NPVC Prize Winners' Ceremony programme booklet

NATIONAL PIANO &Ê VIOLIN COMPETITIONÊ

10 DECEMBER 2017

PR IZE W INNER S ’ C O NC E RT & PR IZE PR ES E NTAT ION C EREM O NY

2017

PrizeÊ wiNNers ’ Ê CoNCertÊ &Ê Ê PrizeÊ PreseNtatioNÊ CeremoNy Sunday 10 December 2017 7.30pm, Victoria Concer t Hall Gu es t -of-hoN ou r

N PVC Ê

2017

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development

1

ProGramme 1st Prize Winner, Piano Artist Category Piano Concerto – Programme to be announced Soh Wei Qi 2nd Prize Winner, Piano Senior Category Kangyi Zhang: Postcards from Singapore Dylan Wee 2nd Prize Winner, Violin Senior Category Eric Watson: Toccata – Eccentric Dance 1st Prize Winner, Violin Artist Category Violin Concerto – Programme to be announced

INTERMISSION

Tay Wan Ni, Nicole 1st Prize Winner, Piano Intermediate Category Beethoven: Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 81a “Les Adieux” (1st mvt) Madeline Goh Anyi 1st Prize Winner, Violin Intermediate Category Wieniawski: No. 4 from Études-Caprices, Op. 18 Meng YiRuiXue Jessie 1st Prize Winner, Piano Junior Category Balakirev: The Lark

N PVC Ê

2017

Chloe Chua 1st Prize Winner, Violin Junior Category Hubay: Carmen Fantasie Brillante, Op. 3

2

Presentation of Tokens of Appreciation to Adjudicators by Mr Chng Hak-Peng Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Symphony Group

N PVC ĂŠ

2017

Prize Presentation by Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development

3

JUNIOR

Piano category winners

2nd Prize Lim Hao Yu Olivier

2nd Prize Ng Ee Oon

1st Prize Tay Wan Ni, Nicole

2nd Prize Loh Pei Yi

3rd Prize Zhang Yifan Jem

2nd Prize Soh Wei Qi

3rd Prize Shayna Yap Ying-Shueh

N PVC

2017

SE NIOR

INTERMEDIATE

1st Prize Meng YiRuiXue Jessie

4

JUNIOR

Violin c ategory winners

2nd Prize Wu Lanxiao

3rd Prize Maximus Chia Chen Fong

1st Prize Madeline Goh Anyi

2nd Prize Dai Ailin

3rd Prize Lavinia Tsai Qi En

2nd Prize Dylan Wee

3rd Prize Lau Joey

Honourable Mention Cheng Wang Hoi, Jacob Reuben

N PVC

2017

SE NIOR

INTERMEDIATE

1st Prize Chloe Chua

5

aDJuDiCatorÊ |Ê ChooÊ hoey Choo Hoey has been associated with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since its founding in 1979. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1955 with the Manns Memorial and Ernest Read prizes for conducting and then went on to further studies at the Conservatoire Royale de Musique in Brussels. His debut performances with Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale initiated a successful career as visiting conductor throughout Europe and South America.

In 1968, he became Principal Conductor of the Greek National Opera, where his repertoire included not only the standard classics, but also works by Debussy, Bartók, Berg and Stravinsky. He was a frequent guest conductor of the four major symphony orchestras of Greece with which he gave numerous world premieres of contemporary Greek works. Many of these he recorded with the Hellenic Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra.

In 1979 he was invited to become the founding Music Director and Resident Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, with which he developed an extensive repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to contemporary masterpieces. He led the orchestra on four successful European tours. In July 1996, he was appointed Conductor Emeritus.

For his contribution to music in Singapore, Choo Hoey was awarded the Cultural Medallion (1979), the Public Service Star (1982), and made an Honorary Doctor of Letters of the National University of Singapore in 1989. In 1997 he was appointed a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France.

