Review | Pavel Kolesnikov and Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s resounding ‘Rach 3’, moving Shostakovich on strings and Hong Kong composer’s space music
- Russian pianist contributed to a distinctive reading of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 with his weaving of the solo part’s lines with the orchestra’s playing
- Sinfonietta’s string players largely pulled off Shostakovich’s icy chamber symphony, and Hong Kong composer Lam Lai took the audience on a journey through space
There’s been an abundance of diverse, top-notch performing arts events in Hong Kong of late, and pianist Pavel Kolesnikov’s concert with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta was no exception.
It opened on an intriguing note with the world premiere of Hong Kong composer Lam Lai’s There is No Place like Home (Beta). The composer – performing herself as electronics soloist with conductor the orchestra under the baton of Yip Wing-sie – took the sell-out audience on an imaginary 12-year journey from Earth to Neptune inspired by Nasa’s Voyager 2 space mission.
Yip directed the Sinfonietta with focus and much attention to detail, ensuring that Lai’s sound exploration was aptly atmospheric.
The whooshing gusts and faint sirens that howled gently through the woodwind and brass may have alluded to the movement of lunar winds or gases. Then again, the shimmering and skating sounds of the sul ponticello (on the bridge) string playing could have been alluding to them. In any case, there was ample space in Lai’s score for one’s own imagination to roam free.
Some of her own electronic sounds were reminiscent of static from old radio transmissions as it tuned in and out, and the buzzing sound of motors – sometimes upfront, but often fleeting and distant – added to the sense of nostalgia that Yip mentioned in her introductory remarks.
In the following work, Rudolf Barshai’s arrangement for chamber orchestra of Shostakovich’s brooding and angular String Quartet No 8 – the Chamber Symphony in C minor – the string players of the Sinfonietta convincingly conveyed the despair and uncertainty that pervades the Russian’s icy score.
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It was the whiff of vulnerability in the sound that impressed most. Concertmaster James Cuddeford led his colleagues with sensitivity and clarity, and captivated with his own mysterious and meandering solo playing in the opening Largo.
Given the insistent and unrelenting nature of the music followed, more bottled-up intensity building up to the explosion of anger in the Allegro molto movement would have been more attention grabbing.
Similarly, less of the nice and more of the nasty in the intermittent “screams” from the second violins would have better conveyed the torment in Shostakovich’s score.
The tutti chordal attack over Cuddeford’s hushed and sustained notes later on was played with unity and conviction, and the resignation and despair that pervades the concluding Largo was well captured by the strings and deeply moving.
The evening’s main feature was Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 in D minor and, as many in the audience had no doubt anticipated, Kolesnikov’s rendition was never going to be just another “Rach 3”.
Following his thought-provoking and poetic reading of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the same venue on March 7, expectations for the young, London-based Russian pianist’s performance were high.
Even if things didn’t always sit tight between pianist and orchestra, his was indeed a distinctive interpretation – one focused on weaving and blending the solo part’s textural lines with the orchestra’s playing.
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Kolesnikov’s playing of the concerto’s famous opening theme – the one which “wrote itself” according to the composer – took on a different guise every time it reappeared; from a strait-laced, simplistic statement at the beginning to a far more distant and dreamy treatment later on.
The interplay between the young pianist and the Sinfonietta took a little bit of time to develop, but once the first movement progressed, the playful passages in the Allegro became more extrovert and assured.
Kolesnikov’s cadenza was brilliant, full of little twists and turns of articulation that set it apart from many others, and was also lovingly punctuated by soft, tender calls from the woodwind and horns.
The segue into the poetic Intermezzo was marred by one of four(!) unfortunate ringtones in the audience, but that – along with some perfectly irritating uncovered coughs – was soon forgotten amid the big, voluptuous tunes and lush climaxes from pianist and orchestra that Yip shaped so well.
Kolesnikov’s lead-up to the Finale was somewhat tricky to decipher and a little disjointed. This seemed to rock the orchestral boat slightly and a few tempo discrepancies between piano and orchestra ensued.
One of Yip’s indications for rubato, calling for a slight relaxation of the tempo, was clearly misunderstood by the woodwind in the Finale. But ultimately, the excitement generated by Kolesnikov’s brilliant acrobatic leaps and the warp-speed final flurry – perfectly nailed with the orchestra – ensured the performance was a resounding success.
“Great Piano Concertos – Pavel Kolesnikov Plays Rachmaninov No. 3”, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Reviewed: March 9.
