Tuning up for a reunion

The Nation

 Violinist Paye Srinarong from VieTrio, Pornphan "Orn" Banternghansa (piano) and Pisoot Saay-Op-Oua (viola) will be taking the stage with Bangkok expats Yukihisa Nakagawa (cello) and Michael Allen (violin) for "Quintessence - A Musical Reunion" at the Church of Christ in Thailand. On the programme is Dvorak's "Piano Quintet Op 81 in A major", Haydn's "Fifths" ("String Quartet Op 76 No 2 in D minor"), Chopin's "Scherzo No 2 in Bb minor", and York Bowen's "Toccata Op 155 for solo piano".

 The Nation got them together and asked for some enlightening chat about their "Reunion".

Paye: So, Michael, remind us how you came up with the title.

Michael: Quintessence -- the essence of five. We need five performers for the Dvorak, and the Haydn quartet we are playing has the nickname "Fifths". And the ratio of the frequencies of the musical interval known as the perfect fifth is three to two -- our ensemble has three Thais based abroad and two expats living here. Err... maybe that's a bit of a tenuous connection.

Paye: Signs of your physics alternative existence creeping in there...

Michael: Physics researcher at Mahidol by day, violinist by night. But I'm not the only one with an unusual background, right, Yuki?

Yuki: I studied forestry science but terminated my master's degree because I loved playing cello more. I found my life is playing music. And Pisoot too?

Pisoot: Yes, I studied economics and finance.

Orn: But you're now studying music in Holland. How's that going?

Pisoot: I'm having a great time - I've met a lot of great musicians and learnt a lot from them. And I've been playing a lot of chamber music.

And Orn, you've just got your doctorate from the prestigious Eastman School of Music. What's next?

Orn: Well, first of all, I'm definitely excited to be back in my home country for good after 10 years of living in the US. As a new doctorate graduate I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned. In November, I'll be joining the piano faculty at Silpakorn University School of Music and piloting its new master's programme. But I'll still be performing solo and as a chamber musician.

 Anyway, back to our concert. We're calling it a musical reunion. You and Paye go back a long way, right?

Pisoot: Right. We studied at the same schools.

Paye: Those were the days. We really played a lot of chamber music, didn't we?

Yuki: And me too. I played in the 1996 Asian Youth Orchestra with Paye.

Orn: And you three were founding members of the Nova Siam quartet…

Michael: Yes, but we haven't played together since Pisoot left for Holland.

Pisoot: So, how is the Nova Siam doing without me, guys?

Yuki: It's so much better! ... Just kidding!

Orn: So, guys, why the Haydn?

Michael: Well, it's the 200th anniversary of his death this year. This quartet is one of his more popular works -- hence the nickname. We also really like Haydn!

Pisoot: But the fourth member of the Nova Siam quartet [now studying in the US] doesn't.

Yuki: So now's our big chance!

Michael: And who picked the Dvorak?

Paye: It was me. It's a wonderful piece -- one of Dvorak's best works -- but also really hard. But what the hell. We don't get to play together that often, so the programme we pick should make up for lost time. I think it's a good balance, kicking off the concert with a Haydn quartet, then a couple of piano solo pieces by Chopin and Bowen -- a totally different era -- and topping it off with the crowd-pleasing Dvorak.

Yuki: So, Orn, how did you go about picking your solo programme? And who's this York Bowen? Is it easy listening?

Orn: The Chopin scherzo is a real favourite among both pianists and audiences. For any Chopin fans out there, it's unmissable. It's definitely one of my favourite pieces, both to listen to and perform!

 I picked the Bowen because I'd love to introduce some "new" music to the Thai audience. It will be very interesting for listeners to experience a sample of music composed after 1950. Actually, it's not all that modern-sounding -- it has a strong hint of Rachmaninov. To my knowledge, it will be this piece's Thailand premiere. Composed by one of Britain's finest pianists, it should stir the audience with its rhythmic intensity and exuberant energy. Listeners will be on the edge of their seats!

Orn: I was wondering, since I'm not an orchestra player, how different do you guys feel when playing chamber music as compared with playing in an orchestra?

Yuki: I'm just one of six to 10 cellists in an orchestra and everyone has to play the same way. There aren't many opportunities for the musicians to discuss the interpretation.

But chamber ensemble is made by discussion among the players. We can put our ideas into the music directly. So I much prefer chamber music to orchestral playing.

Orn: And Paye, how do you feel switching back to playing a classical concert? Is there anything you've learned on the pop music stage that you take back to the classical stage?

Paye: Actually, it's not really a switch. I am still as active in the classical music scene as ever. VieTrio gets all the attention, but this year I've appeared with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and performed a couple of chamber music concerts. We've also just opened our own music school, called VieMus, in Bangkok. And I just got back from Japan, touring with a New York-based orchestra. So it's refreshing to perform with my sisters as VieTrio. It's like putting on a pair of concert shoes and then replacing them with a pair of sneakers every once in a while.

 As classical musicians we focus so much on getting everything right that sometimes we forget we are up there on stage to communicate and keep the audience entertained. This is what we're aiming for in this concert: getting the audience involved, musically and verbally. Chances are, we'll be able to entertain our listeners in a way that classical concerts have not done before in Thailand.

 Tickets priced Bt1,500, Bt1,000, Bt800, Bt500, and Bt200 are available from Ibycus -- call (02) 932 9208, e-mail ibycus_music@yahoo.com or visit www.IbycusThailand.com -- and at VieMus Music School on the 4th floor of the Esplanade Complex - (02) 354 0765. Discounts are available for families.