ReviewKen Lam draws passionate playing from Hong Kong Sinfonietta in works by Barber, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and contemporary composer Anna Clyne

Through four pieces of music composed in the past 100 years, Ken Lam and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta produced playing of passion, precision and power when needed

Samuel Barber’s one-movement symphony was the highlight and Stravinsky’s Octet a delight; violinist Luka Faulisi had little to say in Prokofiev’s Concerto No 1

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Ken Lam conducting the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in a concert of music by Samuel Barber, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and contemporary composer Anna Clyne at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall on August 27, 2022. Photo: Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Published: 5:45pm, 29 Aug 2022

In both word and deed, guest conductor Ken Lam was passionate about the eclectic choice of music for the August 27 concert by an in-form Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

The Hong Kong-born maestro and newly appointed director of orchestral studies at The Tianjin Julliard School in China led skilful and dexterous interpretations of four challenging works composed within the last 100 years.

With infectious enthusiasm, Lam prefaced Samuel Barber’s Symphony No 1 in One Movement with a few words and some succinct excerpts that served as a heads-up for listeners. The introduction neatly shed light on the main theme and its subsequent guises in the “All-American” symphony – arguably the concert highlight – which made for an enhanced listening experience.

The Sinfonietta’s rendition of Barber’s symphony was engaging and grandeur was the order of the day, with brilliant surging in the strings, fine brass chorales, and a notably strong showing from the viola section in the opening Allegro.

Ken Lam conducting the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Their August 27 concert opened with a fascinating new work by British composer Anna Clyne, Sound and Fury, which the orchestra co-commissioned. Photo: Hong Kong Sinfonetta

The sharp precision of the violin’s triplets set the trend for much of the Scherzo section as tension was increased notch by notch. In stark contrast, the wonderfully mournful solo oboe playing by Kenneth Sze Yu-hey in the extended Andante tranquillo was a delight. A long and intense crescendo brought a mighty end to the Finale powered by the full orchestra.