bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Vincent Mak

30 Years of Fine Music

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Ended yesterday

Music world luminaries gathered this weekend to celebrate the joint 30th anniversaries of classical music station Radio 4 and the  inauguration of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra as a professional  body in 1974.

Appropriately, the conductor was Edo de Waart,  who will become artistic director and chief conductor of the  orchestra next season.

The Friday concert started with the world premiere of local veteran composer Richard Tsang's   Overture FM. Tsang was once head of Radio 4 and composed the channel's signature tune, which appeared at the beginning and end of the overture.

It was imaginative and well-crafted music, but did not project a strong personal voice. The orchestra sounded under-rehearsed and failed to highlight some of the finer points of the piece.

The next work was Beethoven's Violin Concerto, with soloist Elmar Oliveira.  He exhibited  a clear tone and dependable technique, but his interpretation  lacked character.  De Waart only lit up the scene a little on his side.

Fortunately, the concert ended with a breezy performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, selected for the occasion through public polling. De Waart adopted a fast tempo, eschewed histrionics, and unravelled the music in one long breath from the first appearance of the 'Fate' motif right up to the triumphant finale.  Sharp articulation, limpid texture and flexible dynamic changes all helped make the fiercely interlocking musical arguments flash through in sharp relief.

The performance was  competent rather than  passionate, but it revealed De Waart's laudable ability to pull the  orchestra together in order to produce a poised, focused sound.



Philharmonic displays polish rather than passion