Review: HK Phil/Yu Long/Jean-Yves Thibaudet – solace, nostalgia in Gershwin and Elgar’s Enigma Variations
With soloist both playful and technically assured and orchestra’s playing by turns delicate and intense, this was an evening of mellow music making
In the capable hands of principal guest conductor Yu Long and accompanying French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performed a concert rich in solace and nostalgia.
The tranquil nature of the chosen works was evident from the word go in the Hong Kong premiere of Er Huang, Chen Qigang’s work for piano and orchestra commissioned by New York’s Carnegie Hall and performed there in 2009 by Lang Lang with the Juilliard Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas.
Using the modern symphony orchestra and piano to create a palette of traditional Chinese-inspired sounds, Chen, the highly regarded Shanghai-born composer and last student of Olivier Messiaen, cleverly intertwines traditional Beijing opera melody with sounds of nature in a work he calls “a theme and variations with a twist”.
Thibaudet, a regular guest of the HKPhil, was highly effective in creating a peaceful aura and ample space for contemplation. When the pace quickened and the woodwinds began to flutter, he paid careful attention to the delicate orchestral interplay, and showed great precision and clarity, all masterfully directed by Yu.
The programme’s playful nature came to the fore in George Gershwin’s delightful Variations On “I Got Rhythm”. Dedicated to his brother Ira, the work was composed as a showpiece just days before a 1934 tour that celebrated 10 years of his famous Rhapsody In Blue. Beginning simply with the piano’s answer to a fragment from the clarinet, soloist and orchestra soon present the main theme of the famous jazz standard and a series of waltz-like variations.