2015 | Volume I, No 3 | Not For Sale | Euroasia.org.my | Facebook.com/EuroasiaAssociationMalaysia2015 | Volume I, No 3 | Not For Sale | Euroasia.org.my | Facebook.com/EuroasiaAssociationMalaysia

Ready to goThe EVC and EYFM

return for Round 3!

Living legendAn interview with Dato’ Johari Salleh

Sound policyThe importanceof listening

Contents

OVERTUREGetting Festive All Over Malaysia!The Euroasia Youth Music Festival takes the fun all over Malaysia! Pages 4-5

ON TOURMaking Merry Music In The SouthThe Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival debuts to great acclaim. Pages 6-7

SHOWTIMEOn DisplayPhotos from the Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival 2015. Pages 8-11

BRAVURAASEAN Students In HarmonyUKM hosts students from the region for a collaborative concert. Page 12

MAESTROPARLANDO gets an exclusive interview with local music legend and composer/arranger extraordinaire Dato’ (Dr.) Johari Salleh. Pages 13-15

BRAVURATour De Fine French ArtThe French Arts And Movie Festival returns for the 14th year. Page 16

BRAVURAClasses with The MastersEuroasia Associate Dr. Andrew Filmer and violinist Mabel Wong give a specal ses-sion with string students before performing in concert. Page 17

ON TOURSupporting Roles All Over The CountryArioso Sinfonia has been busy at home and in neighbouring states. Pages 18-19

VARIAZIONINow Hear This...We take a look at the importance of listening in performance. Pages 20-21

PRELUDE

~~~~~~~~~The word “Parlando” refers to an Italian music direction for

a singer to sing in a conversational style - thus, this newsletter will be

Euroasia’s way of talking with our audience, while remaining true

to our roots in performing arts.~~~~~~~~~

Volume I, No 3 (2015)/Published Quarterly/Not For Sale

