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Pianist realises his Fantasie Pianist Melvyn Tan's solo show is back on, five years after a public outcry over his dodging of national service By magdalen ng Renowned pianist Melvyn Tan is finally returning for his Singapore solo debut at the Esplanade next month. It is a bittersweet homecoming for the man dogged by a national service controversy here. Five years ago, when he tried to perform at the same venue, the public had raised an outcry over whether he had been dealt with too lightly for defaulting on his national service. 'It's been a long time coming, this concert, and it will be a poignant moment, to be able to play for the people who have supported me since I went away,' says Tan in a telephone interview from London, where he is based. His recital, titled Fantasie, will be on at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Jan 19. The 54-year-old originally planned to have his concert in December 2005 but he scrapped that when an uproar erupted over his evasion of national service while studying music in London. An April 2007 date with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra was announced but that, too, was postponed. He left Singapore in 1969, at the age of 12, to study at the famed Yehudi Menuhin School, and later the Royal College of Music, and did not return to serve his national service. When he eventually returned in 2005, he was charged for the evasion and fined $3,000. By then, he was above 40 years old and was no longer liable to serve. He had also renounced his Singapore citizenship in 1978. But that did not stop many Singaporeans from pitching in on whether his punishment was adequate. His case also led to debate over the leeway to be given to young talent pursuing their development and careers overseas, and the deferment of their national service. Now a British citizen, he says: 'The national service issue is not something that I can shake off. It is my circumstances, and something I have to accept. There is nothing really I can do about it.' He adds: 'What I want to focus on is to do a good concert and for people to enjoy themselves. That's what I want to think about.' He will be playing four pieces - two by Polish composer Chopin, Images by French composer Debussy and Fantasiestucke by German composer Schumann. The programme, he says, will be a menu of different but complementary music. 'It's not just the tastebuds that I want to stimulate. I want the audience to hear a bit of this and a bit of that,' he explains. The concert pianist has performed at many prestigious venues, including London's Barbican and New York's Lincoln Center. He is also a veteran at international festivals, such as the Edinburgh International Festival and the Salzburg Summer Festival. These days, he spends most of his time in his London studio when he is not travelling. He is also fond of exercising, going to the theatre and meeting friends. 'I always get more done in concentrated bursts. So I practise for two hours, take a walk and then come back for more,' he says. On his trip back to Singapore, he will also conduct masterclasses for students at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, the School of the Arts and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He thinks that it will be a good opportunity for him to pass on his expertise to budding musicians. 'Over the years, I've gained a lot of experience as a performer, and this is something that you cannot get when you are in your 20s. You learn a piece and you can prepare only so much, but performing in public is something different,' he says. 'You can't teach experience but I hope that I will be able to share what I know with the students.'