His career has taken him to most of the great music capitals of Europe, America, Latin America and the former USSR, as well as the People’s Republic of China. He has been guest conductor with over sixty orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire de Paris, Suisse Romande, Zurich Tonhalle, Danish State Radio Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Nacionale de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Orquesta de Instituto Extension Musical in Santiago (Chile), Central Philharmonic in Beijing, Tokyo City Philharmonic and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

N PVC Ê

2017

Choo Hoey now resides in Europe.

6

aDJuDiCatorÊ |Ê DeNNisÊ lee Dennis Lee was born in Penang, Malaysia. At age 14, he won an Associated Board scholarship to study violin and piano (with Angus Morrison) at the Royal College of Music, London.

There he was awarded the ARCM (Hons) in both instruments, and won many prizes including the John Hopkinson Gold Medal and Peter Norris Prize, Joy Scott Prize, as well as the Tagore Gold Medal for the most outstanding student.

In 1967 he received the Bachelor of Music degree from London University with the only First Class Honours given for that particular syllabus. The next year, he attained the Master of Music degree from the Royal College. An Austrian Government scholarship then took him to Vienna where under Josef Dichler, he won the Akademie Diploma with distinction, and the Stepanow Prize. He later studied with Ilonka Deckers in Milan.

He has won many prizes at competitions such as at the BBC, Casagrande, Busoni and Sydney. Festival appearances include Montreux, Spoleto, Brescia-Bergamo, Varna Summer, Adelaide, Cheltenham, Brighton, Singapore Arts Festival, amongst many others. He has performed with most of the BBC orchestras, Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, Northern Sinfonia, Slovak Chamber, Varna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Andrew Davis, Libor Peˇsek and Okko Kamu.

Dennis Lee has broadcast frequently for the BBC. His recording of Szymanowski works aroused much international acclaim, while his complete cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas has been warmly received. He continues to perform widely in the USA, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. He was an ABRSM examiner for over 30 years, and is also in demand as lecturer and festival adjudicator. He has judged the Canadian Music Competition (Finals) in Toronto, as well as the London International Piano Competition. Recent appearances include the Singapore International Piano Festival, HSBC Piano Festival (Kuala Lumpur) and recitals in Malaysia, Canada, USA, France and Germany.

Dennis Lee is a Steinway Artist.

N PVC Ê

He has been invited to perform at the Singapore National Museum in conjunction with a loan of French Impressionist paintings from the Musee d’Orday in Paris, and in 2012 was invited to appear with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for the 10th anniversary of the Esplanade Cultural Centre. More recent concerts include Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto with Resound in Singapore, and recitals in Malaysia, Thailand, Italy and the UK.

2017

He has been Artist-in-Residence at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore as well as in Los Angeles at the convention of the Music Teachers’ Association of California.

7

aDJuDiCatorÊ |Ê a rturÊ Pizarro Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1968, Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three and made his television debut on Portuguese television at the age of four. He was introduced to the instrument by his maternal grandmother, pianist Berta da Nóbrega, and her piano-duo partner, Campos Coelho who was a student of Vianna da Motta, Ricardo Viñes and Isidor Philipp. Artur has studied with Sequeira Costa who was also a student of Vianna da Motta and of Mark Hamburg, Edwin Fischer, Marguerite Long and Jacques Février. This distinguished lineage immersed Artur in the tradition of the ‘Golden Age’ of pianism and gave him a broad education in both the German and French piano schools and repertoire. During a brief interruption of his studies in the USA, Artur also studied with Jorge Moyano in Lisbon, and in Paris worked with Aldo Ciccolini, Géry Moutier and Bruno Rigutto.

Artur won First Prizes in the 1987 Vianna da Motta Competition, the 1988 Greater Palm Beach Symphony Competition and won First Prize at the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, which marked the beginning of an international concert career.