~~~~~~~~~Editor/Communications Associate

Ahmad Azraieuroasia@email.com

~~~~~~~~~Cover Photo

Denise Mubin, First Prize Winner of the Euroasia Youth Music

Competition 2013 and Euroasia Young Soloist Competition 2014.

Photo: Essence Photograph

Supported by

Association ofPerforming Arts

Photo: Courtesy of JSPA/JB Arts Festival

RENTAK SEJUTASOUTH EAST ASIA’S #1 MUSIC NEWS SITE

RENTAK SEJUTASOUTH EAST ASIA’S #1 MUSIC NEWS SITE

EYMF Spreads Its Wings NationwideIT’S that time of year again for the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts (Euroasia)! This time, though, we have set ourselves of not only doing what we do best – but raising the bar at the same time. What this means is that the third consecutive edition of the annual Euroasia Youth Music Festival (EYMF) is expanding from the previous week-long inten-sive sessions into a nationwide series covering a two-month period.

This will be further enhanced by the highly-anticipated return of renowned French artistes, cel-list Valerie Aimard and violinist Amaury Coeytaux, who will conduct the masterclasses and join promi-nent local musicians to perform for the penultimate EYMF Gala Concert: “Rhythms of Life” to conclude the fes-tival. Valerie was part of the inaugu-ral EYMF international faculty from 2013, whilst Amaury was a member of the international faculty for the EYMF 2014 – which makes their return a strong endorsement of the

OVERTURE

objectives and activities of the EYMF that Euroasia advocates.

The Euroasia Competition Series – an integral part of the Festival – was established for the primary purpose of providing a platform for young musi-cians to expose themselves to interna-tional standards of music competition. Euroasia believes that performance is a vital part of music development. As such, the Competition Series is not about identifying the “best” musician, but is aimed at gathering together youngsters who have the same inter-est, in order to share their passion and achievements with a wider audience within a concert setting.

With an international panel of jury – comprising of performers and educators who are all specialists in their respected fields, as well as be-ing well-known personalities in the musical world – these professionals are equipped with the knowledge and experience in nurturing and encourag-ing new talents in the classical music world. This year’s offering for the Competition Series will be in the form of the Euroasia Violin Competition (EVC). The 2015 competition is open for two categories: Open and Young Artist. The Open category is aimed at celebrating musical achievement at the regional level, whilst the Young Artist category has two rounds: a re-

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BACK AGAIN: Valerie Aimard (right) and Amaury Coeytaux return for the 3rd Euroasia Youth Music Festival. (Photos: Essence Photograph)

gional Preliminary Round, and a national-level Final Round.

In addition to the workshops and masterclasses, there is an exciting lineup of concerts and recitals planned too. This month kicks off with the My Cellistic Journey recital on 3rd July in Johor Bahru, featuring popular tunes performed by cellist and Euroasia Commit-tee Member Jonathan Oh and Euroasia President Angel Lee.

Next up will be The Sutera Ensemble in Concert on 1st August in Penang. This will feature National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Music Director and Chief Conductor and Euroasia Music Associ-ate Mustafa Fuzer Nawi on violin, Jonathan Oh on cello and Euroasia Music Associate Loo Bang Hean on piano.

Rounding off the EVC will be the Young Artistes in Concert on 23rd August in Seremban. Featuring the 2013 and 2014 winners of the Euroasia Com-petition, as well as uprising young Malaysian talents, the concert will be immediately followed by the announcement of the EVC 2015 Winners, who will then do a performance of their own.

The amazing Voices of Hands concert will be held on 28th August in Seremban, featur-ing 13 pianists and 4 vocalists. An exciting concert series organised by piano tutor Tan Lee Ean since 2003, the Voices of Hands series feature an exciting and eclectic mix of classical favourites, jazz stand-ards and even popular TV themes/tunes arranged by the performers themselves, amongst many other exciting pieces. Definitely not a show to be missed.

Finally, to cap off the whole Festival itself, will be the Euroasia Youth Music Festival Gala Concert itself. This year, the Gala Concert will feature the theme of “Rhythms of Life”, and will see the two guest faculty members perform with Euroasia Associate Ensemble Arioso Sinfonia, as well as dancers from Turn-ing Point Dance Academy. The Gala Concert has always been a very grand affair – and this year’s is no exception!

As always, there are many parties to whom Euroasia owes thanks for helping to make the EYMF happen. Euroasia is proud to be in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Arts (Jabatan Kebudayaan Dan Kesenian Negara @ JKKN) and its Negeri Sem-bilan division (JKKN NS) for the EYMF and EVC, the main part of which will be held at the beautiful Auditorium D’Sury, Kompleks JKKN Negeri Sembi-lan in Seremban. Special thanks go out to sponsors Pedi and Graceful Piano Sdn. Bhd., as well as Khoo Academy of Music and Art, Ahraz Sdn. Bhd. and Graceful Piano for venue sponsorship.

Euroasia is also proud to be supported by Trinity College London and the As-sociated Board of the Royal Schools

of Music (ABRSM), in particular for the EVC. Euroasia is grateful to its partners Sin Chew Media, Opus on Astro Radio, Rentak Sejuta and Selebriti Online for its media coverage, as well as to its multimedia partner LeongTow Design. Last – and certainly by no means least – Euroasia would like to thank the Johor Society for the Performing Arts (JSPA) and Tourism Malaysia Negeri Sembilan for encouragement and sup-port, both direct and indirect.

It’s a magnificently huge start to what is proving to be our biggest and most intense Festival yet – and we’ve only just begun. Concerts, classes, competitions and celebrations – and all over Malaysia too! Definitely the event that you have been waiting for. See you at the EYMF!

Calendar of EventsJOHOR BAHRU

Held at JBPACFriday, 3rd July, 2015

Workshop Series I: Cello Masterclass& Chamber Music Workshop by Jonathan Oh

Concert Series I: My Cellistic Journey

Saturday, 4th July, 2015EVC: Open Category

EVC: Young Artist Preliminary Round

Sunday, 5th, 2015Workshop Series II: Violin Masterclass

& Chamber Music Workshop by Angel Lee

KUANTANHeld at Khoo Academy of Music and Art

Saturday, 11th July, 2015Workshop Series III: Violin, Viola Masterclass

& Chamber Music Workshop by Dr. Andrew Filmer

Sunday, 12th July, 2015Workshop Series IV: Piano Masterclasses by Shuenda Wong

EVC: Open CategoryEVC: Young Artist Preliminary Round

KUCHINGHeld at Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites

Saturday, 25th JulyWorkshop Series V: Violin Masterclasses with Angel Lee

Workshop Series VI: Cello Masterclasses with Jonathan Oh

Sunday, 26th July EVC: Open Category

EVC: Young Artist Preliminary RoundWorkshop Series VII: Violin Masterclasses with Mustafa Fuzer Nawi

Monday, July 27thHeld at Classic Music Conservatory

Workshop Series VIII: Violin Masterclass& Chamber Music Workshop with Mustafa Fuzer Nawi

PENANGHeld at Bayview Hotel Georgetown PenangSaturday, 1st August, 2015Concert Series II: The Sutera Ensemble in Concert

Sunday, 2nd August, 2015Workshop Series IX: Piano Masterclass by Loo Bang HeanEVC: Open CategoryEVC: Young Artist Preliminary Round

KUALA LUMPURHeld at Graceful Piano HallSaturday, 8th August, 2015EVC: Open CategoryEVC: Young Artist Preliminary RoundWorkshop Series X: Beyond The Notes: The Intricacies of Performance by Dr. Andrew Filmer

SEREMBANHeld at Kompleks JKKN Negeri SembilanSunday, 9th August, 2015EVC: Open CategoryEVC: Young Artist Preliminary Round

