Pascal Roge and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall Reviewed: May 17 The Hong Kong Sinfonietta celebrated its return from La Folle Journee au Japon in Tokyo with refreshing renditions of feisty works by Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc. Part of Le French May, the concert opened with six of the orchestra's string and wood-wind players accompanying principal harpist Ann Huang in an occasionally loose- limbed performance of Ravel's Introduction and Allegro. French pianist Pascal Roge then gave an assured, low-key and absorbing rendition of Ravel's Concerto in G Major. If he failed to bring enough sparkle to the more pungent passages, Roge worked magic in the meditative opening of the slow movement, in which he created a feathery yet captivating staccato with his left hand while the melody unfolded from his right. Unfortunately, the orchestra under Yip Wing-sie's baton was unfocused and less than exuberant in the outer movements. After the interval, Roge and Japanese pianist Ami Hakuno found rapport in their crisp articulation of Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos. Both captured the music's sudden mood changes, and gracefully presented the homage to Mozart in the second movement. The accompaniment from the orchestra sounded more in shape after the break, and its confidence rose in the final work, Poulenc's Sinfonietta, during which Yip elicited a pleasing legato and lively dialogue from many players. The gentle melody of the Andante Cantabile and the fun, smiling finale were highlights of a concert so enjoyable that it made you want to get on a plane and go for a stroll in Paris.