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Kevin Kwong

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Today  to  Saturday
Hong Kong composer  Joseph Koo  Ka-fai, best known for the theme tunes he penned for television dramas in the 1970s and 80s, is teaming up with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) for a Canto-pop concert with a difference: it won't feature any singing.
'This programme focuses on the music rather than vocals,' says the 77-year-old who last collaborated with the ensemble on 2003's Sweet & Sour Hong Kong, a musical drama jointly staged by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and the Hong Kong Dance Company.
'My compositions are actually best performed by a western orchestra because of the strong sense of rhythm in Canto-pop, something traditional Chinese music doesn't have.
'Though Chinese music is very melodic, unlike western music it is horizontal, meaning it lacks harmonic depth or richness. That is why I find it refreshing to have a Chinese orchestra performing my works because that creates a new sound.'
All-time Favourites by Joseph Koo  will feature  more than 30 songs by the composer including classics such as the theme songs for Fatal Irony, Red Flower Society, Legend of Condor Heroes, The Bund and The Giant. Since Koo (above) has written more than 1,200 tunes, HKCO's artistic director  Yan Huichang and this concert's artistic consultant,  Mui Kwong-chiu,  helped  draw up the playlist.
A  highlight of the concert will be  Song of the General, a new work commissioned by the HKCO to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
The composer, also known for his musical partnership and the 200 hits he co-wrote with late lyricist  James Wong Jim, says working with a Chinese orchestra is a big challenge because it's not a genre he is familiar with. Western music has remained his turf  since graduating from the  Berklee College of Music in Boston where he received a scholarship to study jazz in the 1960s. 'Though ironically, I've featured Chinese instruments such as the pipa and zheng in my music for a long time,' he says.
Taking part in the concerts will be HKCO's top soloists Luo Jing on the zheng,  Wong On-yuen and  Hsin Hsiao-hung on erhu,  Guo Yazhi on souna and  Yim Hok-man on percussion.
'Music is my all,' says the Vancouver-based Koo. 'I haven't thought about not writing music or retiring. I just want to do what I like and enjoy most these days.'
The only dream he has yet to realise is to pen a full-length musical. 'It was also James' dream that was left unfulfilled. That's something I'd like to work on in the future.'
10 Salisbury Rd, TST, HK$100- HK$1,000 Urbtix. Inquiries: 3185 1600



All-time Favourites  by Joseph Koo