The Performance venue was the Esplanade Concert Hall, which is usually utilized for orchestral performances, rendering this duet performance special. The brilliant acoustics of the hall allowed the soloistic sounds of the two instruments to blend while still retaining their individual colours – the smooth perfection of Feng Ning’s violin and the bright drumming of Lim Yan’s piano.

Both players maintained a relaxed composure, especially Feng Ning with his comfortable posture, and positioned themselves strategically in the middle of the stage, thus filling the space and making their presence felt.

2) Number of players

There were only two players in this concert, forming a violin-piano duet. Although it was a clichéd and oft-repeated combination, Feng Ning and Lim Yan broke frontiers with their extraordinary coordination and fiery interpretations, thus introducing new life to the pieces.

3) Instrumentation

a) The Violin

A predominantly European instrument that was believed to have evolved in Central Asia or the Middle East and reached the height of its making in Cremona, Italy. Noted makers include Antonio Stradivarius and Andrea Amati. The Violin used by Feng Ning is not specified.

b) The Piano

Also a predominantly European instrument, the piano, or pianoforte, evolved from the harpsichord and clavichord of the baroque period. Noted present-day makers include Steinway , Kawai and Yamaha. The Piano used at the Esplanade is not specified.

ALIBI - the concert itself

1) The composers and the works

a. Beethoven(1770-1827) – Violin Sonata No. 2

Dedicated to Antonio Salieri, Ludwig van Beethoven’s one-time friend and teacher, this work was written in the composer’s late 20s and is the second in a set of three. Beethoven’s experimental side shines through in this piece, which places the solo violin in an infernal role of modulations, cross-rhythms and technical fireworks. His temperamental character gives its fair share as well, contributing sudden mood swings between a playful first subject and a solemn second one, as well as a deeply tragic second movement.

b. Schnittke (1934-1998) – Violin sonata No. 1

Alfred Schnittke, regrettably, is not very well-known to many of us classical music buffs. A German Jew living in the Soviet with musical training in Vienna, Schnittke combined the 12-tone harshness of the Second Viennese School with the proletariat-accessible warmth of Russian music in this Sonata. The four movements begin slow, transit to playfulness, rise into a hymn and end in a demanding finale.

c. Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) – Ballade et Polonaise

Out of the many outstanding pedagogues of the French school, Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski are doubtless two of the most well-known ones. A child prodigy, Henry Vieuxtemps went on to compose seven concertos and countless pieces for violin and orchestra – later arranged for violin and piano. The Ballade et Polonaise, a two-part work consisting of a soaring melodic ballade and a fast and furious polonaise, is one of them.

d.Schumann (1810-1856) – Violin Sonata No. 2

Known more as a composer for the Piano, it comes as no surprise that this Violin Sonata of Robert Schumann’s contains a heavy piano part as well. In this work, Schumann gives almost equal weight to both instruments, melding the mellow voice of the violin with the broad chords of the piano while giving melodic importance to both, and proves that in such instrumentation the violin is never only a soloist, and neither is the piano only an accompaniment.

e. Chen (1935) – Sunshine over tashkurgan

Though known by his landmark composition – the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, Chen Gang also wrote many shorter pieces for the violin with piano accompaniment. This folk-inspired piece is written about the village of Tashkurgan, a border settlement in Xinjiang, China, where life takes a slow and leisurely pace away from the city. The beautiful opening theme represents the rising sun, and the whimsical violin part goes on to describe the lives of the villagers.

f. Paganini (1782-1840) – I Palpiti

The original name of this piece is ‘Di Tanti Palpiti’ and describes the beating, or palpitating, of a heart. Making use of a theme by Rossini in the opera ‘Tancredi’, Nicolo Paganini opens the work with majestic piano chords before delving into what is one of the most stunning and technically demanding violin showpieces of all time, making full use of double harmonics, left-hand pizzicato and other special effects.

g. (Encore) Paganini (1782-1840) – Cantabile

It is said by many that Paganini’s pieces are all style and no substance, in other words, full of technical tricks but with little melodic value. However, this piece, a lyrical contrast to Paganini’s fiery style, is a lasting monument to the musical side of this great virtuoso. Although not lacking in the traditional Paganini technicality, the main challenge of the piece is to convince the audience that it is, despite the showiness, a simple and beautiful melody.

