Offshoots

Just came back from Offshoots, by re:mix orchestra held in the Esplanade Recital Studio. They played Giuseppe Tartini's Devil's Trill Sonata , Shaker Loops by John Adams and a newly commissioned work by Dr. Kelly Tang for Re:mix orchestra, Contrasts for Solo violin and String Orchestra.

The background behind the Devil's Trill Sonata is particularly fascinating in itself. Apparently, Tartini dreamt the Devil appeared to him and wanted to be his apprentice. At the end of the lesson, Tartini handed the violin to the Devil to test his skill. The Devil, not surprisingly, played with such virtuosity , his breath was taken away. Upon awakening, he started to jot down the notes, but as so often happens with dreams , he forgot most of it and lamented, when the work was completed ,that it was far inferior to what he had heard.

Playing the part of soloist for Devil's Trill Sonata is re:mix orchestra's director,Mr. Foo Say Ming.Believed to be one of the hardest pieces ever written for the violin, Foo handled the piece deftly and the orchestra responded in kind. The highlight of the piece appears nearing the end with the soloist in the limelight for a full 3 minutes or so. Combining techniques such as double stops and trills, one is led believe that more than one person is performing.

Shaker loops was the orchestra's dabble into minimalism for the night. Despite it's repetitive rhythm it was kept fresh and interesting by the orchestra's impressive dynamics.It resembled at some parts a railway train- chugging, hooting and all.

Rounding things off for the evening was Dr. Kelly Tang's Contrasts. Regrettably it was rather forgettable. However, this is probably due to me not recognizing the various homages paid to the violin concertos by Brahms amongst others.I caught the Tchaikovsky one though! The encore ended things with a happy note - Lenggang Kangkong in pizzicato with flourishes of Gu Zheng-like tremolos done on the violins and a super mario theme feel.