Energetic HK Phil impress in complex works by Ives, Bernstein and Saint-Saëns – review

Known for his rhythmically complex scores and great inventiveness in integrating “American” themes and sounds into his works, the early American modernist Charles Ives was largely ignored in his lifetime (1874-1954).

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra opened last Friday’s concert with his Central Park in the Dark for chamber orchestra and two pianos that, the composer wrote, “purports to be a picture-in-sounds of natural sounds and other happenings.”

This “night sounds and silent darkness” were suitably eerie from the orchestra’s strings under the troupe’s music director Jaap van Zweden, albeit too audibly present when considering the triple piano and double pianissimo markings that begin and end the piece. The disruptive middle section with solo interjections was spot on though – squawking sounds from instruments aptly depicted street cars, street bands, newsboys crying “uxtries” – all adding to the cacophony of a “ragtime war.”

The 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth saw local audiences treated to his platonic love-inspired Serenade for solo violin, strings and percussion twice in two months. Canadian-born violinist James Ehnes gave a rock-solid, down-to-earth rendering, devoid of showmanship, assuming a fairly rigid stance.

Aesthetics aside though, Ehnes certainly proved his mettle tackling the fiendishly difficult work with bravura, admirably partnered by an agile Hong Kong Philharmonic ensemble. The precision in the whirlwind Eryximachus (Presto) from both soloist and ensemble was exceptional and Ehnes’ luscious and focused Stradivarius sound was generous in both the Agathon panegyric and the lovely Socrates duet with principal cellist Richard Bamping. After van Zweden and his musicians practically milked the wonderful jazz elements of the final Alcibiades, Ehnes returned with two solo Bach encores from the Sonatas and Partitas.