He also performs internationally in recital, chamber music and with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Philippe Entremont, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ilan Volkov, Franz Welser-Most, ¨ Tugan Sokhiev, Yakov Kreizberg, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Libor Pešek, Vladimir Jurowski, Ion Marin, John Wilson and the late Sir Charles Mackerras.

Artur is an active chamber musician and has performed at chamber music festivals throughout the world. He has recorded extensively for Collins Classics, Hyperion Records, Linn Records, Brilliant Classics, Klara, Naxos, Danacord, Odradek Records and Phoenix Edition.

He has received various awards from his native Portugal for services to classical music and culture including the Portuguese Press Award, the Portuguese Society of Authors award, the Medal of Culture of the City of Funchal and the Medal of Cultural Merit from the Portuguese Government.

N PVC Ê

2017

Artur Pizarro is currently teaching piano and chamber music at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon.

8

aDJuDiCatorÊ |Ê ray-ChouÊ ChaNG Featured as one of the duo-soloists with Julian Rachlin in Bach’s Double Concerto in 2014, violinist Ray-Chou Chang is highly sought-after as a soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician. He currently serves as the concertmaster of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2009, and has been invited to play with Evergreen Orchestra as a guest concertmaster.

Chang has performed throughout Europe, Asia and North America and has appeared as a soloist with Moscow Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Voronezh State Symphony Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Young Musicians’ Foundation Orchestra of Singapore, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra, Taichung City Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Chamber Orchestra, amongst many others. As a concertmaster, Chang has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Darrell Ang, Claus Peter Flor, Okko Kamu, Andrew Litton, John Nelson, Lan Shui, amongst others. He has also played chamber music with Cho-Liang Lin, Nai-Yuan Hu and members of the Miami String Quartet, has given masterclasses in Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China, Amadeus International School Vienna and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and taught in Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Italy.

Chang received his first violin lesson at age five and won a top prize in the Taiwan National Violin Competition in 1987. In the same year he also made his orchestral debut and went to the US to further musical training. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Peabody Conservatory of Music and his Doctoral degree at University of Maryland, College Park. He was a recipient of the Evergreen Foundation Grant from 1988 to 1995 and was the Grand Prize winner of 1990 National Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in USA. Chang is also an outstanding recording engineer.

He has received a Recording Arts and Sciences Degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and has worked as a Broadcasting Engineer for the National Public Radio in Washington D.C. In 2003, Chang returned to Taiwan and taught at Tainan National University of Arts and Shih Chien University in Taipei. He joined Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra as its Concertmaster in 2004, a position he held until 2008, before joining the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. Besides performing activities, Chang currently teaches at Tunghai University and holds a private violin studio.

N PVC Ê

2017

Chang has received lessons and coaching from Yong-Ku Ahn, Earl Carlyss, Wen-Hsian Chang, Gerald Fischbach, Shirley Givens, Guarneri String Quartet, Peng Pan, Peabody Trio and Berl Senofsky.

9

aDJuDiCatorÊ |Ê DeNisÊ GolDfelD Born to a family of musicians in Ufa (former USSR, now the Russian Federation), Denis Goldfeld won the Russian National Violin Competition at the age of eleven. In 1990 he was invited to Musikhohschule Lübeck by Zakhar Bron as a master student. At this time he won such respected international contests as Wieniawski and Oistrakh Violin Competitions, international Music Competition in Bayreuth and many other prizes, including the Verbier Festival Academy Prize, awarded by Isaac Stern.

Denis Goldfeld has performed with such renowned artists as Pavel Gililov, Henri Sigfridsson, Nicolas Altstaedt, Sergei Nakariakov, Lera Auerbach, Eldar Nebolsin, Cedric Tiberghien, Vassili Lobanov, Alexander Rudin, David Geringas, Sofja Gülbadamova and gives recitals in Europa, USA (Carnegie Weil Recital Hall), Japan, Russia und Israel. He is a guest at major festivals, such as Schleswig-Holstein, Colmar, Biarritz, Korsholm, Musiksommer Tours, Rheingau, Dias da Música em Belém in Lisbon, Adam Chamber Music in New Zealand.