Sunday, 23rd August, 2015EVC: Young Artist Final RoundConcert Series III: Young Artistes in Concert Featuring the 2013 and 2014 winners of the Euroasia Competition, as well as uprising young Malaysian talents. Followed immediately by announcement of EVC 2015 Winners as well as a performance by the winners.

Monday, 24th August, 2015-Friday, 28th August, 2015Masterclasses and Orchestral Workshops

Friday, 28th August, 2015Held at the Royale Bintang Resort & Spa SerembanConcert Series IV: Voices of Hands

Saturday, 29th August, 2015Concert Series V: Euroasia Youth Music Festival Gala Concert

EVC = Euroasia Violin Competition

5P

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Southern Splash Of CultureTHE long holiday weekend at the start of May 2015 was indeed a memorable one, as the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts (Euroasia) proudly organised the Inaugural Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival together with the Johor Society for the Perform-ing Arts (JSPA). The three day fes-tival was held at the Berjaya Water-front Hotel, with additional media coverage by partners Rentak Sejuta, Selebriti Online and SuperMag.

“The Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival is the second in the series of festivals, coming on the heels of the Johor Bahru Jazz Festival in Febru-ary,” said JSPA Founder President Yap Siong Cheng. “We are heartened by the public response to the inaugural Classical Music Festival, which saw an audience of 850, as well as ap-proximately 300 people attending the workshops and rehearsals.”

Yap said that these were part of the Johor Baru: International Festival City (JB:IFC) initiative by the JSPA to position Johor Bahru as a leading festival city in the region for world acclaimed arts, music, cultural and lifestyle events. The remaining JB:IFC festivals scheduled for the rest of this year are the Johor Bahru Film Festi-val (11th-13th June), the 12th JB Arts and Fringe Festival (10th Sept-9th Oct) and the JB Food & Visual Arts Festival (October to December).

“While classical music was always part of the annual Johor Bahru Arts Festival programme for the past 11 years, there had been a strong demand for western classical music – which is one of the reasons that the JSPA decided to organise a stand-alone classical music festival. The growth of private music schools in the city is also proof that music edu-cation is growing in JB,” Yap said. He added that although they could have had a higher attendance had the event been held over a normal weekend, they were satisfied with the turnout.

The festivities kicked off on the eve of Friday, 1st May with The Sutera Ensemble. Consisting of Euroasia

ON TOUR

Members – President Angel Lee (violin), Music Associates Loo Bang Hean (piano) and Dr. Andrew Filmer (viola), and Commitee Mem-ber Jonathan Oh (cello) – the group offered a lecture concert, consisting of Mozart’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in g (K478) followed by Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in E-flat (Op. 87).

A talk about the pieces to be per-formed was held at the start of the show, which was very well-received by the audience. The ensemble then proceeded to give an enchanting and exciting performance which proved to be a hit for the attendees.

The next morning, The Sutera En-semble were joined by Ryan Lewis, the Malaysia National Consultant for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), to give a chamber ensemble workshop in the morning, as well as a series of masterclasses in the afternoon. For the workshop, Euroasia’s associate ensemble The Seremban Quartet – comprising Denise Mubin (vio-lin), Lim Zhi Hsuan (violin), Danish Mubin (viola) and Goh Wen Chih (cello) – prepared the famous String Quartet No. 2 by Borodin.

After the initial performance of the quartet, the panelists analysed the piece from the perspective of the

individual players, and gave various performance tips. As th individual players tried once more with the new information, they discovered that their playing had changed very much – particularly in respect to the other members of the Quartet. This led the panelists to make several comments and observations, which proved both useful and interesting, for both the players and the audience alike. There was also much laughter, as the pan-elists made much use of humour to get their points across – and the jokes and anecdotes certainly lightened the atmosphere for everyone.

Next up, the Seremban Quartet were given a fresh work – Mozart’s String Quartet No. 4 in C (K157) – and were allowed a few minutes to sight-read and prepare, while the panelists addressed the audience about the importance of contextual knowledge and listening. The Seremban Quartet then launched into a fairly creditable performance, considering that they had never performed the piece be-fore. The panelists – again, with great humour – dissected the performance, and the audience generously ap-plauded the Quartet. The Sutera En-semble then gave with a breakdown of their performance the night before, and ended the session by entertain-ing everyone with the first movement of the Mozart Quartet (K478).

EAGER AND EXCITED: Students from Foon Yew High School wait for the doors to open for the Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival’s first performance by The Sutera Ensemble. (Photo: JSPA/JB Arts Festival)

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The masterclass sessions saw a dozen students with several different instru-ments giving performances of various pieces, which were then analysed and commented on by the panelists. Again, humour ruled the day; Dr. Filmer even danced along in accompaniment of a student’s performance of a mazurka to make a point, to the delight of the audience, who cheered loudly. The masterclasses soon proved to be thorough and beneficial, for both the participants and the attendees.

The Saturday evening was extra special, for the guests of honour were Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, the Royal Princess of Johore, and Yang Mulia Che’ Puan Khaleeda binti Bustamam, the wife of Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku Mahkota bagi Negeri dan Jajahan Takluk Johor Darul Takzim Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid Abu Bakar Iskandar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail.

First up was the Foon Yew High School String Orchestra, who played an eclectic selection: two pieces by 茅沅 (Mao Yuan) – the second of which was a collaboration with 刘铁山 (Liu Tei Shan); the first move-ment of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6; music from Disney’s Frozen; the first movement of Palladio by Jenkins; and Villoldo’s El Choclo. It was a com-mendable performance, and the audi-ence cheered heartily for the students, who had worked very hard to prepare for the concert. Tunku Aminah and Che’ Puan Khaleeda later posed with the orchestra, after which the children rushed to shake their hands.

Next up was a rare treat: Singapore’s T’ang Quartet, who revisit from across the Causeway afer a long while. They performed a diverse selection – Haydn’s String Quartet in F (Op. 3, No. 5); arrangements of Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, the Allegro from Vivaldi’s Spring (from The Four Seasons), Mascagni’s Intermezzo (from Cavalleria Rusticana), and Puc-cini’s Nessun Dorma (from Turandot); Goude’s spiky Le Diverti Se Ment; Yumeji’s Theme (from Seijun Suzuki’s Yumeji) by Umebayashi; Hu Xiao-

Ou’s 么些 (Mo Xie); and Piaz-zolla’s Libertango – which was very well received and proved popular with the audience.Sunday began with an open re-hearsal of the Na-tional Symphony Orchestra (NSO), under the baton of its Music Director and Chief Conduc-tor Mustafa Fuzer Nawi. Mustafa Fuzer gave a talk explaining the process before leading the re-hearsal. The after-noon session saw David Ng from Graceful Piano Sdn. Bhd. giving a talk on different types of pianos and how to choose between them.

