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David Atherton + Lynn Harrell

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David Atherton + Lynn Harrell

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

HK Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Reviewed: Mar 27

This concert marked a 20-year association between David Atherton and the Hong Kong Philharmonic (he was the orchestra's music director from 1989 to 2000 and has since been its conductor laureate), and the final instalment of his Sibelius symphony cycle with the orchestra, featuring No7, the composer's last.

The symphony is tightly constructed and cast in a single, 20-minute movement; any fiddling with individual phrases is like scarring an immaculate essay with unnecessary punctuation. Atherton let it roll unhindered with excellent dynamic control, unwrapping the final climax with an intensity that was well fanned by the strings.

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