Keyboard whizz shows accordion’s full range in Hong Kong concert – review
Soloist Martynas Levickis showed dazzling technique in an entertaining evening that ranged from Bach and Vivaldi to Piazzolla and Lady Gaga, with City Chamber Orchestra playing its full part
Accordionist Martynas Levickis showed his instrument’s versatility in a City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong programme that catered for a broad spectrum of musical tastes, ranging from the Baroque of Antonio Vivaldi to Lady Gaga.
The Lithuanian is an exceptionally talented musician with technique to burn. Watching him, one soon gets over the novelty factor; his playing shed new light on an instrument that possesses a wealth of tonal capabilities.
The concert began with his depiction of a frigid landscape in “Winter” from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and, once the orchestra’s strings settled into their tempi, “Summer” from the same work soon shimmered with the right dose of theatrical effect.
Levickis effectively matched the ensemble’s upper strings in the opening Allegro movement of Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 12, robustly and ably led by concertmaster Amelia Chan. The accordion (unknown to Mozart) was the perfect tool for Levickis’ clever and witty solo cadenza.
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The soloist was an inspiration in “Love, Anxiety & Fear” from Astor Piazzolla’s Five Tango Sensations, with the accordion (or bandoneon, as favoured by the Argentinian composer) now right at home, although more interaction between Levickis and the orchestra would have delivered a tighter tango sound. The hushed pianissimo passages were dreamy, the rhythms intoxicating – as they also were later in Piazzolla’s Adios Nonino & Chiquilin de Bachin.