Fulfilling a wish...
I was a late bloomer when it comes to appreciating The Yellow River Concerto. Years back, I used to think that it was just another lengthy song and more often than not, my senses would shut down in the middle of the 2nd or 3rd movement. However, there was this particular day when unconsciously, I sat down and paid full attention to this famous piece, and that was it, I was hooked! I couldn't stop listening to the recording I owned, which is performed by solo pianist Yin Cheng Zong (殷承宗) and accompanied beautifully by the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Till today, my emotions still get carried away when I listen to this song, it's one song that never fails to evoke a few tears from me, coupled with lots of goosebumps all over. I can safely say that it's one of my best-loved songs and I constantly harboured a hope to watch Mr Yin perform live in Singapore.
Thus, you can imagine how excited I was when Dear brought home the SCO brochure of upcoming concert - Son of Yellow River. And guess who was the invited piano soloist? Yes! Yin Cheng Zong! It was like my dream come true! Thank you SCO! There was a slight internal struggle (yes, just for a few seconds) deciding whether to go for the concert, because finances are just so tight at this moment. But you know, dreams gotta be fulfiiled! So we got 2 tickets and I was an exuberantly happy camper.
What can I say...I got to witness a master at his very best. Mr Yin is close to 70 years old, and he must have played The Yellow River Concerto for more than a million times throughout his life. But during the performance, I could feel the heart and soul he put into the song. Each note, each trill, each tap of the piano key was just how I remembered it was from my little CD, and it was perfection. I remembered sitting at the edge of my seat throughout the song and taking in the marvellously fluid movements of the pianist's hands, feeling very grateful that I had the chance to witness this performance in my lifetime. It was also the first time I felt compelled to give a standing ovation to this man. As most orchestral concert-goers know, Singaporeans do not usually give standing ovations although they might have enjoyed the performance fully. Yet for once, I see rows of people in the audience standing up and giving Mr Yin the huge applause he fully deserved, and I was touched to the core.
I had to point out that the accompaniment by SCO was a letdown though. Their accompaniment seemed disjointed from the soloist; and at one point, the suonas delivered a really flat and jarring note which snapped me out of my beautiful reverie. Most disappointing was their performance of 东方红 (East is Red), a melody that is adapted from a song of the same name into this concerto piece. To me, it is the highest point and one of the most uplifting parts of The Yellow River Concerto, but SCO butchered it and gave a really bland rendition of it, sigh. Suffice to say, I was not impressed. I felt that SCO has improved a lot lately and I thought it could do much better than what it dished out on Friday evening.
Still, the accompaniment was but a small glitch considering how I got to fulfil my little wish in the best possible way. I wonder which would be the next performance that can inspire me as much as this one did.