Message from the Festival Director
Welcome to yet another edition of the Singapore International Piano Festival! As it turns out, this will be the fifteenth anniversary of the Festival, as well as its most ambitious. Instead of the usual four evenings of recitals, there are five evenings featuring six recitals given by seven pianists!
What is more important is that we are celebrating the musical genius and legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1759). Has there been a more important or influential composer in musical history? His music is timeless, be it his sublime Goldberg Variations, the dance movements from his Partitas, or those miracles of counterpoint which we know as his Preludes and Fugues.
We also celebrate works from the 19th and 20th century that have been influenced or touched by Bach's genius. Among these are several iconic masterpieces receiving first performances in Singapore, including Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, Robin Holloway's Gilded Goldbergs and Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues Op.87. Seldom has an edition of this Festival been as far-reaching, from the early 18th century to a newly composed work by Singaporean composer Tan Chan Boon which will receive its World Premiere. You will agree that the wonderful pianists gracing this Festival - Jenö Jandó, Jennifer Micallef, Glen Inanga, Kim Sung-hoon, Christopher Taylor, Sandi Koh and Konstantin Scherbakov - will do the music great justice.
As this will be my final year directing this Festival, it gives me great pleasure to thank the hardworking staff of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for putting up with my whims and fancies, and to the wonderful audience that has so warmly greeted this festival for over the past 15 years. May you all continue to enjoy great piano music!
Yours pianistically,
Chang Tou Liang
Artistic Director
We also celebrate works from the 19th and 20th century that have been influenced or touched by Bach's genius. Among these are several iconic masterpieces receiving first performances in Singapore, including Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, Robin Holloway's Gilded Goldbergs and Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues Op.87. Seldom has an edition of this Festival been as far-reaching, from the early 18th century to a newly composed work by Singaporean composer Tan Chan Boon which will receive its World Premiere. You will agree that the wonderful pianists gracing this Festival - Jenö Jandó, Jennifer Micallef, Glen Inanga, Kim Sung-hoon, Christopher Taylor, Sandi Koh and Konstantin Scherbakov - will do the music great justice.
As this will be my final year directing this Festival, it gives me great pleasure to thank the hardworking staff of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for putting up with my whims and fancies, and to the wonderful audience that has so warmly greeted this festival for over the past 15 years. May you all continue to enjoy great piano music!
Yours pianistically,
Chang Tou Liang
Artistic Director