Under the baton of principal guest conductor Andrew Litton, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) performed an all-French programme, opening with Hector Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture.
Not written as a prelude to any opera or play, this was an out-and-out orchestral showpiece quoting themes from the opera Benvenuto Cellini that highlighted both ensemble and solo prowess.
After a slickly delivered introduction, the lot fell to Elaine Yeo's cor anglais, which sang a plaintive melody with true pathos, beginning the evening on a high note.
The concert's selling point was British pianist Stephen Hough's return in one of his favourite party pieces, Camille Saint-Saens' Fifth Piano Concerto, also nicknamed the "Egyptian Concerto". Incidentally, he made his Singapore debut with this same work back in 1986. Except for the central movement which quotes a Nubian song, there was little African to be had.
From the outset, it was French gaiety that reigned. But far from being froth and fluff, Hough's fingers of scintillation were tempered with steel. The filigree so key to Saint-Saens' keyboard writing was never submerged by the orchestra's exertions and it was clear this was no traipse in the Tuileries.
The slow movement's exoticism was delightfully overdone, the piano crafting piquant tinkling bell sounds. With the help of percussion, the wafting aromas went beyond Cairo to reach even Batavia.
The toccata-like manoeuvres of the finale, supposedly mimicking the spinning turbines of a steamship, were a tour de force of velocity. With soloist and orchestra charging headlong at full speed, there could only be one result: roars of approval from the audience.
REVIEW / CONCERT[hhmc]
STEPHEN HOUGH – EGYPTIAN PIANO CONCERTO
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall/Last Friday
For his encore, Hough made the splendid gesture of sharing centre stage with SSO co-concertmaster Lynnette Seah, the orchestra's longest-serving player who retires this year, in Elgar's Salut D'Amour. Her tone was sumptuous and the accompaniment classy and refined, after which he added Debussy's Clair De Lune, which was such a treat.
The orchestra completed the evening with Cesar Franck
