Dialogue between Guqin and Gragnani
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
June 18
City Hall Concert Hall
The East-meets-West theme took the form of two antique instruments.
Beijing professor Zhao Jiazhen treated the audience with her priceless guqin, a seven-string zither dating from the Song dynasty some 800 years ago. With that she opened the concert with the ancient tune Guang Ling San, based on the scores of the Sui dynasty of the 6th century.
Though slightly amplified, the sound was natural and rich, especially in the difficult harmonics passages. The percussive effects in the plucking may sound heavy, but the focus of playing was tantalising. Not so, however, with violinist Lu Siqing, whose Paganini's Caprice No 9 was lukewarm on the 1770 Italian-made Antonio Gragnani violin.
Both soloists joined soprano Zhang Ningjia in Melody of the Secluded Orchid, a world premiere composed by the prolific Zhao Jiping. The concerto attempted to blend the two instruments and human voice into a new soundscape. The opening with bronze bells set the nostalgic tone, and the extensive violin-guqin cadenza brought about fresh perspectives. The orchestra's part was minimal but offered mesmerising harmony, especially in the soprano emotional chant of lyrics attributed to Confucius.
Even more emotionally charged was the Butterfly Lovers concerto in which Lu sang the lines of Zhu Yingtai, the Chinese equivalent of Shakespeare's Juliet, with burning passion. The build-up leading to Zhu's suicide was biting, and the orchestral forte signifying the final act was heart-stopping. A rare standing ovation ensued, to which Lu returned with an encore of Monti's Cs?rd?s.