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A mixed bag ends with convincing execution

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Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with Olli Mustonen, conducted by Carlo Rizzi

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi last night directed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert of Mozart and Mahler at the Cultural Centre.

The programme opened with Mozart's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C minor, K. 491, played by Olli Mustonen. This soloist's style is an acquired taste. Personally, I found his over-exaggerated arm movements and the resulting percussive, abrasive tone disconcerting.

Even the lyrical theme of the larghetto was subjected to an unusual semi-staccato attack. The Rachmaninov-inspired cadenza of the first movement and the aggressive playing of some of the variations in the third seemed out of character with the classical style. To cap it all, there was some dodgy woodwind intonation.

Fortunately, the performance of Mahler's emotionally charged Symphony No 6 was in a superior class.

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