2) The Performers

a. Feng Ning

Feng Ning’s career thus far is almost the stuff of legends – the Chengdu-born violinist first started on the instrument with private teacher Wen Youxin at four and gave his first performance the very next year. His talent then took him under the tutelage of Prof. Hu Weimin at the Sichuan Conservatoire of Music, before sending him across half the globe to study with his teacher’s father, Prof. Hu Kun, at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he went on the become the first student in two centuries to be given full marks for his final recital.

Truly a concert artist, Feng Ning’s performance record blazes brighter than many of his contemporaries. At 16 he trumped the International Art Competition, made records with JVC Victor Records, and performed in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Two years later, the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin invited him to perform in Germany, and clinched the Damson Francois-Scarbo Prize in the International Jacques Thibaud Violin Competition in the same year. The following year saw him coming in second in the Folkestone Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition as well as winning the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Emily Anderson Prize. Within the next half-decade, Feng Ning went on to sweep prizes at seven competitions, culminating in his decisive victory at the world-renowned Paganini International Violin Competition in 2006.

Since then, Feng Ning has made various records and appeared as soloist with major Orchestras worldwide, including the London Mozart Players and the Belgium National Symphony Orchestra. Ever the lifelong learner, he continues his pursuit of excellence under Prof. Antje Weithaas in Berlin, at the Hochschule fur Music.

b. Lim Yan

A name well-known on concert arenas here and abroad, Lim Yan is a household name. This outstanding young Singaporean pianist began learning the keys at five and bagged multiple awards at the National Music Competitions as a boy. First under the teaching of Ms Lim Tshui Ling, he sojourned abroad and studied at the Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester with David Hartigan, followed by the University of Manchester and the Royal Nothern College of Music, under Ronan O’Hora.

Also an extensive performer, Lim Yan premiered Der Heimat zu by John Hails at the Cheltenham Festival, and worked with the Halle Orchestra at the famous Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. During his time overseas, Lim Yan continued to take part in international competitions, eventually winning top place at the Karic International Piano Competition in 2001.

After his return to Singapore, Lim Yan began working with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, performing with them in four occasions, including the premiere of Leong Yoon Pin’s Piano Concerto. Besides multiple appearances at the Singapore Arts Festival and the International Piano Festival, he has performed with piano quintet Take 5 – comprising 4 SSO talents – and piano trio recitals with Wang Jian and Lik Wuk, the world-famous cellist and violinist respectively. It is no surprise, then, that in October 2006 he was awarded the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council.

3) Music Review

a. Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 2

After a long day at school, it was a relief to hear the beautiful cheeriness of the opening movement, with its playful exchanges that sent me back to the primary school times when school was never this busy. As Feng Ning and Lim Yan played, smiling at each other, and each delivering his lines to match the other, they became more like playmates than concert artists – laughing, crying and teasing without a care in the world. Towards the second movement there was a deep weeping passage, but it lightened up into a dance once again in the third movement, as if showing how two friends reaffirmed their friendship.

b. Schnittke – Violin sonata No. 1
In this modern era, there are few composers who continue to write for the time-worn classical instruments, indeed, most of the music that fills the markets nowadays feature the voice and the rock band as their predominant medium. However, Schnittke combines the best of both worlds by inserting the styles of our age – atonality, jazz and pentatone – into a work for the violin. The mysterious twists and turns of this piece were played evenly by Feng Ning, who navigated the jarring chords and sudden modulations with the courage of the ancient Theseus mapping the Labyrinth. Every swing in mood was brought out in Feng Ning’s interpretation, from the solemn hymn to the desperate war-cry, and an unparalled optimism injected to the last plucked chords.

c. Vieuxtemps – Ballade et Polonaise

At the time of the concert, I was playing the piece “Introduction and Rondo Capriccio” by Camille Saint-Saens (incidentally, another influential Romantic French composer), which had the same structure as this Ballade et Polonaise – a slow and reflective section followed by a capricious dance. What struck me most about Feng Ning’s delivery of this piece was how he managed to alter the entire atmosphere of the hall to fit the mood of the piece when transiting between sections. This reminds us that to be a good performer, one must not just master his instrument well but know how to move the hearts of his audience with whatever he plays.

