Melvyn Tan Ban Eng (Chinese: 陈万荣; born 13 October 1956) is a Singapore-born British classical pianist, noted for his study of historical performance practice.
[1] At the Royal College, he was told by the then director Sir David Willcocks that he would have to study a second instrument; so he chose the harpsichord, which began his interest in early keyboards.
[2] Upon returning to Singapore in 2005, he was fined for not having done National Service in Singapore, although he was studying in London during the time he was required to serve and did not have an exit permit to MINDEF,[3] he had already started a busy concert career, and he had already acquired British citizenship.
Of Messiaen, Tan has announced that mastering the composer's Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus has been his proudest accomplishment: "It took me nearly two years to learn it, but it was the most life-enriching, the most life-changing experience because it was so spiritual and it changed the way I performed.
In 2007, he performed at the Royal Academy of Arts for Jasper Conran's London Fashion Week collection.