SG50@VCH: LYNNETTE SEAH & SHANE THIO on Sat, 21 Mar 2015, 7:30pm at Victoria Concert Hall

Lynnette Seah
The exquisite sound string from the violin and violinist blended nicely with the acoustics of Victoria Concert Hall. It produced a sonority that reverberate my tympanic cavity through the auricle to produce a romantic and lyrical tonality that transported me into musical nirvana.
Shane Thio

Opening number was Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violin Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord BWV 1016 which his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, wrote to his father’s biographer Forkel in 1774, describing
Johann Sebastian Bach
the six sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014-19) was among the best works of (his) late beloved father. The exquisite rendition by Lynnette Seah on the Violin was marred in part by her partner in crime for the evening Shane Thio on the harpsichord. Having heard the duo’s performance of other pieces on Seah’s debut CD “a musical odyssey”, I can only reach a verdict of insufficient practice on Thio’s part as someone of Thio’s stature, stage fright should no longer be an issue. The hall was mostly full and the audience a fairly well informed group should had been a morale booster.

Seah had her score on stand but Thio might have overestimated his memory capacity and sailed without score and page turner for the first two pieces and resorted to them only in the third and final piece after the intermission. For a piece like BWV 1016, it is tantamount to harakiri or stupidity as his part is fully scored by the composer with little or no room for variation except for some ornamentation.

Seah’s performance was mostly probably modeled after Arthur Grumiaux and Christiane Jaccottet in the area of tempo, phrasing and most vividly the tonality of the violin. Viktoria Mullova teaming with OttavioDantone is more celebratory whereas Seah’s and Grumiaux’s lean towards a contemplative aura. Emotion is the undertone for this piece with heavy Italian emotional mojo to boot. Mullova’s sounding with lighter bowing is in line with the faster tempo most prevalent in the second of the four movement piece.  Rachel Podger is one of my favorite violinists but for her rendering of this piece with one of the better informed baroque musician Trevor Pinnock did not strike my heart string for some unknown reason. Her tone was thick like Grumiaux but is contaminated by some purposeful higher harmonics which might not reflect the intention of the composer. Perhaps the problem is mine as who am I to critique a baroque giant like Pinnock.
Arcangelo Corelli


Progressing from Bach a German composer writing a piece in BWV 1016 with strong Italian overtones, the next piece Violin Sonata Opus 5/12 by Corelli was truly all Italian. The basic ingredient is based on later Follia which is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes. Although the theme is centred around a minor mode, the expression sways dynamically from a sombre Adagio beginning in the first movement to expansive Vivace celebratory dance in the middle movement before coming full circle to end with another Adagio.

Seah took to lighter bowing in the slower movements to a naturally spirited at the height of the Vivace movement. One of the corner stone of this piece being a La Follia lies in the beauty of the chord progression. I wonder how Thio could have contaminated it by improper chord formations in a few instances. Wrong chord is forgivable but wrong chord formation is blasphemous as they are mathematical DNA deeply ingrained in musicians all and sundry.

Cesar Franck
Thio reclaimed his reputation in the final piece Franck Sonata for Violin and Piano as out went the harpsichord and in came the piano with score and page turner in toll as well. The transition from baroque to romantic era as well as a piece with more virtuoso part for the piano compared to the two earlier pieces by Bach and Corelli providing Thio with more newsprint. Thio’s solid control over the sustain pedal needing sudden hold back was exquisitely executed. Incidentally, this piece was a wedding gift from the composer to violinist Eugene Ysaye. Ysaye performed the piece during the wedding after a hurried rehearsal accompanied by one of the wedding guest who is a pianist. I guess there is unlikely to be a lack of musician to rise to the occasion as an accompaniment in a musician wedding especially of Ysaye standing. Wedding repertoire has a special place in my musical journey having played at many weddings when I was young. Another Siamese twin to this piece you must hear is Wieniawski Légende Op 17 in G minor which was written as abetrothal in my humble opinion on my blog.

There was resounding encore and gifts of a few garland of flowers to Seah but none to Thio not that I want to rub salt to the wound further. Thio is there as an accomplice rather than the star of the show and he has done it very well as a reflector so that the lime light in on Seah. The encore Melodie for Violin and Piano by Gluck was dedicated to Seah’s mother and it is one of the pieces in her CD.

A Musical Odyssey by Lynnette Seah
To appreciate Seah’s long sojourn with Singapore Symphony Orchestra as one of the founding artist of Singapore Symphony Orchestra, do buy her CD “a musical odyssey”. The entire CD makes for good nocturnal listening pleasure. All 10 sonatas recorded at Esplande Recital Studio were sonically well done by my audiophile peers I dare venture to be presumptuous. Track 11 of Bruch Violin Concerto seems to be incidental recording lifted off a live performance at EsplanadeConcert Hall and not up to the sonic quality the audiophile community would expect.


Lastly, the audience were impeccably well informed with no inappropriate clapping between movements and seems to connect with the performers in like manner of ‘may the force be with you’ in Star War speak.  You cannot hear, see or feel it but its presence is beyond a shadow of doubt.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.com Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye (c) Peter Lye 2014