d.Schumann – Violin Sonata No. 2

At thirty-one minutes, this was by far the longest piece on the programme, its substantiality thus earning its title of ‘The Great Sonata’. Coincidentally or not, its premiere was given by another violinist greatly reputed for his smooth and rich tone, the revered Joseph Joachim, and Feng Ning continued the tradition with a likewise beautiful performance. What shone through in the first movement especially was how the different moods of the two instruments’ parts could blend with each other so perfectly – the nimble chords of the piano against the melancholic voice of the violin, the latter which was described by Joachim as ‘overflowing with noble passion’ and culminated in a victorious finale.

e. Chen Gang – Sunshine over tashkurgan

There was an obvious intimacy in this showpiece as Feng Ning presented a piece from his homeland. Feng Ning stayed perfectly in tune with the composer’s wishes as he turned his violin first into an erhu, then a dizi, and then a darma, mimicking the voices of the folk instruments that the song was written to portray. It is often said that a picture paints a thousand words, but in this recital, Feng Ning painted more than that, adding in drips of laughter, tears of memories and the pitter-patter of busy feet, bringing the audience over the hills and across the seas to Tashkurgan itself.

f. Paganini – I Palpiti

Many have said that needles and silk can never feel the same, but Feng Ning brought the two together by carrying the stunning ‘magic tricks’ of the piece through with an impeccably smooth tone. Striding confidently into the piece, he scarcely batted an eyelid as he ran through the variations with the clarity and precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, yet giving each and every variation a different tone and mood. Especially astounding were the repeated ascending runs towards the end of the piece, leaping across the strings and up octaves with clever use of harmonics, as if throwing a challenge to his listeners to play a scale even higher than he could. Till this day, the memory of the piece still touches me, not just Feng Ning’s technical flawlessness, but also how he turned what many violinists would treat as a dry death challenge into a playful and exhilarating performance.

g. (Encore) Paganini – Cantabile

Having played a number of Paganini’s pieces myself, this emotional specimen came as a surprise to me as many of Paganini’s pieces are unquestionably light and impish (for example, La Campanella – the bell, or even his 24 Caprices). Besides the unforgettable pin-drop silence that Feng Ning’s melancholic recital conjured, the piece is a constant reminder to me that however far we go in terms of our technical pursuits on the instrument, we must always return to the heart and soul of the music – expression.

HYPOTHESIS - reflections

1) Which part of the concert did you like best?

The heart of many performances lie in the pieces presented, but for this particular concert, what struck me most was the casual and intimate mannerisms of the performers, the way they exuded friendliness and a love for music on stage, and how they faced the difficult pieces with confidence. This concert happened just two and a half months after the National Violin and Piano Competitions last year, where I’d been faced with a serious stage fright problem. Thus the relaxed music-making I saw here touched me especially.

Of course, the impeccable technique of both Feng Ning and Lim Yan made a big impact on me as well. The violin and piano are both instruments that I play, and often I’ve found that my love of music is there but my technique is nowhere near performing standard. This concert reminded me to continue working in this area!

2) Do you have any adverse reactions or criticisms?

There only criticism I have about this concert doesn’t concern the performers, but the audience. During the concert, especially the first few pieces, there were obvious noises of loud talking and coughing, and even sounds of chewing and munching that came from the back stalls. This disturbed a number of fellow listeners who turned around to shush the culprits, whereupon the noise died down but rose again soon after. Personally, I felt that this was a show of utter disrespect not just to the exquisite art that was being presented on stage, but also to the performers as people. Well, this has become another important takeaway from this performance – to always give full respect to whoever performs, for the sake of other listeners as well as the performers.

3) Have you learnt anything from the concert?

Although the secrets of Feng Ning’s and Lim Yan’s playing could not be learnt in one night, the two most important lessons from this concert, I felt, were these: first, the importance of being relaxed on stage. It is only when one is relaxed that the audience can see, hear and feel his love for music. Second, the importance of communication in any duet performance, or any ensemble performance for that matter. In this concert, Feng Ning and Lim Yan’s perfect cooperation spoke of their hard practice, as well as their mutual love for music, and amplified the skill of both.