As a soloist Goldfeld performed concerts with such prestigious orchestras as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Soloists, the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Estonian National Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Münich Chamber Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio-Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein Wien, as well as Freiburg, Lübeck, Würzburg, Tampere, Besançon and Sarajevo Philharmonic under the batons of Andrei Boreyko, Yuri Bashmet, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Günther Herbig, Vassili Sinaiski, Alexander Dmitriev, Dmitry Lyss, Okko Kamu, Christoph Poppen, Lawrence Renes, Donald Runnicles, Lan Shui, Uroš Lajovic, Arnold Katz and Bruno Weil.

N PVC Ê

2017

Denis Goldfeld has recorded CDs for labels such as Sony Classical, MCA Classic and Zig-Zag Territoires.

10

aDJuDiCatorÊ |Ê lyNNetteÊ seah Lynnette Seah was the acting Leader at the inception of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in January 1979, and is currently its Co-Concertmaster. As a soloist, she has performed with the SSO and several orchestras in Europe including Josef Suk’s Fantasie with Zurich Symphony Orchestra in the Tonhalle Zurich, the Mozart Violin Concerto in G major with the Orebro Chamber Orchestra in Sweden, and the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Teplice Symphony Orchestra and Finnish conductor Ralf Sjobel in Czechoslovakia.

Lynnette began her formal music training on the piano with her mother when she was five and started the violin a year later with Goh Soon Tioe and later with Alphonso Anthony. She won scholarships including one to the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan USA when she was twelve where she was awarded the Outstanding Young Musicians Award for being the youngest member of the World Youth Orchestra there. At the Australia National Music Camp in Adelaide, she was appointed at the age of 15 as Associate Leader of the Bishop Symphony Orchestra.

That same year she represented Singapore in the Southeast Asian Violin Competition, and won a scholarship to study at the Hannover Hochschule for Music in Germany the following year. She has worked with renowned violin teachers including David Mankowitz, Friedrich von Hausegger, Karel Sneberger, Yfrah Neaman and Dorothy DeLay. In June 1995, she was invited to perform at the Bergen International Music Festival in Norway where she gave a recital. In April 1996 she was invited to represent Singapore in the World Philharmonic Orchestra in Bangkok, Thailand for the King’s 50th Anniversary of his ascension under the baton of Myung Whun Chung. Lynnette gave the world premiere of Singaporean composer Bernard Tan’s Violin Concerto at the SSO 27th Anniversary Concert in 2006. She was the Guest Leader for Macau Symphony for their 2007 China concert tour.

Lynnette is also the leader and founder of the Jade Quartet which has performed in Shanghai and Hangzhou and for many visiting Heads of States at the Istana for the President and Prime Minister of Singapore, including the Emperor and Empress of Japan and the Prime Minister of Australia.

N PVC Ê

Due to an injury, Mr Kam Kee Yong will not be on the adjudication panel.

2017

In 2006 Lynnette Seah was presented the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest arts award, by President S R Nathan. In March 2014 she was honoured with the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame Award. In 2009 her album “A Musical Odyssey” was released.

Lynnette performs on her own violin, a 1750 Gabrielli of Firenze, Italy.

11

PiaNoÊ setÊ PieCeÊ ComPoserÊ |Ê KaNGyiÊ z haNG Kangyi Zhang is a flutist-composer whose programmatic music often highlights important historical events or personal life experiences.

As a flutist, Kangyi has performed on various stages in the United States, Malaysia and Singapore. His composition mentors are Bernard Tan Tiong Gie, Gerald Shapiro, Jay Alan Yim, Bruce Broughton, Drew Schnurr and Ian Krouse.