For the evening concert, the NSO were joined by young local pian-ists Celestine Yoong Qian Yi and Adriana Chiew Jia-Yi for a charming performance of Le Carnaval Des Ani-maux (The Carnival Of The Animals) by Saint-Saëns – complete with “live” animals from the Foon Yew High School “zoo”! This was followed by a stunning performance by local powerhouse soprano Cecilia Yap, who offered Da Tempeste (from Han-del’s Giulio Cesare); Ernani, Ernani Involami and Ritorna Vincitor (from Verdi’s Ernani and Aida, respective-

ly); the Prelude and Je Dis Que Rien Ne M’épouvante (from Bizet’s Carmen) and O Mio Babbino Caro (from Puc-cini’s Gianni Schicchi).

The NSO then gave a weighty per-formed of Dvořák’s famous Sym-phony No. 9 in e (Op. 95) – popularly known as the New World Symphony – but the audience was not content to let them go so easily. The NSO obliged by offering the vibrantly-sunny España by Chabrier as an encore. It went down a treat, and thus the Inaugural Johor Bahru Clas-sical Music Festival was brought to a close. Congratulations to the JSPA and JB Arts Festival team!

STRING POWER (right): The Seremban Quartet pose with their heroes, the T’ang Quartet, after the latter’s performance. (Photo: Euroasia)

P

(Photo: Euroasia)

enjoyed

SHOWTIME

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CLASSICAL ELEGANCE: (from left) The Sutera Ensemble – Angel Lee, Loo Bang Hean, Dr. Andrew Filmer and Jonathan Oh – opened the Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival with a quartet each from Mozart and from Dvořák.

(clockwise from top left)ENSEMBLE ANALYSIS: The Seremban Quartet gave a performance of the first movement of Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2, which was then critiqued and analysed.

HELPFUL HINTS: Euroasia President Angel Lee gives pointers during one of the afternoon masterclasses

HAPPY FACES: The participants and audience enjoyed themselves at the ensemble playing work-shop during the morning session.

(All Photos This Page: Euroasia)

enjoyed

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SINGAPORE SWING: (from left) The T’ang Quartet – Ng Yu-Ying, Ang Chek Meng, Leslie Tan and Lionel Tan – made wonderful music, including an amazing arrangement of the famous Nessun Dorma.(Photo: JSPA/JB Arts Festival)

ROYAL GUESTS: Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Sultan Ibrahim Ismail (in yellow), the Royal Princess of Johore and the patron of the arts for Johor Bahru, and Yang Mulia Che’ Puan Khaleeda binti Bustamam, the wife of Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku Mahkota bagi Negeri dan Jajahan Takluk Johor Darul Takzim Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid Abu Bakar Iskandar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail (right of Tunku Aminah), pose with the Foon Yew High School String Orchestra. (Photo: Rentak Sejuta)

SPIRITED PERFORM-ANCE: Tan Guang Mei conducts the Foon Yew orchestra in their rendi-tion of Mao, Beethoven, Jenkins, and Villoldo – and even music from Dis-ney’s Frozen! (Pho-to: JSPA/JB Arts Festival)

enjoyed

(clockwise from left)FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE: The response to the Inaugural Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival was very encouraging. (Photo: Euroasia)

THE MAN IN FRONT: National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Music Director and Chief Conductor Mustafa Fuzer Nawi signs auto-graphs for his fans. (Photo: Rentak Sejuta)

OPEN STRINGS: Members of the NSO at the rehearsal, which was open to the public. (Photo: Rentak Sejuta)

FUN AT (AND WITH) THE CARNIVAL: Students from Foon Yew High School added an extra delightful touch to the NSO’s performance of Le Carnaval Des Animaux (The Carnival Of The Animals) by Saint-Saëns. (Photo: JSPA/JB Arts Festival)

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enjoyed

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(left) GRAND DAME OF LOCAL VOICES: As usual, soprano Cecilia Yap wowed the crowd wih her arias.

(above) COMMENDABLE COLLABORATION: (from left) Mustafa Fuzer Nawi chats with Johor Society for the Performing Arts (JSPA) Founder President Yap Siong Cheng and his wife Suzy Yap.

(below) NATIONAL TREASURE: The members of the National Sym-phony Orchestra (NSO) acknowledge the applause.

(All Photos: JSPA/JB Arts Festival)

(left) BRAVO! The Inaugural Johor Bahru Classical Music Festival comes to a successful close. Congratulations to all! (Photo: JSPA/JB Arts Festival)

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All Photos: Euroasia

One ASEAN Musical VoiceTHE South East Asian archipelago has always shared many roots, and are united on the world stage via the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Aimed at ac-celerating economic growth, social progress, and sociocultural evolu-tion among its members, the mem-ber nations are seriously dedicated towards the protection of regional peace and stability.

As part of these noble goals, Univer-siti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) played host to several university students and lecturers from around the ASEAN region for its ASEAN Universities Orchestra Workshop & Concert. Jointly organised by the UKM Cultural Centre together with Majlis Kebudayaan Universiti-Universiti Malaysia (MAKUM), it was held at the Dewan Canselor Tun Abdul Razak, with the workshop running from 20th-24th April, and culminating with a concert on the 25th.

BRAVURA

This is the second year in which the event was held, which saw the crea-tion of the ASEAN Universities Or-chestra (AUO). UKM Cultural Centre Principal Fellow Dato’ (Dr.) Johari Salleh, one of the country’s foremost music arrangers and composers, was on hand to oversee the training and to conduct the AUO, which played pieces arranged by Johari himself. (See cover story on Pages 13-15) He was assisted by Euroasia Association of Performing Arts President Angel Lee throughout the whole event.

Other than students from UKM, the participants were made up of students and lecturers from Malaysia (the National Arts Culture & Heritage Academy @ ASWARA; Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris @ UPSI; Universiti Teknologi MARA @ UiTM; and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia @ UTHM), Thailand (Assumption University; College of Music of Mahidol University;

Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University; Naresuan University; Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music; Thammasat University; and Uttaradit Rajabhat University), Brunei Darussalam (Universiti Bru-nei Darussalam), Indonesia (Pakuan University; and University of Indo-nesia), and The Philippines (De La Salle University). Joining them for the concert were members from Euroa-sia’s ensemble Arioso Sinfonia.

Among the works performed were an ASEAN Panorama of folk tunes, a Beatles medley, P. Ramlee In Memory, Filipino pop song Bakit Pa, and songs from Brunei, Laos, Singapore, Thai-land, and Vietnam – all of which were very well received. The students – some of whom had never travelled outside their own countries before – unanimously have found it benefi-cial and exciting, not only for gaining knowledge about music and culture, but also for making new friends.P

Living Legend Of Our TimeIT is always gratifying to note that music does indeed make people come together, as has been observed by people as diverse as The Beatles and Madonna. The very idea of harmony plays an integral part of the process – and there is something about the way that musicians in cooperation that stirs emotions and feelings in people that beggar description.

It becomes even more important and wonderful when it involves young musicians. Working together to learn a piece – whether by Tchaikovsky, Tippett or Takemitsu – leads to greater understanding of international customs, culture and friendship than any effort by politicial bodies that one could care to name. More often than not, the time taken to achieve this is far faster as well.

