Melvyn Tan plays Mozart Piano Sonata in C

What a night, Melvyn Tan played Schumann, Debussy and Chopin. This was his first concert in Singapore in around 30 years? Due to his 'exile' as he was deemed to have 'escaped' national service, he didn't have the opportunity to visit the place he was born.

Anyhow, the playing was great, though I fell asleep thru the entire first piece. I was somehow exhausted, perhaps due to the great meal at Tomo Izakaya (fantastic Sashimi!!) I was awoken to rapturous applause.

The second half was great, through Chopin's Polonaise and Sonata. But as someone who is not 'hardcore' about classical music, my favourite section in recitals is always the encore. The first was a Chopin's Etude, and the 3rd and last piece was also another Etude (The 'Revolutionary', a decent way to end the night. But to me, the show stopper was when he played Mozart's Sonata in C, 2nd movement. And it was the only time Melvyn spoke during the show, that he last played this piece when he was eight years old at the Victoria theater. What strikes me in the simplistic music of Mozart Sonata is in the masterful playing by Melvyn of this ''children's piece.

Simplicity is sometimes best in our ever chaotic world, and with a maestro helming the Steinway & Sons concert grand, Mozart's music was ringing again, from the about-to-be-refurbished Victoria hall, through the 21st century Esplanade Concert Hall. What a generation!

01-01-11 Reckoning of 2010

Another yr has flashed past. Glancing briefly at my year end post of 2009, it's another year gone!! 2010 is over...just like that! This blog hasn't been updated often enough, as the world has gone hyper pace with IT, and blogspot is so '2009', and 2010 is all about Facebook.
I'll still like to reflect on 2010 over at this post.
Back in March, Wenhui and I went to Sepang for the 3rd or 4th time, with some waning in interest.
Year of wines:
I've been lucky enough to have a great team of wine comrades, meeting occasionally to enjoy the tippings from grape juice, climaxing this year with a 1982 DRC Richebourg Magnum bottle during christmas eve.
Roadshows, I've been part of all the major roadshows + some misc shows this year, 6 of them!

Trip of the year, Germany!! It was a list of 'things to do before I die', not quite, but you get the picture with things like driving 220kmh in BMW on the Autobahn, drinking beer from 1L mugs at Oktober Fest, going to roman-type spa at Baden-Baden, visiting Mercedes and Porsche museums in Stuttgart and visiting the largest photography fair in the world, Photokina, was simply unforgettable.
YOG, the opening fell on my birthday, 14th August, and Wenhui got a room at MBS, and the bay view from the 'top of Singapore' was simply spectacular!!