Goh Soon Tioe

Goh Soon Tioe is known in Singapore musical history as a key player in the development of classical music for the post-war Singapore.

He is also the father of Singaporean violinist-conductor Vivien Goh.

Born on 18 October 1911 in Padang, Indonesia, Goh was the tenth of the eleven children in the family.

His father Gho Goan Tee owned a trading firm and was a local Kapitan – a spokesperson for the Padang Chinese community and a representative for the Chinese government.

Mother Lie Kie Pat was from Nias and was of mixed Chinese and native parentage.

They live in house on Batipoeh-Straat (now known as Jalan Pasar Batipuh), Kampoeng-Tjina in Padang.

The elder Gho died when Goh was three years old, leaving him in the care of his mother and Goh's older siblings.

As a boy, Goh studied in the local town school and primarily taught in Dutch language.

But he was active and mischievous child who often played truant from school and indulge in cock fighting.

His strict disciplinarian mum would often punish him for playing truant – at one time she even put a ball and chain on the boy's leg, and sent him to school in a horse carriage, or a Bendi.

It came to the point that his mother felt she could not control him any longer, and thus sent him and other relatives to Singapore.

The year was 1924.

Goh's family members were musically-inclined.

In his home in Padang, there was a piano left behind from his grandfather's time.

And not to mention that Goh Soon Hin, his third elder brother also played the violin.

But in all his childhood years the young Goh had never expressed any interest in music at all.

And thus his passion for music started relatively late – and by chance as well.

It was the time when he moved to Singapore, he would hear his cook's son playing the violin at the back of their Newton House every night.

That got the 17-year-old Goh interested in the violin, and embarked his musical journey with the violin with his first teacher, Filipino violinist Aguedo Raquiza.

Raquiza taught all that he knew to his prodigy, and advised him to seek further instruction overseas.

Despite his newfound love and conviction to become a great violinist, he could not convince his family to let him study music overseas.

Instead, he was sent to work in their family business.

But music still was never far from his mind.

In 1932, he received an opportunity to audition for a recruitment by the Geneva Conservatoire in Switzerland.

The panellists did not take to his performance kindly, and thought he was not good enough to be selected.

With anger and disappointment, he resolved to impress the panel with his performance in the next audition.

He began taking lessons from Maggie Breittmayer who drove him hard and polished his technique.

He pushed himself harder practising 8–10 hours a day for the next 6 months.

And finally, his talent stunned the audition panel and admitted him directly to the Superiere level of study.

A Swiss pianist serving as one of the Conservatoire panellists even helped the convince Goh's family members to allow him to study music and develop his talent at the Conservatoire.

In the three years of music study with the Conservatoire, he was trained by Breittmayer and Oscar Studer, even took classes in solfege, harmony and chamber music as well.

Goh performed excellently in all his annual exams, receiving the Premier Prix distinction award consecutively for three years.

Goh even played with the Conservatoire Orchestra under Samuel Baud-Bovy.

He had also made new friends during his years in Switzerland – with father-son violin makers Alfred and Pierre Vidoudez, and American-Italian violinist Joseph Nardulli.

Pierre helped him to correct his violin technique, and taught him the French language.

In all this time Goh's studies were funded by his family, but in 1935 he received news that his family could no longer support him in his music study, urging him to return to Sumatra to teach music instead.

By August that year, Goh's finances dried up.

Just as things was looking bad for him, Alfred Vidoudez introduced Goh to Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia who was so impressed with Goh's musical talent that he offered Goh guitar lessons free of charge in Barcelona.

Goh left Geneva for Barcelona in December 1935, and was further introduced to Spanish violinist Francisco Costa by Segovia who offered Goh to stay, and learn the violin from him in his home in Calle Muntaner.

Goh was 13 years old then, living with his 2nd eldest brother Soon Ho in Newton Road and continued his schooling at the Anglo-Chinese School.