Kangyi’s composition Unit 731: The Museum and the Survivors is the special mention winner at the 2015 Orient/Occident Composers Competition and Forum (Lviv, Ukraine) The chamber orchestra version was selected for the ADDO Chamber Orchestra 2017’s “HaveYou Experienced” Composition Competition. His composition Syonanto: Remembering Shinozaki Mamoru is the Merit Prize winner at the 2016 China-ASEAN Music Festival Composition Competition. His electronic piece Crossing the Border was selected for New Music Masterworks, The New Music Conflagration in Florida. Kangyi was also featured in the A-List magazine as one of six promising Singaporean composers.

N PVC Ê

2017

Kangyi is currently composer-flutist and Media Director at Chamber Circle.

12

CyCliCÊ Coexi steNCeÊ (2017)

Climate change has made news headlines again due to the perpetual battle between global warming skeptics and activists for immediate action. Recently, America withdrew from the Paris agreement while approximately 200 nations are signatories.

I am also intrigued after watching several shocking documentaries. In the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, illegal deforestation for tea plantations resulted in repeated flash floods and the loss of lives. By the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

Fish ingest the non-biodegradable microplastics and humans then consume such seafood. In addition, microplastics are leached into the ecosystem when we wash polyester garments. Hence, I see a cyclical impact whereby human actions set off a chain reaction which ultimately result in retribution or reward.

The melodic and harmonic basis of this piece is based entirely on the famous circle of fifths. The piece begins by depicting the pristine forests and tranquil oceans in “Codependence and Coexistence of Humans and Nature”. Since note pairs at opposite ends of the circle of fifths forms a tritone, this circle of tritones forms the harmonic progression for the middle fast section — “Deforestation, Pollution, Extinction”. Two pairs of tritones (C-F#, A-Eb) feature prominently as they form the main axes of my circle. Imagine the sounds of mechanical destruction like drilling and the chopping down of trees.

At the climax, the extreme notes of the piano are used to show that adverse climate change is at the maximum level tolerable by our planet. Finally, in “Glimmer of Hope”, we recognize the urgency of climate change and we are reversing the damage. The jerky melody in the fast section reappears in this section in retrograde form.

I hope that individuals to large organizations can appreciate the tremendous impact of their choices and actions. Singular actions, when combined, lead to large scale significant outcomes.

N PVC Ê

2017

Programme notes by Kangyi Zhang

13

PostCarD sÊ fromÊ siNGaPoreÊ (2017)

In this work, I share three different facets of Singapore which I find unique. Music materials are derived from several Malay folk-songs popular in the Malay Archipelago (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia etc.) – Dayung Sampan, Chan Mali Chan, Rasa Sayang.

The work begins with “Civilian War Memorial” to highlight the trials and tribulations suffered during WWII. Located prominently in the heart of the central business district, this memorial reminds us of the war atrocities, particularly the Sook Ching massacre.

The peaceful melody of Dayung Sampan gradually gains momentum and a sense of grief.

Next, I write about “Hawker Centres”, a fast polyrhythmic section where Rasa Sayang melody is juxtaposed with Chan Mali Chan. I have always been impressed by how overseas Singaporeans are willing to drive long distances for great Asian food. In our local food paradise, the atmosphere is joyful amidst the intense noise and chaos.

Singaporeans fight aggressively for seats and “chope” the tables with tissue packets or other objects. To symbolize this, the pianist taps the piano loudly. As I was writing this work, a couple was charged over a shoving incident at a Toa Payoh hawker centre. Such an ugly spat is rare but it reminds me of the competitiveness of Singaporeans.

The view of Marina Bay is a popular feature on many Singapore postcards.

Against all odds, this young nation rapidly rose from third world to first. I imagine the skyscrapers, which are monuments of success, rising above the waters. The arpeggios at the beginning returns and the Rasa Sayang theme appears prominently.

Finally, I included a short coda “Honouring our Forefathers”. The best way to honour them is to appreciate their contributions and strive for greater success.

