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THE RIGHT MOVE: An injury to his left thumb led Tiu to concentrate on playing with his right hand. -- PHOTO: YONG SIEW TOH CONSERVATORY
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ON A January morning this year, one of the worst things that could befall a pianist happened to Albert Tiu: He dislocated his thumb.
The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory assistant professor had been out cycling when it started to drizzle.
'I wanted to beat the rain, so I cycled faster, which is the wrong thing to do,' says the 38-year-old father of two, chuckling.
As he took a turn, the bike skidded and he ended up dislocating his left thumb. Though it was yanked back into place by a doctor at the National University Hospital, he had it in a splint for two months.
Although he could play with the four fingers of his left hand, he had to limit the impact on it, and decided to concentrate on playing with his right hand alone.
Nine months later, he will single-handedly helm a recital - literally. On The Other Hand... at the Conservatory Concert Hall tonight is an unusual concert: He will perform all the pieces with his right hand alone.
As the left hand is traditionally the weaker one for pianists, there are more studies written for it. So Tiu initially resorted to adapting pieces for the left hand by composers like Skryabin and Godowksy.
'I slowly discovered that some passages were just as comfortable with the right hand or even better, simply because the right hand is stronger from years and years of emphasis on this hand,' says the pianist, who is himself a northpaw.
Even as he recovered and resumed a regular schedule, his fascination with playing with the right hand alone did not abate.
He was even inspired to arrange eight of Chopin's Preludes for the right hand alone.
'Of course you cannot do it note for note, so you try to capture the essence of it. This requires a lot of sensitivity with pedalling,' he says.
Since May, he has performed recitals which included right hand-only pieces in Canada, Australia and China, but tonight will be the first time he will play an entire recital with the right hand alone.
One of the highlights will be a specially commissioned piece by conservatory assistant professor Kawai Shiu, and Alkan's virtuosic Study Op. 76 No. 2.
If you're wondering whether his right hand might be overly strained by the end of the recital, the pianist says that it is only as taxed as it would be in a two-handed concert.
He adds: 'But at the end it does feel strange because my right hand is so warm and my left so cold.'
ysteph@sph.com.sg
On The Other Hand... is on at the Conservatory Concert Hall at 7.30pm tonight. Admission is free.
'I slowly discovered that some passages were just as comfortable with the right hand or even better, simply because the right hand is stronger from years and years of emphasis on this hand'
Albert Tiu
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