Maksimum Disappointment

 
So much for all that hype about the Prince of Piano and Master of Melody coming to town. I paid $130 for the 70-minute Maksim performance at the Esplanade Concert Hall when I would have enjoyed more one of his albums on my iPhone for free. Yes, it was an 'acoustic' performance—just the pure sound of the piano, one might say, sans all the techno backup. But that meant that whatever mistakes the maestro made could be heard all the more clearly. Plus, the much-anticipated Flight of the Bumble-Bee was conspicuously absent from the evening's repertoire.

What made things worse were the many unofficial photographers in the audience, blatantly snapping away throughout the evening despite the initial annoucement forbidding photography and the subsequent repeated reminders from the ushers to stop. I've been to the Esplanade for numerous performances but this is the first time I have seen so many people taking pictures—and they had started even before the concert began, taking shots of the Steinway & Sons concert grand on the otherwise bare stage. I don't know if it's because those people found the piano or the pianist stunning (I certainly didn't, in both cases), but don't people have any sense of decorum and self-control? Such occasions really make one ashamed to be a Singaporean.

I won't go so far as to say the evening was wasted. The concert was quite enjoyable, after all. But I definitely expected much more. The Vienna Boys' Choir came to town recently without much hype, the tickets were much cheaper, and their concert so much more enjoyable—but more on that another day.