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Kevin Kwong

Olympic Fanfare
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
HK City Hall Concert Hall
Reviewed: Aug 8
On  the night  that China  thrilled the world with its spectacular Beijing Olympics opening, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta  charmed its audience with a Games-themed concert, headlining this city's favourite cartoon piglet, McDull.
Teaming up for the third time with the  animation's creators - Brian Tse Lap-man  and Alice Mak Ka-bik -   HKS McDull Music Project 3  is part of the troupe's ongoing effort to bring classical music to  a younger crowd, focusing on  appreciation as well as education.
For its Olympic Fanfare  programme, the orchestra's music director and conductor Yip Wing-sie   enlisted the services of the Gay Singers,  an eight-member a cappella ensemble, including the multitalented composer/performer Ng Cheuk-yin,  to explain  the 10 pieces selected.
The concert opened with John Williams'  brassy Olympic Fanfare and Theme  that was  commissioned especially for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.  This was quickly followed by a  discussion between Yip and the singers, who claimed the human voice is more diverse in pitch, range and volume  than any musical instrument. The orchestra  then played some of its  instruments, including the piccolo, timpani, trombone and double bass,  to show there is  no  comparison to  their rich and majestic sounds.
The  next piece was more familiar to  older members of the audience - Vangelis'   theme from the movie  Chariots of Fire  -  performed to a  comic slow-motion video featuring  someone in a McDull  costume.
The piglet reappeared later in a Fantasia-like sequence that celebrates Hong Kong's hosting  of the Olympic equestrian  events. Under Yip's meticulous direction,  the orchestra's performance of Suppe's Light Cavalry Overture   matched the  animation flawlessly.
The programme also included the first movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K622, during which  the principal clarinet, Massimo Di Trolio,  gave a  memorable  solo performance,  and Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op 34.



Olympic Fanfare