About the Festival
In a land where piano recitals are rare and much-treasured events, the Singapore International Piano Festival came as a breath of fresh air for piano fanciers and music lovers alike. For the first time in history, audiences in Singapore were to enjoy four consecutive evenings of piano music performed by pianists of international repute.
The brainchild of local stockbroker, music critic and pianophile Goh Yew Lin, the Festival was organised under the banner of the Singapore Symphonia Co Ltd, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's parent company. Unique to the Festival was the thematic approach adopted for each edition. For example, the theme for the first edition in 1994 entitled "An Evening of Fantasy" featured works with the theme of "fantasy" in mind, and all four pianists opened their recital with Mozart's Fantasy in D minor. The year 1995 saw performances of music by Schumann while 1996 showcased pianists from the hallowed Russian school.
In 1998, the Festival was lauded by International Piano Quarterly as being "well organised, friendly and with a policy of low prices". By then, the Festival had gone regional, with its recitals being repeated in neighbouring cities of Southeast Asia and going as far afield as Hong Kong. Today, it remains Asia's only perennial piano festival.
The Festival attracts a large local audience and overseas visitors each year, with as many as a third subscribing for the entire series of four recitals. Interest runs high among Singaporean piano lovers and there is much anticipation leading to each edition.
In 2004, the artistic directorship was handed over to family physician, music reviewer and pianophile Chang Tou Liang who continues to seek new angles of presenting piano music. New initiatives have included free festival fringe events such as pre-concert talks, demonstrations, interviews, and the 2005 edition will see the inauguration of the annual Young Virtuoso Recital, which puts talented young Singaporean pianists into the spotlight.
The Singapore International Piano Festival continues to grow and evolve, befitting its well-deserved reputation as Asia's Premier Piano Festival.
In 1998, the Festival was lauded by International Piano Quarterly as being "well organised, friendly and with a policy of low prices". By then, the Festival had gone regional, with its recitals being repeated in neighbouring cities of Southeast Asia and going as far afield as Hong Kong. Today, it remains Asia's only perennial piano festival.
The Festival attracts a large local audience and overseas visitors each year, with as many as a third subscribing for the entire series of four recitals. Interest runs high among Singaporean piano lovers and there is much anticipation leading to each edition.
In 2004, the artistic directorship was handed over to family physician, music reviewer and pianophile Chang Tou Liang who continues to seek new angles of presenting piano music. New initiatives have included free festival fringe events such as pre-concert talks, demonstrations, interviews, and the 2005 edition will see the inauguration of the annual Young Virtuoso Recital, which puts talented young Singaporean pianists into the spotlight.
The Singapore International Piano Festival continues to grow and evolve, befitting its well-deserved reputation as Asia's Premier Piano Festival.