Cristofori’s annual grand students’ concert and star student recognition awards, Musicale 2023 wrapped up on 8th December at the National Drama Centre with colorful, touching numbers performed by our very own students and teachers, featuring songs from our childhoods.

This year’s concert also broke records for our school, having the largest number of performers to date in the concert program with performers numbering close to 200! With the largest number of big ensembles presenting, Musicale 2023 will certainly be a memorable one!

The concert opened with a highly energetic Jay Chou extravaganza by a percussion ensemble playing to one of his greatest hits “霍元甲 Fearless” to heighten the mood with a heart-pumping beat. A medley of familiar tunes from nursery rhymes to anime themes and K-pop tracks, and radio hits followed in “Mixed Musical Anecdotes”, and was then succeeded by a rendition of Maroon 5’s “Memories” by violin ensemble.

With Disney’s surge of revival films, “The Little Mermaid” has now been reintroduced to a new generation and was reinterpreted in epic fashion with a suspenseful introduction leading into the familiar strains of the well-loved “Part of Your World” played by band, strings and flute. 

The evergreen melody of Richard Clayderman’s 1977 instrumental piece “Ballade Pour Adeline” invoked feelings of nostalgia, interpreted soulfully by the guitar ensemble. A piano duet then came on stage to play “Disney Princess Medley”, bringing many of us back into our childhood years. The Star Students Awards then followed as we took a break from the performances to honor this year’s Star Student Awardees.

The performances resumed with Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” arranged for very unique instrumentation with handbells, otomatone, melodica, piano, and band, giving a whimsical holiday twist to this composition. An acoustic rendition of a medley of Mandopop hits from Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysian singers was the next programme that surely captured the hearts of the audience followed by an instrumental cover of Lady Gaga’s chart-topping “Bad Romance”.

Disney is certainly a big part of our collective childhoods as evidenced with a spectacular solo piano rendition of “Prince Ali” from “Aladdin”, followedand closing out the program was a choir presentation of the songs “Homeward Bound”, and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.

The performers’ efforts definitely paid off, giving their best to a SOLD OUT house! Despite the challenges of arranging group rehearsals, the support of teachers, staff and family members made everything possible.

The evening was also a chance for us to acknowledge our hard-working students at the Star Student Awards, recognising the role models among our students with their work ethic and support of Cristofori activities and events.  (any poster/artwork for all star students?) Congratulations to all 28 Cristofori Star Students for 2023! Keep up the good work!

Full List of Performers, Star Student Awardees and Acknowledgements can be found in the Musicale Concert Programme!

The Musicale 2023: Music We Grew Up With was an excellent and enjoyable show for the whole family. Congratulations to all the performers, and we look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s Musicale!

Singapore-born, London-based pianist See Ning Hui gave a delightful recital at Bechstein Music World on 2nd December 2023 themed around poetry and romance through the eyes of some lesser-known woman composers. Ning Hui’s selection of pieces by Amy Beach, Kaija Saariaho, and Clara Schumann painted snapshots of love through oceans, storms, and rain. 

Even before completing her PhD studies at the Royal College of Music, See Ning Hui has been championing women composers’ works in her performances. As a researcher, Ning Hui examines issues of gender, value, and the musical canon. She is passionate about practical and meaningful strategies towards the integration of lesser-known composers into concert repertoire and education, which she skillfully exhibits in this recital with her carefully curated programme. 

About the Artiste

Ning Hui See is an award-winning Singapore-born pianist recognized for her “refined touch, voluminous sound, and an all-rounded musical personality” (The Straits Times). She is a C H Scholar working with Prof Rosie Perkins, Prof Natasha Loges, and Danny Driver at the Royal College of Music London. She is also a Graduate Teaching Assistant for historical studies.

A Kris Foundation Artist, she has given recitals at the Pallant House Gallery, The Venue (Leeds College of Music), the Wells Cathedral School, and the Yehudi Menuhin School. She has performed in France, Italy, Brussels, Sweden, Aspen (Colorado), and the Esplanade Recital Studio in Singapore, and has featured on BBC Four, BBC Radio 3 and Symphony 92.4FM.

Russian pianist Denis Matsuev gave a stellar Singapore concert on the 21st of November 2023 playing numerous classical favorites, and contemporary jazz pieces in the second half with award-winning musicians, double bassist Andrei Ivanov and jazz drummer Alexander Singer.

Matsuev truly showcased his prowess on the C. Bechstein D282 Concert Grand Piano, breezing through most masterfully the works of Handel, Beethoven, Chopin, and a selection of Rachmaninoff’s works, and more.

For a recap of the evening’s “Classics and Jazz” programme, check out our previous article! JAZZ TRIO PERFORMANCE – A Whirlwind of Improvisational Genius!

