SINGAPORE – Young pianists will take centre stage at Piano Extravaganza 2024.

The yearly showcase, which aims to highlight home-grown piano talent, will feature four pianists – Lin Xiangning, Jonathan Shin, Geoffrey Lim and Natalie Ng – at the School of the Arts Singapore Concert Hall on July 13. 

The evening will feature piano works for one, two, four and eight hands, including pieces by Schubert and Chopin, as well as the world premiere of Shin’s Three City Ballads. 

Three City Ballads is based on three poems – Funan: A Traveller’s Guide by Singaporean Theophilus Kwek, Just Once by American Anne Sexton and Highway by American Billy Collins. 

Shin, a 32-year-old professional composer-pianist, says: “I’m always excited for projects that marry my two loves: music and literature. This concert is the perfect platform to share this particular joy.” 

Piano Extravaganza began as the Young Virtuoso Recital in 2004, organised by then-artistic director of the Singapore International Piano Festival and The Straits Times classical music reviewer Chang Tou Liang, who is also a family physician. 

The 58-year-old says he saw a need to provide young pianists with a platform to showcase their work. “Presenters are often sceptical of local talent. People are more willing to pay for a name rather than someone who they think may not be good, especially when the performers are local.”