That was exactly what happened at the ASEAN Universities Orchestra Workshop & Concert recently organised by Univer-siti Kebang-saan Ma-laysia (UKM). (See story on page 12) The intense week-long music camp that ended with a concert saw the participants gain much in terms of exposure, technique and discipline – especially since they had the added advantage of one of the most amazing resources from which to learn: legendary composer and con-ductor Dato’ (Dr.) Johari Salleh.

PARLANDO caught up with Johari, who is UKM Cultural Centre Principal Fellow, while he was overseeing the training and conducting of the ASEAN Universities Orchestra (AUO) during the camp. As one of the country’s fore-most music arrangers and composers, Johari was already busy with prepa-rations long before the music camp began – but he managed to approach the many rehearsals and activities with an energy that is simply amazing for someone who is 75 years old.

MAESTRO

“The objectives of this event were to gather musicians from ASEAN Universities in order to al-low for the exchange of ideas and information among musicians, as well as to enhance the appreciation of art among students of ASEAN universi-ties,” said Amar Baharudin, Cultural Officer of the UKM Cultural Centre.

“It is gratifying to see that the efforts we started have been positive-ly received, and the reaction of the students who partici-pated are very encouraging. They get the benefit of Dato’ Johari’s tremendous talent and expertise, and we hope that this inspires them and becomes a cherished experience,” he added.

Johari himself was the most vocal supporter of the music programme, which he had a hand in developing. “Events

like these are something that I always look

forward to.

Even though I have been doing this for some time, I never get tired of it. The energy and enthusiasm of the students is a re-ward beyond measure,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes, adding that the intense preparations – both before and during the sessions – helped to keep him active and fulfilled.

THE MAN WITH THE PLAN: Johari has been at the frontline of the country’s

music scene for more than half a century, and is

well-respected at homeand internationally.

13[Photo: Essence Photograph]

His biography is certainly makes for fascinating reading. Johari was born on February 9, 1940 in Geylang, Sin-gapore – right in the middle of World War II. His father was Mohd Salleh bin Mohamad, who became one of his very first music teachers. Taking up the trumpet from well-known profes-sional Saaban Saliman, Johari was precocious enough to start his own “Chahaya Orchestra” at the age of 19, where the ensemble mostly per-formed his own compositions.

Johari came to Kuala Lumpur in 1961 to work with the then newly-formed Radio Malaysia Orchestra (which is now known as the Orkestra Radio Televisyen Malaysia @ RTM), where he came under the wing of legendary musician Alfonso Soliano. Eventu-ally, he was to take over the baton at RTM, a position which he would hold for several decades. Further studies at the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, majoring Composition and Modern Arranging in 1967 were fol-lowed by Johari returning to Malaysia with a vengence, making his mark at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo for the period 1970-1972. He went on to become an extremely popular song arranger and composer, and his larger-scaled orchestral works, with works for musicals, big bands and modern symphonies have met with great success and enthusiastic response both locally and overseas.

Johari, though, still kept an active hand in education, through involve-ment with UKM, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, National Arts Culture & Heritage Academy (ASWARA), and the International College of Music (ICOM). Although he does not teach as much as he used to, he still remains serious about grooming the new gen-erations of musicians. For years, Johari had been pushing for UKM to have its own school or faculty of performing arts, as he felt that there was a need to cater to youths who want to take up music seriously or as a career. Accord-ing to the university, Johari said that a faculty in ASEAN Traditional Music would go a long way to fill the gaps in the knowledge of regional music.

The AUO concert, then, was a vindi-cation of his efforts in championing performing arts. “I am both pleased and honoured that they have chosen to play pieces that I have either com-

posed or arranged. These works rep-resent a wonderful range of timeless tunes, and I am happy to see that the young students enjoy playing these old songs, which is very new for a vast majority of them,” Johari said.

That timelessness is what he strives to achieve – and by many accounts, he can be said to have done so. Johari recalled first hearing Filipino pop song Bakit Pa when it first came out, and he expressed pride in contribut-ing towards keeping the tune fresh and relevant. “One of the difficult things about keeping old tunes alive – even very popular ones by [late local film legend and composer Tan Sri] P. Ramlee – is context. Things change over time –and nowadays, they change extremely fast. It then becomes the musician’s job not only to play the music, but to make sure that it remains relevant.”

That is no small task – and Johari regrets that fact that local society still seems to have view a career in music as not quite respectable as being a doctor, lawyer or engineer. “When I was young, it was quite tough being a musician because you didn’t have

many opportunities and resources to help. I was lucky, but I had to work very hard too. Nowadays, it is very much easier for anyone who wants to embark on a music career to get in – but the challenge is even greater, as there is so much competition. Standards have to be maintained – and instilling that idea is a real challenge nowadays,” he said, adding that he tries to teach his students – many of whom have gone on to become tal-ented musicians – not to feel discour-aged enough to resort to playing only pop tunes to eke out a living.

If there is one thing that Johari cer-tainly does not compromise on, it is perfoming standards. Watching him handle the various practise groups during the workshop, it can clearly be seen that while Johari is amiable and personable with the students and eve-ryone else, he adopts a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to discipline and precision in playing. In addition to making sure that the players are of a competent technical standard, Johari also made sure that they practised what they were supposed to prac-tise, as he did not want them wasting anyone’s time. “Being a musician is

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about discipline – and if you want to be a musician, you have to be a profes-sional. Being professional does not mean that you love the music any less; in fact, it shows how much you respect not only the music, but the audience as well,” he said.

The lesson was certainly not lost on the students. “I have never worked so hard in my life,” said Katherine Phebe Siangio of De La Salle Univer-sity, who was amongst the students who were non-music majors. “The music is new, the practise sessions are very intensive, and the players are all of different skill levels, so it is a real challenge. However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world! It is a great experi-ence, and I feel that all the hard work we have to do here is really worth it.” The other students that PARLANDO spoke to also agreed – and those who did know before just who Johari was quickly learned why he has been able to make an impact on the local music scene for more than half a century.

Whipping the students into shape for the concert was certainly a chal-lenge, but it is a constant challenge that Johari relishes. For this round of

the AUO sessions, he was assisted by Angel Lee, President of the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts, and by Suppabhorn Suwanpakdee, a senior lecturer from the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, through-out the whole event. Johari is not one to hog all the credit, and he praised both Lee and Suwanpakdee for the patience and dedication that they both showed in polishing the students.

