It was a full house for the concert played by violinist William Preucil with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in Sha Tin Town Hall.
The programme was generally popular with the overture from Mozart's opera Il Re Pastore and the Violin Concerto No 3 in G, K 216 by the same composer, followed by Pastorale for Violin and Winds and the Orpheus Ballet in Three Scores by Stravinsky.
Mozart is extremely hard music to play in any concert. It seems as though it should be easy but it exposes the performer to more than just technique. It is in many ways a challenge for a symphony orchestra to reduce its forces so considerably and play work that is more like chamber music.
They gave a light, bright and lively rendition of the overture Il Re Pastore, with some fine clear and crisp playing especially from the strings and accompanied well in the concerto.
But a certain stylistic understanding of Mozart was lacking, which could have been corrected simply by having more shape and a sense of line in the phrasing.
There is no question that Preucil is a very fine violinist. He played Mozart's Violin Concerto No 3 in G with a full-bodied sound and a characterful interpretation. He showed a fine technical command of his instrument, particularly in the cadenza of the first movement. More stylistic gestures and articulation and more in the way of dynamic contrasts in the two outer movements would have been a bonus, but these are small criticisms.
David Atherton was not frightened of encouraging the orchestra to play extremely quietly, particularly in the second movement of the concerto where both soloist and orchestra made some beautiful sounds.