N PVC Ê

2017

Programme notes by Kangyi Zhang

14

VioliNÊ setÊ PieCeÊ ComP oserÊ |Ê eriCÊ watsoNÊ Born in the UK, Eric Watson received tertiary musical training at Trinity College of Music in London where his principal studies were piano, violin, composition, and conducting for which he was awarded the Ricordi Prize. After graduating he worked as repetiteur in opera and music director for musicals.

For over twenty years, Eric Watson has lived in Singapore where he is active as composer, conductor, music technologist and pedagogue. His experience embraces opera, musical theatre, film and television and he has written scores in many diverse and different genres including Electro-Acoustic music, Gamelan and Chinese Orchestra. In 2001, he was the composer and musical director for the Singapore National Day parade for which he recorded an orchestral score with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and again in 2007 he wrote and arranged orchestral music for National Day with four different orchestras — the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, a smaller Indian ensemble and a Malay ensemble.

In 2006，Eric Watson was awarded First Prize in the Singapore International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition for his work, Tapestries I – Time Dances; and in 2011 he wrote the first prize winning piece Aftermath for the Singapore Piano and Violin competition.

Since residing in Singapore he has written the musical, A River In Time in which he achieved a fusion of Western orchestra, gamelan and small Chinese orchestra, followed by second musical, Land of A Thousand Dreams. Numerous other works include Singapura, a set of orchestra variations based on the local melody of the same name; The Wind for Symphonic Band and Chorus, Samarkand, a concert march for symphonic band, Concerto for Chinese Orchestra and Tabla and Songs of the North, a concerto grosso for Chinese orchestra, fiddle, English concertina, pipa and dizi , Tapestries II – The Land Beneath the Wind for Chinese orchestra, The Golden Orb for harp ensemble and recently a short symphonic piece Intersections written for the Orchestra of the Musicmakers.

N PVC Ê

2017

Eric Watson is currently Senior Teaching Fellow at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and in his pedagogical work he takes a special interest in teaching both classical and contemporary orchestration, composition, jazz and improvisational techniques. He is one of the composers and conductors for the Asian Traditional Orchestra and his activities as performer, composer and lecturer take him to many parts of South East Asia, China, Japan, Australia and Europe. His publications include Grades 1 to 8 theory workbooks and two volumes of piano arrangements Main Stream & Standard Jazz.

15

CoNCertÊ faNtasie

This composition is a set of variations based on the melody, played as harmonics, presented at the beginning of the piece. The harmonics are meant to be heard as a ‘bell-like’ introduction while at the same time presenting the thematic material.

There are six variations and a final extended variation which becomes an extended coda to the whole piece and eventually returns to the simplicity of the opening belllike theme.

Each variation explores a different mood ranging from calm and mysterious through majestic and playful to tempestuous and furious and each variation also shows a different aspect of technical and musical violin playing.

The variations are called free because while they are derived from the theme presented at the opening they also range far from the structure of the theme and become fantasies, hence the title, a fantasy for concert performance.

to CCataÊ

– Ê eCCeN triCÊ DaNCe

The title Toccata comes from the Italian word toccare meaning to touch and generally implies a composition that has many fast notes featuring technical and virtuosic playing requiring great finger facility. The subtitle though is Eccentric Dance and as I wrote it I had in mind the Tarantella dance originating from the province of Taranto, Italy. This dance has two aspects, a stately court dance, which you can hear in the middle section of the work and a more frenetic, agitated movement which is heard in the first and final section. This supposedly originates from the jerky, hysterical and spasmodic body actions of a victim bitten by the wolf or tarantula spider common to that region of Italy.

The ‘whirling, delirium’ tarantella dance is most often written in 6/8 and is played faster and faster and ends only when one of the dancers gives up in exhaustion!

