Rapture And Titan

Singapore Symphony Orchestra featuring Lan Shui and Bomsori Kim
Esplanade Concert Hall
March 1

After over two decades as music director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), Lan Shui, now conductor laureate of the orchestra, has been adamant that his comeback as a guest conductor should not be rushed.

Now, after an absence of over five years, he returns to much adulation and applause.

A Lan Shui reprise with the SSO would not feel right without a Mahler symphony, but a pairing with a young star soloist is also something audiences have come to expect.

This evening, the honour went to 34-year-old prize-winning South Korean violinist Bomsori Kim in Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Violin Concerto.

Nielsen began writing his violin concerto at Edvard Grieg’s composing retreat at age 46, by which time he had completed several major works, including two symphonies.

As a violinist, he had lofty aspirations for his concerto, including that it should “have substance and be popular and showy without being superficial”.

The resulting 35-minute work has become one of the mainstays of 20th-century violin concertos, although it has not achieved the popularity of concertos from the likes of Prokofiev, Barber or Korngold.

The two-movement work has all the virtuosity Kim could wish for in the first movement. Opening with a huge orchestral exclamation, the soloist immediately has an extended virtuoso passage, accompanied by a long, single note on the horn.

It was all that Kim needed to establish herself as a top-tier soloist, with excellent tone production, boundless energy and a hunger to express herself musically.

The second and final movement was again a slow-fast one, but Nielsen vowed that the fast section “renounces everything that might dazzle or impress”.

That is largely true, as the solo part is playful and rustic throughout, save for a brilliant final cadenza. Kim’s playing was light, in character and appealing. The orchestral accompaniment was valiant but laboured, as if more intent on getting to the Mahler reunion in the second half.

Can performing Mahler’s Titan Symphony be akin to getting back on a bicycle after years of not riding?

For the SSO and Shui, it almost felt like the muscle memory and emotions were rushing back on stage.

One could see that every note and every idea were fully developed in Shui’s mind as he directed the almost hour-long work without score.

Yet, he allowed himself the freedom to follow his emotions and instinct throughout the performance. He was totally prepared, yet fully spontaneous, so that the unwary musician could be caught out by an unexpected change in tempo or an extended pause.

The quiet, shimmering string opening of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 brought back memories of inspired performances of the composer by the SSO.

The polish and balance were not what was heard at the peak of Shui’s tenure with the orchestra in the mid-2010s, but the tension and drama were all there. It would have been nice to hear the opening trumpet fanfares played from offstage, but the section did so well that this omission went almost unnoticed.

Shui’s take on the Landler (Austrian folk dance) theme in the second movement is typically brisk and robust, and so it was this evening. Despite an especially energetic middle section trio, he portrayed the Austrian spirit of the movement most beautifully.

A minor-key canon of Frere Jacques on various instruments is the basis of the third movement dirge (funeral song). Assistant principal double bass Yang Zheng Yi’s opening solo was positive and fluent, but some soulful irony would have elevated Mahler’s inspired use of this children’s melody. Associate principal double bass Yang Zheng Yi’s opening solo was positive and fluent, but some soulful irony would have elevated Mahler’s inspired use of this children’s melody. The unceremonious interruption of the solemnity by a raucous Klezmer band was well carried off by the SSO’s winds, who were in good form all evening.

Mahler’s music is synonymous with heroic horn-playing, and the SSO’s horn section, greatly evolved since Shui last directed, had a wonderful outing.

Just 10 nights earlier, the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s horn section also excelled in the same symphony, with warm, slightly muted tone colour. This evening, the SSO horns sounded robust and direct, but every bit as appealing. It just goes to show that there can be many shades to great music-making.

Shui’s conducting has always been a heart-on-sleeve affair. Hair-raising tempos, dramatic turns and total commitment are par for the course.

That is what audiences and the musicians of the SSO love. Can we have more, please?

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that Yang Zheng Yi is the assistant principal bass. This is incorrect. He is the assistant principal double bas. We are sorry for the error.