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Sam Olluver

Mozart in the City
 Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
 City Hall Concert Hall
 Reviewed: Apr 10
 Concert master John Harding  certainly put himself on the spot in this mixed bill, both directing and taking solo parts in works by  Bach, Mozart and Richard Meale  before picking up the baton to conduct Bartok's Divertimento for strings. The title implies light-hearted amusement, but  it's a bittersweet work with  darkness  just below its pleasant surface. 
The performance glossed over the desolate undercurrents,  and opportunities for highlighting  passages  with vivid changes in colour weren't exploited.  
Harding was the soloist in Meale's Cantilena pacifica for violin and string ensemble. Written in memory of a close friend, it's a static work, both rhythmically and emotionally, with little  substance.  
Viola soloist Robin Hong  joined Harding for Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K364. They made a satisfactory pairing,  although Hong's sound was repeatedly obscured by the oboes in the first movement. The Andante needed better characterisation and a more consistent speed to secure its operatic pathos; the finale's bounce was spoiled by being  too fast.
Given the calibre of the  11 players involved, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No3 was disappointing. The opening movement's over-urgent speed undermined the group's rhythmic tightness, while the finale's exuberant, wave-like motifs barely rippled.




Mozart in the City