Collaborating with Euroasia is nothing new for the maestro. Johari was on hand to conduct Euroasia ensemble Arioso Sinfonia in a special birthday tribute during the European Treasures Gala Concert, dedicated to Duli Yang Maha Mulia Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir on the occasion of the 67th Birthday of His Royal High-ness. The birthday celebration was held on the eve of Euroasia’s Official Launch, and Johari offered his own hauntingly beautiful original composi-tion based on P. Ramlee’s Bulan Dan Juga Angin. The piece – Moon And The Breeze – was very well received by His Royal Highness Tuanku Muhriz and Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tunku Am-

puan Besar Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus Tuanku Aishah Rohani binti Almarhum Tengku Besar Mahmud, along with the various family mem-bers and invited guests of His Royal Highness, dignitaries and audience of that evening.

The fact that Arioso Sinfonia debuted the piece is a testament to Johari’s confidence in the abilities of the group. “I am very pleased with the lev-el of skill, dedication and profession-alism that these young players have always shown. Euroasia’s activities and performances show that they take their role of developing the apprecia-tion for performing arts very seriously, and I am always happy to work with them,” he said. Euroasia, in turn, was done an incredible honour, as Johari himself volunteered to compose and conduct the new work. It was one of the many collaborations between the Association and the maestro over the years, and Euroasia is always grateful whenever it gets the chance to work with such a fantastic musical phenom-enon such as Johari.

Indeed, Johari seems to emphasise how happy he is when others make an impact. In December 2014, the Maestro Johari Salleh Concert was organised by RTM in honour of his outstanding contributions to the local music scene. However, instead of focussing exclusively on himself, Johari ensured that the concert also paid tribute to two of his dearest friends: the late Soliano, and the late Jimmy Boyle. He paid hommage to his legendary colleagues by arrang-ing and performing a medley of their greatest hits, with performances by none other than their own children: Isabella Soliano and James Boyle Sheng played and sang for the show, a performance that was moving and full of love. Many were unable to keep a dry eye, and the reaction of the lis-teners confirmed that the memory of the two late greats was still alive.

“I definitely learned a lot from both Alfonso and Jimmy,” Johari said. “They knew how to write tunes that stuck to you, and it influenced me tre-mendously. They were more than just colleagues, they were true friends to me to their dying days,” Johari said. The legends have passed on –but we still have a living legend who contin-ues to wow us with his wit, his enthu-siasm, and – above all – his music.P

Bonjour Again!IF anyone were to compile a list of countries that are blessed with an abundance of richness in terms of performin arts – whether in the form of music, dance or acting – it is safe to say that France will make the list. And in that respect, France has been a generous nation in sharing its cul-tural wealth with Malaysians, with the annual French Art and Movie Festival becoming a popular event on the local scene.

The year 2015 thus saw the 14th edition of the Festival, presented by Martell, jointly organised by Alliance Française de Kuala Lumpur and the Embassy of France in Malaysia, and and supported by Institute Francais.

As a firm supporter of the promotion of French music culture over the past few years – including the recurring invitation of French musicians to be part of the faculty and performance for all instances of the Euroasia Youth Music Festival, as well as the French Bows Exhibition during Euroasia’s

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Official Launch – the Association received an invitation to the Festival’s opening ceremony, which was held at Golden Screen Cinema (GSC) in Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.

It was an exciting lineup. Pierre Rigal’s Standards dance extravaganza is a modern showcase that offers the best of modern French dance work. Meanwhile, musicians Gran Kino, DVJ Oof and pianist Célimène Daudet – who will be performing with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) – look set to set the local music scene on fire in differ-ent ways, while photographer Maia

Flore’s Imagine France exhibi-tion is a show-case of fantasy and fiction.

The much-loved French films provided something for just about

everyone, whether your tastes run for drama, comedy, documentaries or even animated films: Qu’est-Ce Qu’on A Fait Au Bon Dieu?; La Belle Et La Bête; De Toutes Nos Forces; Océans; Amazonia; 2 Automnes, 3 Hivers; Quai D’Orsay; 9 Mois Ferme; Je Fais Le Mort; Les Beaux Jours; Lulu Femme Nue; Ma Maman Est En Amérique, Elle A Rencontré Buffalo Bill; Chroniques D’Une Cour De Récré; Attila Marcel; and Michael Kohl-haas. Gorgeous costumes, sparkling dialogue, magnificent scenery, and absolutely gripping stories – these fantastic films are some of the finest that French cinematography has to offer for the local Francophile. And of course, no Festival in Malaysia is complete without the obligatory food tastings. Seeing as how eating is the official Malaysian occupation, the Gastronomie sessions of the Festival are likely to be well-attended.

Interestingly, the Festival will be held in two places: Kuala Lumpur (from 14th May-16th June) and Penang (4th June-14th June), which meant more opportunities for Ma-laysians to sample and enjoy what this beautiful country has to offer. Vive la France, indeed!

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FRIENDSHIP WITH FRANCE: (from left) Euroasia President Angel Lee, French Embassy Co-operation and Cultural Af-fairs Counsellor Jean-Pierre Galland and Euroasia Committee Jonathan Oh pose at the launch. (Photo: Euroasia)

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Saturday String SessionTHERE are as many ways to learn as there are different approaches in teaching – and it is always interest-ing to see and compare different per-spectives of a singular piece, which leads to even greater appreciation of both music and performance.

On Saturday, May 16, Euroasia Music Associate Dr. Andrew Filmer and vio-linist/teacher Mabel Wong conducted a masterclass for both violin and viola students at the Bentley Music Acad-emy in Mutiara Damansara. There were six sessions conducted, and covered Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced-level students.

Filmer and Wong explained at the start that they would each be mak-ing comments on the playing by the individual students, and that the other would join in later to give their own points of view. It proved to be

a fascinating technique, as the two teachers not only focused on differ-ent aspects of the playing, they also raised different philosophical points in conjunction with their own views on pedagogy. Coupling their remarks with demonstrations on how to play and how to handle the instruments, the duo certainly maed a positive impression on the students.

The two teachers later gave a re-cital with pianist Robin Lee, offering selections from J. S. Bach’s Two Part Inventions (arranged for violin and viola), Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Itali-enne for Violin and Piano, and Bach’s Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (as reconstructed by Bridges). The two string players worked in perfect harmony – both figuratively and liter-ally – and managed to showcase the amazing polyphonic colours that Bach created. Particularly in the Inventions,

