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- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Melody Quah returns to perform Chopin with MPO
SHE left Malaysia at a young age to train as a classical pianist and now resides in Pennsylvania, but Melody Quah's heart remains in her homeland.
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, the 37-year-old pianist still makes it a point to return every summer to visit her parents here.
Slated to perform solo in the first instalment of the two-part Chopin Festival at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas on Aug 16, Quah is thrilled to take the stage in Malaysia again.
"This will be my second time performing here," said Quah, who last played at the concert hall in 2018 with a Beethoven masterpiece.
"And now, I'm going to play Chopin."
The concert will be led by Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra music director Junichi Hirokami.
"For pianists, he is a special composer because he wrote primarily for piano.
"The beauty of Chopin lies in his love for opera, especially the Italian style of singing, which gives his music an intimate, vocal-like quality.
"His works are rich with nuance, offering listeners something truly special if we, the performers, do our job right."
Quah will perform Chopin's iconic Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, a work that debuted to great acclaim in Warsaw in 1830 when the composer was just 21.
The piece is often described as romantic, calm and somewhat melancholic, evoking the emotional landscape of cherished memories.
Quah first performed the concerto as a teenager while attending the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney.
"I've played it several times as an adult too. I hope that with the years of experience and skill I've accumulated, I can now offer an even more mature and thoughtful interpretation."
Currently a professor of piano at Pennsylvania State University, Quah boasts an impressive international resume.
Dubbed a "poet with titanium fingers" by the 'Vancouver Sun', she has performed extensively across Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.
Her multifaceted career spans solo and collaborative performances, chamber music, education, adjudication and artistic direction.
A prizewinner of the 7th International Paderewski Competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Quah has graced the stage at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall and performed as a chamber musician at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre.
She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras around the world, including the Ku-Ring-Gai Symphony and Central Coast Symphony (Australia), the Pomeranian Philharmonic (Poland) and numerous North American ensembles, such as the Richmond Philharmonic, Academy Philharmonic, Vancouver Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, West Coast Symphony, Penn's Woods Festival Orchestra, Williamsport Symphony and Altoona Symphony Orchestra.
An advocate of contemporary music, Quah has premiered more than two dozen new works by living composers and commissioned pieces for solo piano from prominent names across Asia and beyond, including Adeline Wong and Tazul Tajuddin (Malaysia), Parisa Sabet (Iran and Canada), Sidney Boquiren (the Philippines), Marisa Hartanto (Indonesia), Emily Koh (Singapore) and Piyawat Louilarpprasert (Thailand).
She has also recorded works by Tom DeLio and Baljinder Sekhon.
Her academic contributions are equally notable.
She has served as artist faculty at the Nanyang International Piano Academy (Singapore) and Euro Arts Festival (Poland) and conducted masterclasses at institutions such as UCSI University and Universiti Teknologi Mara (Malaysia), Medan Musik School (Indonesia), Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (United Kingdom) and various universities across the United States.
An active adjudicator and presenter, she contributes regularly to the Music Teachers National Association and the College Music Society and currently serves as president of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association.
Quah earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and holds graduate degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Juilliard School.
She received her Bachelor of Music from the Vancouver Academy of Music after completing high school in Australia.
Her principal teachers included Boris Slutsky, Peter Frankl, Matti Raekallio, Lee Kum Sing and Snezana Panovska.
Quah recalls starting on the piano as a toddler.
"I was probably around 2 or 3, playing by ear while my older sister was already taking lessons.
"When my mother heard me play, she enrolled me in lessons too."
She also plays other instruments, guitar and violin among them, and once told her mother she wanted to learn the flute.
Laughing, she adds: "After retirement, I'll probably pick up the cello."
Having performed around the world, Quah said one of her most cherished memories was her solo debut at Carnegie Hall, which was reviewed by 'The New York Times'.
Another unforgettable moment was when she played the Electone at the opening ceremony of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
"I was accompanying a famous singer. I can't quite recall who. It wasn't Siti Nurhaliza. Maybe Ning Baizura? But don't quote me on that," she said, laughing.
Now a mother of two and married to an American trumpet player, Quah continues to make waves on the global classical music stage.
The Chopin Festival continues on Oct 11, when the MPO will present Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by pianist Martin Garcia evening will also feature Sibelius' Symphony No. 2, with conductor Rune Bergmann leading the orchestra.
