Eroica - Tan Dun
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
HK City Hall Concert Hall
Reviewed: Jan 8
Composer Tan Dun doesn't so much think outside the box as stand outside it, throwing in pebbles and lapping up the creative ripples that flow into his imagination. Tan (below) belongs to that rare breed of musician who can both pen a score and direct the performance with equal authority. This concert was an all-Tan affair, showcasing a mixed sample from his catalogue.
Concerto for Improvisation: Of Birds and Man is a soundscape for a landscape, in which muted vocalisations, orchestral colours and nine caged songbirds fuse into a representation of nature's gentle cacophony. The fluidity of the sonorities was well paced in a double-peak structure, against which solo percussionist Chau Chin-tung enticed his instruments and the birds to speak with eloquence.