which are already iconic enough in the original piano form, the interplay be-tween the two instruments adds both subtle nuances and amazing colour to the pieces. Additionally, the concerto proved to be a winning example of why Bach is still a revered composer even to this day, and the reconstruc-tion was faithful to the old German composer’s style and manner.

The Stravinsky suite – which has origins from his ballet Pulcinella – is composed in the style that came to be known as “neoclassical”: a trend amongst many 20th Century composers to emulate the aesthetic precepts that they associated with their interpretation of “classicism”. Playful, tuneful and , it was a delight-ful piece that the performers were visibly delighted to perform – and at the end of the recital, the applause by the audience was enthusiastic.

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AFTER a running and busy start for 2015, Euroasia’s Affiliate Ensemble Arioso Sinfonia continued to keep up the pace – and got involved with some of the most fascinating work ever. It started with us collaborating with the ASEAN Universities Orchestra (AUO) for the ASEAN Universities Orchestra Concert on April 25th, at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) Dewan Canselor Tun Abdul Razak. This saw us working with university students from around the region to present many beautiful folk songs and hits from the ASEAN region. The best part of it all was that the concert was performed under the ba-ton of none other than the legendary composer/arranger Dato’ (Dr.) Johari Salleh. Dato’ Johari, who is UKM’s Cul-tural Centre Principal Fellow, arranged the pieces that were performed for

that concert, and Arioso never gets bored of either working with the amazing maestro or of performing works by him or arranged by him. Arioso is also humbled by how much Dato’ Johari seems to enjoy working with us, and we certainly look forward to doing so again.

The next project saw us working with the EJ Youth Crew to present The Art Of Modern Music & Dance Concert 3.0 at the Royale Bintang Reosrt & Spa Seremban. Arioso performed alongside the EJ Musical Band, singer/pianist Ally Lew, Crux Ong, the UKM University Band and the

MMU Micros Song Composing Divi-sion. There were also exciting dance performances by Freakalic (from UNITY Dance Studio), Famou Crew (Fabulous Dance Studio), the Estilio and Apibola collaboration (Segi Col-lege Subang Jaya), Swolves (New Era College), Le’vinia (UCSI Dance Club), New Generation, Limited Crew (Fabulous Dance Studio) and Tic Tac Toe (UNITY Dance Studio). It was non-stop energy all the way, from the musicians as well as the dancers, who strived to outdo each other in presenting the hottest, freshest dance moves. It was a competition in which everyone won: it was FUN!

Showing Firm Support

ON TOUR

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INSPIRATIONAL FIGURE: Arioso Sinfonia always enjoys working under the baton of the leg-endary Dato’ Johari Salleh (third left). Photo: Euroasia

AMAZING SHOW: The Waiting For That Day concert was an incredible showcase of performing arts at its best. Photo: Wong Horng Yih, by courtesy of Tay Cher Siang

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JAMMING AT THE JAMBOREE: (clockwise from top) Denise Mubin plays Wieniawski; Annie Leong Yu Xuan, Goh Wen Chih and Joel Chew Yee Song play Klengel’s work; Denise, Lim Zhi Hsuan, Annie and Danish Mubin tackle the Libertango at the DFP. Photo: Euroasia

The end of May saw another concert held at the gorgeous Dewan Filhar-monik PETRONAS (DFP), which is home to both the Malaysian Phil-harmonic Orchestra (MPO) and the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO). This time, it was the return of the popular Musical Jamboree that was being played, and several of Arioso’a members – Arioso Concertmaster Denise Mubin, Ari-oso Principal Violist Danish Mubin, Arioso Principal Cello Goh Wen Chih, Arioso violinist Lim Zhi Hsuan, and Arioso cellists Annie Leong Yu Xuan and Joel Chew Yee Song – who took part. Denise offered Henryk Wieniawski’s Scherzo Tarantelle, and was accompanied on piano by Euroasia President Angel Lee. Wen Chih, Annie and Joel played the first and fourth movements of Julius Klengel’s Suite for Three Cellos, while Denie, Zhi Hsuan, Danish, ad Annie played the first movement of Alexan-der Borodin’s famous String Quartet No. 2 in D, as well as Astor Piazolla’s ever-exciting Libertango, as arranged by local composer Yeo Chow Shern. Great pieces in a great hall: what is there not to love?!?

However, as great as the gigs that Ari-oso has had over the past few years – and trust us, there were more than a few – we have to say that one of the most amazing collaborations was the one we had in June with the WVC TRiO + 1 for the Waiting For That Day Concert. Consisting of founder/pianist Tay Cher Siang, bassist AJ PopShuvit, drummer KJ Wong and

saxophonist Julian Chan, the award-winning local jazz ensemble gave a stunning concert rendition of their 2014 album of the same name.

“The album was written while wait-ing for my firstborn child, my son Tomohisa, to come to this world,” said Cher Siang, who is one of the premier jazz pianists and teachers in Malay-sia. “But of course, the deeper mean-ing is applied to many other things: waiting for a better world; waiting for clean elections; waiting for the change to the better. This concert is the culmination of the thoughts of doing what we could – and hopefully, it will influence and affect people

around us.” The group actually took the album on tour all the way to China last year – and while prepar-ing for this concert, Cher Siang’s wife Masako Umeeda gave birth to their second child, daughter Mayu, so the concert has even more special significance.

And what a special concert it was! Ar-ioso got to play Fung Chern Hwei’s special string arrangements of the album’s beautiful tunes, and got to work together with guest artistes Yudi Yap, Chew Paul Wah, Winnie Ho and Janet Lee; calligrapher Tan Guet Bee; videographer Tan Choo Harn; photographer Wong Horng Yih; and dancers Sae Min, Michelle Jueney, Amrita, and Callista Chuah.

The concert was held on June 24th and 25th at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klPAC) – and the show proved so popular that they actually had to add seats for the shows! It is easy to see why: the blend of stunning video images, enchanting dance choereography, live calligraphy, superb singing and – above all – Cher Siang’s magnificently gorgeous music, was guaranteed to be a hit. Thank you, Maestro Tay, for giving us the opportunity to make history with you!

DANCING DELIGHT: Arioso in action during The Art Of Modern Music & Dance Concert 3.0. Photo: EJ Youth Crew

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Listen Up...EXPRESSION in the form of music is a universal characteristic. Although people will argue about what exactly constitutes – particularly when people are exposed to the “native” music of another culture – it cannot be denied that every society and culture has mu-sic as part of its genetic makeup.

And within all that variety – from throat singing to Unblack Metal, to performances by KPop stars or ex-Country & Western singers – there literally is something for everyone. As William Congreve famously put it in his poem The Mourning Bride of 1697: “Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast” – and though it may be true that some music does the opposite of sooth, many people will be inspired enough to actually take up singing or a musical instrument in order to indulge in their love for music.

Taking up a music instrument, though, can be a bit of a frightening ordeal, whether you are 3 or 63 when you start. There are many things that you have to learn - most especially, the necessary motor skills and breathing techniques that have to be acquired to even make the instrument produce a sound, let alone the correct ones. Posture and limb positions are just as crucial, both in terms of producing the right sounds, as well as ensuring that the performer does not develop long term aches or ailments.

