JAAP VAN ZWEDEN CONDUCTS HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WITH ALEXANDRE KANTOROW / Review

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN CONDUCTS 

HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC 

ORCHESTRA WITH 

ALEXANDRE KANTOROW 

Esplanade Concert Hall 

Tuesday (20 February 2024) 

This review was first published on Bachtrack on 22 February 2024 with the title "A triumphant return to Singapore by the Hong Kong Philharmonic". 

Singapore was the first stop of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s 50^th anniversary concert tour of eight cities in Asia and Europe. Led by its eighth music director, Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden, the orchestra more than followed up on indelible impressions left at its last visit to the island-state in May 2017. 

One hallmark of the orchestra’s programming was its promotion of works by Hong Kong composers. Daniel Lo Ting-Cheung’s Asterismal Dance, specially commissioned for the anniversary season, was a compelling opener. Lasting just under seven minutes, the “scherzo fantastique” made every second count. Its slow and mysterious opening highlighted excellent woodwind passages, later erupting with a restless pulsing energy. Its idiom was tonal, chromatic and without revealing Chinese influences. Resembling Vaughan Williams at his darkest and prickliest, it was also possessed with a Bernsteinian beat, dynamics of which hinted at jazz. 

Then it was the turn of Alexandre Kantorow, 1^st prizewinner of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, to guest in Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Bespectacled for this performance, he looked more like a mathematics professor about to deliver a lecture but appearances deceived. Going full pelt and trading blow for blow with the orchestra, he latched on the lapels and never let go. 

This was through and through a virtuoso outing, the pace only relenting during the first statement of the Dies Irae chant, Variation No.XII’s graceful Tempo di minuetto and the glorious transition from B flat minor to D flat major for the famous 18^th Variation. The laconic yet witty ending was also perfectly voiced. Kantorow’s encore was typically anti-virtuosic: Federico Mompou’s Cancion No.6, and the audience waited with bated breath for the ensuing Danca, which never came. 

Impressive as the first half was, that was mere sideshow to Mahler’s First Symphony. By reprising its reading from seven years ago, the orchestra and van Zweden may be accused of trotting out a tired and well-worn warhorse. However, they were determined to make this account resound anew. The first movement’s evocation of dawn was rapt with stillness, the three offstage trumpets subtle yet alert to the day’s awakening. The symphony’s thematic link with the Wayfarer song Ging heut’ morgen übers Feld was well elucidated and its development convincing as to elicit premature applause at the movement’s close. There were new ears to this music indeed. 

The Scherzo was very buoyant and rambunctious, tampered by the Trio section’s more gemütlich feel. Clearly this was a performance of fine contrasts and nuanced balances. Similarly, the slow movement’s droll funeral march, a variation of Frère Jacques in the minor key, was contrasted by its unbuttoned klezmer elements, revealing the Bohemia-born composer at his earthiest. 

Yet all these had to take a backseat to the very long finale, opening with the tumultuous “cry of a wounded heart”, mustered with an immediacy that was instinctual rather than coerced. The movement’s upheavals are well-known, and there were returns of earlier themes, but stiller moments never flagged. These were deliberately built up, restraint awaiting a final payback with dividends aplenty. This was realised with the ten French horns rising to their feet for the final call to arms, a dramatic and “lump in the throat” moment if any. 

Its conclusion was greeted with a spontaneous standing ovation, which van Zweden and his charges rewarded with Dvorak’s passionate Slavonic Dance in G minor (Op.46 No.8), a furiant as a furious encore. For the orchestra’s excellence and the evening’s varied musical pleasures, one can only proclaim, “Glory to Hong Kong!”                   

