The program started off with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E major BWV854 book 1 by Ong Junlin, the performance didn’t go smoothly however as he was not confident throughout. The prelude was fine overall, as listeners preferred a lighter bass as he tends to over shadowing the lyrical melody lines on the upper register of the piano. The fugue was quite a disaster, having the first note as the first impression of any piece, he committed a major slip and the fugue was very unstable. To add to the unsatisfactory, he stopped and restarted the entire fugue which audiences were confused by his decision; the fugue still went on with various slips and the individual voices weren’t brought out clearly.
Wang Shimiao certainly had enjoyed Brahms as she performed Op.116 with ease, confident and much observation. Her pedaling was clear and had not blurred the piece nor had it cause any obstruct in the melodic lines. Wang’s approach was desirable to the listeners for her ability to thickening down the bass parts with deep key attacks.
Chopin’s Nocturne in F major Op.15 no.1 by Yap Sin Yee was well fitted in the style of Chopin. Her legato produced a very lyrical singing cantabile that resembles a Wagnerian song. One notable part of this renditions was the ornaments and embellishment; they were clear and precise that seldom presented in most performance elsewhere. It would be excellent if she could bring out piece in a higher volume as one would suspect audiences at the back row would be struggling to hear anything on stage.
The final program of the evening was Liszt’s Ballade in B minor. Liu Xiaoya presented her rendition with great confidence, and personality. Her techniques are one to be