One of the most subtle of skills that needs to be nurtured when taking up music is the art of listening. It may sound strange that a point such as this needs to be brought up – after all, music is about sound. Yet it is this very fundamental nature that means that developing listening skills cannot be taken for granted.

“I make it a point to have my students record themselves and play back the recording, so they can hear their own playing,” says professional violin-ist and teacher Dr. Goh Chia Chien. “Many times, the sounds we hear from the instrument while we are playing is it what the audience hears.

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There are several reasons for this. You see, humans are visual preda-tors – so we often focus on what we see, rather than what we hear, when concentrating hard on tactile activi-ties requiring intense concentration; as such, we often miss the majority of the sounds emanating from the instrument. That is when the record-ing device comes in handy.”

Goh believes that until the performer can feel the “emotions” that their in-struments cause via the sounds make – and until they can then be able to create those sounds at will – the per-former will be unable to share those ideas, thoughts, and emotions with the audience. “After all, the performer is a medium from the composer to the audience – and without listening to the sounds we produce, we will be ineffective at conveying the ideas of the composer to the audience, and completely incapable of sharing what we as performers have to say.”

One of the most infamous examples that can illustrate that last point has got to be Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944). The American socialite and amateur operatic soprano was legendary for her lack of rhythm, pitch, and tone; her aberrant pro-nunciation; and her generally poor singing ability. She made a living as a singer, lieder, and songs composed by herself or by her accompanist, Cosmé McMoon. The Wikipedia entry on Jenkins describes her re-cordings in a rather straightforward approach: “From her recordings, it is apparent that Jenkins had little sense of pitch or rhythm, and was barely capable of sustaining a note. Her accompanist, Cosmé McMoon, can be heard making adjustments to compensate for her tempo variations and rhythmic mistakes. Her dubious diction, especially in foreign lan-guages, is also noteworthy.”

You can find the recording of her ren-dition of Der Hölle Rache – a standard and immensely popular benchmark aria for knowing how good a so-prano is – on YouTube. Fair warning,

though: listening to the recording is not for the faint of heart. It could be expected of someone whose first name actually was Narcissa (which she dropped later on).

To be fair to Jenkins, she actually was a child prodigy pianist, who eloped with Dr. Frank Thornton Jenkins – who married her and, unfortunately, gave her syphilis in the process. It is now known that the syphilis had slowly made its way to her brain and auditory and central nervous system – and it didn’t help that she suffered from severe side effects caused by the era’s poisonous mercury and/or arsenic treatments. And because of her inability to hear, combined with her lifelong need to perform, Jenkins was – according to Wikipedia – “firmly convinced of her talent. She compared herself favorably to the renowned sopranos Frieda Hempel and Luisa Tetrazzi-ni, and dismissed the abundant au-dience laughter during her perform-ances as ‘hoodlums ... planted by her rivals’.” It is a lesson that could, perhaps, also be taken to reinforce the long-held observation that peo-ple will only hear what they want to hear – but it does emphasise the fact that if people tell you that you sound like Britney Spears when you think you sound like Pavarotti, you really should learn to listen carefully.

If listening is that important for a solo performer, it is reasonable to assume that it is equally as impor-tant – if not more so – for perform-ance in groups. After all, ensemble playing is an integral part of one’s music education – and one in which the rewards are even more gratify-ing than ever. Done well, ensemble playing will prove that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – and interaction with others means that listening is paramount.

“Listening is an absolute necessity for achieving togetherness of ensemble in chamber music or orchestral mu-sic,” says Lee Cheng Hooi, a violinist and music reviewer. “It is a skill that

should be developed as much as pos-sible, particularly from a young age. Not everyone has perfect pitch – but if the performer develops the sensi-tivity and gets enough training, it can certainly be achieved.”

Lee believes that listening especially leads to enhanced appreciation of music appreciation, particularly where context and knowledge can lead to a richer and fuller experience, both for the player and for the audi-ence. “Keeping a sharp ear will lead you to notice some amazing things. For example, a bit of concentration will let you discover harmonic subtle-ties of modulations, where a Domi-nant 7th chord in G major (D/F#/A/C) can lead to an interesting modulation like an Eb/G/Bb, rather than a G/B/D chord. This chord happens in the third movements of W. A. Mozart’s Piano Quartet in g minor (K478) and Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 (Op26).” It is a revelation that will add context and meaning to the lessons in theory that most music students go through – and one that will definitely add to the enjoyment and perform-ance of those pieces.

A regular reviewer of the local classi-cal music scene – and one with per-fect pitch, to boot – Lee laments the fact that there is little to differentiate between the players in the current crop of performers. “Listening to other instrumentalists will give you a grasp of what the playing styles were, whether it was in the 1900s, 1950s, or the 2000s. Stylistically, players in the old days played with lots of portamento and glissando – but play-ers nowadays do not play with such devices, and shifting is very ‘straight’, without any slides,” he said, adding that bowing these days appeared to look very standard.

“The older string players articu-lated the sound in a more unique and personalised manner – that is what made them great and memo-rable. String playing and teaching at conservatories now are very standard; as such, all play-ers – whether Chinese, Israeli, Russian, British, American, Asian or Euro-pean – all play in the same manner. We could distin-guish between [Jascha] Heifetz, [David] Ois-trakh, [Leonid] Kogan,

[Nathan] Milstein, [Sir Yehudi] Menuhin, and [Michael] Rabin from their recordings; these days, though, I cannot tell who the player is,” Lee said, giving an example where he cor-rectly guessed that a recording was by Menuhin, based on nothing except the way that the violin slides were performed in the recording.

Indeed, there can be no doubt that listening is a vital component of mu-sic making, and one for which there can be no excuse to put it off. There is always the example of Ludwig van Beethoven himself, who - beceause of his increasing deafness – learned to listen within the confines of his head, and thus managed to produce some of the most amazing tonal relationships ever to be cre-ated.

One of the most amazing modern examples has got to be Dame Evelyn Glennie, the world famous Scot-tish virtuoso percussionist who just happens to be deaf. Having been profoundly deaf since the age of 12, Glennie says that she taught herself to “hear” with parts of her body other than her ears, and often plays barefoot during both live performances and studio recordings in order to “feel” the music better. Considering that she gives more than 100 concerts a year – not including masterclasses, “music in schools” performances, and commissioning new percussion works from compos-ers – it is an example that definitely means students and the audience alike should lend an ear to...

VARIAZIONI discusses issues that affect practi-

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Illustrations: Ahmad Azrai