Mozart and Shostakovich Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Concert Hall, HK Cultural Centre Reviewed: Jun 5
This programme of two works that seriously challenge any performers' musicianship and control was one to remember. If there was a niggle, it was that Alexander Lazarev's fussy conducting in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was distracting; it received scant attention from the players, suggesting that rehearsal time had been limited.
Soloist Andrew Simon's poise at the opening of the Adagio was exquisite and was trumped by his later magical restatement of the material. Using a basset clarinet to plumb the low notes in Mozart's original score, Simon's playing was simply wonderful. His rich sound was supported by immaculate intonation and sparkled with innovative details in articulation.
Was it a coincidence that Shostakovich's Symphony No 11 was performed at this specific time in the calendar? It's a graphic portrayal of the 1905 massacre of demonstrators in St Petersburg, and while portraying raw emotion isn't the hardest job for a composer, stretching the chill on a canvas for over an hour is difficult to manage.
Lazarev certainly had us feeling as if we were looking down the barrel of a gun. He controlled his grip on the peaks and troughs by underscoring its spacious architecture and maintaining impeccable balance. The orchestra was as impressive in restraint as in rebellion with exposed sectional and solo passages uniformly solid.