N PVC Ê

2017

Programme notes by Eric Watson

16

Co NDuCtorÊ |Ê JoshuaÊ taNÊ Second Prize winner of the 2008 Dimitris Mitropoulos International Competition, Singaporean conductor Joshua Tan’s rise to prominence on the international scene has been marked by successful debuts in Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Mariinsky Hall, Bunkamura, Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan. He was featured as the top Singaporean musical talent in 2009 by the Singapore newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao. He has also won numerous awards and scholarships, including the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Award, NAC-Shell Scholarship, SSO/MOE Scholarship and is the first ever recipient of the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize from the Juilliard School for outstanding achievement. In 2011, he received the Young Artist Award of Singapore.

Tan has studied with leading conductors James DePreist, Charles Dutoit, David Zinman and Kurt Masur. He has conducted the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, Beethoven Bonn Orchestra, St Petersburg State Symphony, Russiche Kammerphilharmonie, National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra (NCPA), China Philharmonic, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic and many more orchestras from China and Japan.

In opera, Tan has conducted La traviata, Tosca, Rigoletto, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Cosi fan tutte and was also cover conductor for Christoph Eschenbach and Lorin Maazel. Adept with film/multimedia, Tan is a Disney-approved conductor and gave the Asian premiere of Fantasia. He has also conducted for the BBC’s Planet Earth Series.

N PVC Ê

2017

Tan is presently Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra. He was Resident Conductor, NCPA Orchestra from 2009 to 2012. Highlights of the 2016/17 season include debuts with Sinfonia Varsovia, Japan Century Orchestra, Swan Lake and Giselle in Tokyo, Turandot, L’elisir d’amore in Singapore. Tan is a graduate of the Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music (High Distinction).

17

N PVC Ê

2017

NPVCÊ orChes tra

18

NPVCÊ musiCiaNs ConduCtor Joshua Tan

VIoLA Guan Qi Principal Christoven Tan Janice Tsai Jonathan Lee Marietta Ku Shui Bing Wei Jun-Ting Yeo Jan Wea

douBLE BASS Yang Zheng Yi Principal Jacek Mirucki Olga Alexandrova FLutE Evgueni Brokmiller Principal Miao Shan Shan PICCoLo / FLutE Sin Jin How

BASSoon Liu Chang Principal Christoph Wichert Horn Kartik Alan Jairamin Principal Linda Chua Marcus Kwek Nigel Leong truMPEt Lau Wen Rong Principal Maggie Wei troMBonE Damian Patti Principal Samuel Armstrong BASS troMBonE / troMBonE Wang Wei

oBoE Pan Yun Principal Carolyn Hollier

tIMPAnI Christian Schiøler Principal

CLArInEt Tang Xiao Ping Principal Liu Yoko

PErCuSSIon Zhu Zheng Yi Lim Meng Keh

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments.

Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

2017

SECond VIoLIn Hai-Won Kwok Principal Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Nikolai Koval* Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan*

CELLo Guo Hao Principal Lin Juan Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er

N PVC Ê

FIrSt VIoLIn Kong Zhao Hui* Concertmaster Cao Can* Duan Yu Ling Gu Wen Li Jin Li Karen Tan Sui Jing Jing Wei Zhe Xu Jue Yi Ye Lin

19

awarDs The top three winners of each age category will receive trophies and cash prizes: Artist 1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize

$5,000 $3,500 $2,000

Senior 1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize

$2,500 $1,000 $800

Intermediate 1st prize $1,000 2nd prize $800 3rd prize $400

1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize

Junior $800 $400 $200

Finalists who do not win the top three prizes, but have shown promise in their performances, may receive Honourable Mentions and cash awards of $100 each.

aCKNowleDGemeNts THE ORGANISER WOULD LIKE TO THANK The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the National Arts Council (NAC) for their support of this competition.

PRE-COMPETITION SCREENING PANELS

N PVC Ê

2017

PIANO Shane Thio Dr Margaret Chen Pang Siu Yuin

20

VIOLIN Igor Yuzefovich Kong Zhao Hui Guan Qi

orGANISed by tHe SINGApore SyMpHoNy Group

Supported by

www.sso.org.sg/npvc