  A very special treat came in the second half of Matsuev’s programme, where he invited double bassist Andrei Ivanov and drummer Alexander Singer to the stage to perform a mix of contemporary compositions including his own “Ballade” and Ivanov’s “Fiesta” interspersed among some refreshing improvisational takes on Gershwin’s well-loved “Rhapsody in Blue”, and one we particularly enjoyed, Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” reimagined to a point we may have forgotten, caught up in the sublime evolution and transformation engineered by Matsuev, Ivanov, and Singer, what piece it was, until Matsuev would playfully remind us of Grieg’s genius by sneaking in the main motif into the mix. This concert was nothing short of exhilarating!  

For more concert news, do follow Bechstein Music World on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

4th November 2023 – Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Haiou Zhang’s ternary run in Singapore proved a sublime showcase of rich sensations, emotional intensity and artistic brilliance conveying everything from ethereal beauty, to serenity and agitation, to passion and nostalgia with every sparkling note.

Zhang’s programme for the evening featured a selection of pieces by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, masterfully brought to life through every moment of turbulence and tranquility by his skillful hands and truly demonstrating the mastery he is best known for. He truly captured the scenery in sonic ecstasy for Liszt’s Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, the emotionally charged late-period Beethoven, and everything in between in this Grand Finale to C.Bechstein’s 170th Anniversary Celebration Concert Series in Singapore.

Programme:
J.S BACH – Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor BMV903

W.A MOZART – Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major K. 332

• • Allegro

• • Adagio

• • Assai Allegro

L.V. BEETHOVEN – Sonata No. 30 in E Major Op.109

• • Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo

• • Prestissimo

• • Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo)

ROBERT SCHUMANN / FRANZ LISZT – Widmung (Dedication)

FRANZ LISZT – Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este

FREDERIC CHOPIN – Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor Op. posth.

FREDERIC CHOPIN – Prelude No.15 Op. 28 “Raindrop”

FREDERIC CHOPIN – Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2

FREDERIC CHOPIN – Scherzo No. 2 in B-Flat Minor Op. 31

The audience erupted into exuberant cheers and applause at the end of the programme, which was then met with three magnificent encores – Schumann’s posthumous Variation V form Symphonic Etudes Op.13, and movement No.14 from Davidsbundlertanze Op.6, and finally, a scintillating Moszkowksi Entincelles drew his delightful recital to a fitting close.

The shining performance by Haiou Zhang truly dazzled and captured the audience, and we can’t wait to see him again in Singapore.

ABOUT THE ARTISTE

Haiou Zhang was born in 1984 in China, and first studied at the Central Conservatory in Beijing before continuing his studies at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media with Prof. Bernd Goetzke. Haiou Zhang launched his career in 2005/06, and after much success, is heard regularly in concerts and interviews for various radio and television stations around the world. He has a strong presence in Germany’s classical radio landscape at BR-Klassik, NDR Kultur, and Deutschlandradio Kultur to name a few.

Haiou Zhang is Music Director and Founder of International Music Festival Buxtehude / Altes Land / Harburg in Northern Germany, which is aimed primarily at young audiences. The festival has become one of the most successful classical music institutions in metropolitan Hamburg.

Haiou Zhang has immortalised the illustrious works of master composers Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Liszt on 3 CD albums he has recorded on the C. Bechstein D282 – “Liszt Piano Works” (2011), “Fingerprints” (2017), and “My 2020” (2021).

For more piano concerts, do follow Bechstein Music World on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

21st-22nd October 2023 – Young pianists came in from all over the region with a total of 99 finalists selected from more than 500 participants across the Exam and Junior Categories from all over the region including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Russia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Germany, USA, Australia, Taiwan, Myanmar, and the Philippines. 

64 Cristofori students made it into the Singapore Grand Finals. 9 of the Top Prize winners were our very own Cristofori students!

The Finals featured the participants in the Exam (Grades 1-8) and Junior (Ages 12 and below) Categories, and we heard some of the most beautiful renditions of piano exam pieces from the Exam Category contestants, as well as brilliant performances from the Junior Category.

It was a difficult decision for the jury panel due to the exceptional performances of the participants in the final round.

Congratulations once again to all our Cristofori Students, all the Winners, and all the contestants who made it through to the grand finals!

International Grand Finalist and representative of Singapore in the Open Professional Category Tan Jing Yang was also awarded his certificates from the International Grand Finals held in Guangzhou, China from 1st-5th October 2023. 

Jing Yang performed works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Ravel. His 18-minute performance showed command, intensity, poetry, and sensitivity and, was nothing less than riveting and sensational. Despite having to juggle his time with less than 2 days a week to practice due to his commitment to National Service in the Singapore Army, Jing Yang’s remarkable performance at the Kayserburg International piano competition is awe-inspiring. 

