Singapore Symphony proves that Debussy and Stravinsky make good partners

Despite their divergent composing styles, there is much simpatico about early 20th century’s two greatest composers, Frenchman Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and the Russian Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). Debussy was full of praise for the younger Stravinsky. Oh, to be a fly in the room where both men hammered out Le Sacre du printemps, four hands on a single piano. And what does one give to witness Stravinsky’s tribute in memory of Debussy, the Symphonies of Wind Instruments? 

Although its London premiere in 1921 was greeted with ridicule, the acerbic idiom and raw dissonances no longer sound forbidding. Much had to do with the tight ensemble established by 23 Singapore Symphony woodwind and brass players under Hans Graf’s direction. Its raucous discords belied a debt to Russian folk music. Simple melody and rustic rhythm were mashed into compact form, with the spirit of Le Sacre and Les Noces looming overhead. Playing with accuracy was key, but the droll dirge-like close without hint of sentimentality probably captured Debussy’s memory best. 

Staying in Stravinsky’s neoclassical period was the Violin Concerto in D major (1931), unusually cast in four movements which may be likened to a cross between the Baroque concerto grosso and a Bach cantata. Serving as its motto (Stravinsky called it his passport) was the outsized violin chord (D-E-A) spanning well over two octaves, appearing at the head of all the movements. 

Young Chinese violinist Ziyu He, student of the Salzburg Mozarteum, was the plain-speaking soloist, whose sweet tone and non-histrionic demeanour served the music well. There was no preening or prancing, just incisive yet light-footed playing in the opening Toccata and closing Capriccio. Cleanly articulated throughout, he brought out a singing quality for the central Arias, giving scope for some serious level of emoting. This thoughtful young man brought out the cheers simply because he made even the most fiendish passages sound easy. His encore was a perfect postlude, the lovely Andante slow movement from Bach’s unaccompanied Violin Sonata no. 2 in A minor, BWV1003. 

Debussy’s three symphonic sketches of the sea, La Mer, has long been a favourite work of the orchestra’s, having made a critically-acclaimed disc on the BIS label under Graf’s predecessor, Lan Shui. Despite the album’s considerable merits, a live performance always tops a recording, simply by the sheer immediacy afforded. From the opening bars of De l’aube a midi sur la mer (From Dawn to Noon on the Sea), one was struck by the vivid orchestral colour and ensuing relentless sense of rhythm. Pulsing ceaselessly, mellow strings distinguished by guest concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich’s solos, gentle winds and shimmering percussion melded into an evocative sound canvas. One might cite Claude Monet’s impressionism as an inspiration, but JWM Turner’s brighter and blurry seascapes may be the closer to the point, evident by the orchestra’s majestic roar towards the movement’s close. 

The second movement’s Jeux de vagues (Play of the Waves), a Scherzo-like central panel, was lit up by xylophone and pitched percussion, a ballet of ever-changing movement. Billowing waves and stormy clouds enveloped Dialogue du vent et de la mer (Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea), with Jon Paul Dante’s trumpet leading the charge. Seldom has the ocean’s wrath been captured with such exciting frisson, with all hands on deck, living dangerously on the edge.