HK Philharmonic, HK Youth Symphony Orchestra; Poon Yeuk-kei, clarinet; Cultural Centre; May 23 Arelatively sparse audience attended what turned out for a tasty buffet of orchestras, conductors, and bright easy music. Perhaps the combination of the Philharmonic and its younger sibling confused concertgoers. But the programme had enough variety to please anybody. Perhaps it was unfair to the Youth Symphony Orchestra to be contrasted with the Phil, but the former was hardly embarrassed. No, these 100-odd players under 25 is scarcely the Asian Youth Orchestra - their sounds are stodgy, the horns leave much to be desired, and they lack the sparkling flair of that international group. But they played a programme of difficult music, and the sounds were sometimes appealing. Most enticing was the short, difficult Weber Concertino, played by principal clarinetist, Poon Yeuk-kei. Confident in his control, with a subtle rather than showy timbre, Poon played with rippling ease. Probably Weber, who always seemed to be composing opera, would have asked for more flair, more theatrics, more flamboyance. But in his modest way (and with a monotonous orchestral background), he made a good show of the piece. The orchestra was certainly at home in the one Chinese work, Huang Anlun's Dance of the Prairies. More difficult was Enesco's Rumanian Rhapsody, where the players were sharp, but Cheung Wan's conducting had anything but the Romanian verve. The Phil was in good form, and showed its best during Britten's Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra, charmingly narrated by conductor Yip Wing-sie. The piece hardly needs narration, but the audience took to the Cantonese explanations, and the orchestra gave its best under David Atherton. The Phil's Elgar was charming enough, the Delius had Barry Wilde's lovely violin solo, and the final giant-size Bolero had even the most dubious listeners cheering.