His message for the many boys and girls out there in Singapore is to stay passionate and be devoted to the thing you love – 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜

From all of us in Singapore and from Kayserburg Music School, Congratulations to Jing Yang for this spectacular achievement!

The Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition Celebrates its 40th Anniversary with this year’s competition – Held every 2 years, the KIYPC was founded with the aim to bring together aspiring piano players of all nationalities in a celebration of music and passion amid global hardships, and to spread joy and hope into the world.

Results of the Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition 2023 are out now on the Kayserburg Music School SG Official Facebook Page, and on our website www.rs-event.sg

For more news, events, and competitions, be sure to follow us at @rockschoolsingapore and @rs_event_center on our Facebook and Instagram accounts!

Piano Duo DUOR delighted the audience with polar favorites at their recent concert “Love & Hope” held at the Singapore Conference Hall on 13th August 2023. The concert was a special treat that featured pieces for four hands – a rarity these days with pianists Takashi Fujii and Yoshie Shiramizu each playing on a C. Bechstein D282.

The concert hall was well-filled, with many seats taken by young students who were engaged and enthralled with the evening’s program. The duo played popular tunes and short pieces, having designed the programme for young students to enjoy. The pieces included the Singapore premiere of late Japanese contemporary composer Akira Miyoshi’s Cahier Sonore (Handbook of Notes), a Neo-Baroque suite comprised of short dance movements similar to Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, or Debussy’s Petit Suite with sprinklings of gentle dissonances and jazzy harmonies, and a two pianos arrangement by American composer John Musto for Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

DUOR had a great time interacting with audience members at the meet and greet session held after the recital at the Singapore Conference Hall Zhong Foyer.

About the Artist

Formed in 2004 in Germany, Pianoduo DUOR consists of Japanese pianists Takashi Fujii and Yoshie Shiramizu. Both pianists began their musical education in Japan, before pursuing further studies in Germany. 

Pianoduo DUOR has received countless international awards and widespread attention, performing on over 850 stages globally. Their sixth album, “GOLDBERG-VARIATIONEN FÜR 2 KLAVIERE” was also widely recognized with several award nominations. 

Besides performing, Yoshie & Takashi are dedicated to training the next generation of piano duos, conducting music seminars and lectures for Japanese university students. Currently, they are faculty members at top Japanese musical colleges, including Senzoku Gakuen College of Music.

From 12th-13th July, our Piano Teachers had a very interactive and informative set of workshop sessions with renowned piano educator and book author Melanie Spanswick.

The Workshop, titled “Teaching Transformation in the 21st Century” featured many practical, if sometimes neglected elements of physical technique as related to repertoire, some featured in her Play It Again books, her new Women Composers series, and some RSL Classical Piano syllabus pieces as well.

Day 1 focused on the Piano Technique (Flexibility, Tone Production and Developing Finger Strength) which then tied into aspects of playing scales, arpeggios, articulation, ornaments, effective octaves, chords and chordal balance. Particularly interesting was the emphasis on body awareness, not just for the hands, wrist & fingers, but also for the arm & shoulder, using arm weight and playing into the keybed as tools to develop a stronger tone whilst playing. Melanie made a point to have as many teachers try the exercises given in the workshop handouts as possible, and many of the workshop participants were surprised to know that even they held excessive tension that was affecting the potential tone production.

Melanie even went around the room to each and every teacher to personally demonstrate a helpful thumbs exercise to everyone. A number of teachers also stepped up to the stage to try out some exercises on the piano.

Day 2 Held more focus on applying the exercises and techniques to pieces from the RSL Classical Syllabus, as well as pieces from Melanie’s best-selling “Play It Again” and “Women Composers” books (which are permissible to use as Free-Choice pieces for examinations!). We were treated to a brief playthrough of several selections that would be appropriate at each grade for examination, and Melanie also briefly explained why each piece met the grading criteria.

6 Teachers all came up to play some pieces for the group and Melanie went through each piece to offer teaching tips and point out our areas of interest in each one, as well as some ways to tackle problem areas and help students improve their approach to them.

Closing off the 2-day Workshop, Melanie prepared a surprise Sight Reading session for piano trios that were performed by the teachers on the Top-Quality upright and grand pianos on display at the Bechstein Music World Showroom.

   The 2-Day Workshop Series by Melanie Spanswick proved to be a fun and engaging session full of great insights into teaching and piano technique that will definitely be useful for teachers to impart to our students, but also for each one’s own individual continued improvement on their own playing and skill development. 

We sincerely thank Melanie for once again sharing her wisdom and expertise with us, and look forward to her next visit!

If you wish to purchase Melanie’s Best-Selling books, these are still available at a special discount until 30th July only! Reach out to your friendly outlet staff for more information.