erhu pieces most of the time. The "Huang Tu Qing" and Zigeunerweisen were note-worthy, and so were the zheng items. Owing to the ages of the performers, the repertoire presented does get quite limited. I was contemplating arranging something different for myself, if I do decide to perform next year. I might even need an ensemble. Oh well, but that's only if I get technically good enough.

The Hsinghai concert will happen next weekend. I'm looking forward to hear the yangqin concerto that was on my mp3 player's "repeat" list months ago.

It's still so difficult to find concert goers...

This year's National Piano and Violin Competition has finally concluded a few Fridays ago, with finalists in the Artist category presenting a full piano concertos with orchestra accompaniment. It was my first time sitting through three full-length piano concertos back-to-back!

I don't listen to much Mozart, but I was quite taken away by the finalist who played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20. Though the concerto is not quite the technical warhorses which the other finalists played, I thought the soloist had injected far more emotional subtlety and deserved the first prize, never mind that his expression looked rather pained on stage.

The Grieg concerto was the second piece. Coordination problems were magnified when the orchestra was clearly out of sync with the soloist after the latter completed a piano run, on at least three occasions. I don't suppose soloists have had many rehearsals with the orchestra before a live performance. So the lack of rehearsals may the cause (but then again, professional musicians don't get much time with the orchestras when they are on the concert circuit either).

We heard Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 after the short interval. The soloist delivered the concerto to a rousing ovation, which made it all the more ostensible that he should take the first prize. I don't know about others in the audience, but I found myself lulled to moments of shut-eye during the concerto. It could be the result of my over-familiarity with the concerto, or an immunity to bravura, or simply fatigue on my part. Anyway, I didn't find it too exciting or "fresh". There wasn't much in the way of contrast unlike in the Mozart concerto. Nonetheless, the soloist should take credit for surmounting the technical challenge of the Romantic warhorse. I would love to see the Mozart and Tchaikovsky soloists tie for their prizes.