Star Rating: *****

The review as seen on Bachtrack:

A triumphant return to Singapore by the Hong Kong Philharmonic | Bachtrack

Mervin Beng's review in The Straits Times:

Concert review: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates 50th anniversary with sterling show | The Straits Times

HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA / Review

HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Esplanade Concert Hall

Monday (1 May 2017)

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's third visit to Singapore (the previous occasions were in 1983 and 1999) was part of its tour to mark the 20^th anniversary of the former Crown Colony's return to China, where it retains a Special Administrative Region status. The orchestra turned professional in 1973-74, and thus has a five year head start over the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. 

We Singaporeans have a sort of unspoken rivalry with Hongkongers over such things as economy, standard of living, food and shopping, and whether we have a world-class transport system (they do, we don't) et cetera.  In a way, this rivalry even extends to our orchestras, and here was a chance for Hong Kong to parade its musical crown jewel for the first time at the Esplanade.

By the way, Hong Kong's own Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, home of the HKPO, came up during the early 1980s, thus establishing yet another head start (this time of some 20 years) over Singapore. Let's not even discuss about international piano competitions, of which HK has held four editions since 2005, to our big fat zero (OK, we do have one really good international violin competition, but just one edition so far). One thing which Singapore does not have, and which the City of New York would soon gain, in 2018 is the HKPO Music Director Jaap van Zweden. He was what made the difference between the HKPO of today and the orchestra that was last heard at Victoria Concert Hall in 1999.

The Esplanade Concert Hall has flattering acoustics but that was not what that made the first work of the HKPO's concert resound with a glittering sheen and glow. Hong Kong composer Fung Lam's Quintessence, composed in 2014 for the orchestra's 40^th anniversary, was not one of those atonal nightmares which modern orchestras trot out on occasion and pretend to delight in.

A 10-minute single-movement concerto for orchestra, it provided a display of what each section could achieve – seperately and together - in the most virtuosic manner possible. There were extremes in dynamics, such as high-pitched strings and tingling percussion pitted against growling basses, answered with brassy interjections and chorales. Cor anglais, flute and muted trumpets all had their moments. Never static and always eventful, it kept the ears (and the performers) fully engaged through the mounting tension to its abrupt close.

That was a palate cleanser that led uncharacteristically to Mozart's Violin Concerto No.4, not a typical concert showpiece, which saw a welcome return of Sichuan violinist Ning Feng, former winner of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa. The pared-down forces provided exquisitely sensitive accompaniment to Feng, who wisely chose not to flex his Paganinian prowess, but played along like a consummate chamber musician. He joined the orchestra's strings in the tuttis, and soon beautifully carved a path in his solo role, which was tasteful and fully in the spirit of the music.

His tone was sweet, but never cloying or overpowering. Only in the solo cadenzas did a sense of romanticism come into the picture, but that was never overdone. The slow movement was a delight, the restraint coming naturally rather than forced, and the Rondo finale another show of grace and courtliness, with no little prettiness in the execution. The fire-breathing aspect of Feng's musicianship came in the encore, where he obliged in Paganini's Caprice No.7 in A minor, which was simply dazzling. There seemed to be a palpable sense of relief that his natural instinct of showmanship had not gone unexploited.   

The main work was Mahler's First Symphony, just performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Robert Spano) at the same venue just less than two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was not present and thus no basis of comparison could be made. While the SSO's show was said to be attended by a small house, it was filled to the rafters (including gallery seats sold) for the Hongkongers. They could not possibly disappoint.

Conductor Jaap van Zweden is not a big man by physical stature, and he has an Alberich-like stoop that appears ungainly at first, but in everything else he bestrode the podium like the titan of the symphony's title. The orchestra responded magnificently, with the softest hush in the symphony's opening, a rapt depiction of dawn which gradually unfurled with the nascent sun's rays beaming in. Offstage trumpets were excellent, and so it gradually led to the wayfarer's song of the movement proper. It is the attention to detail, rather than the volume of sound expended, which made this performance something touching and memorable.

The striding Ländler of the second movement was taken at a good lick, and here there was no fear of sounding rustic. All too often, the need to come across as immaculate and polished gets in the way of the heart of the music, but there was no fear of this here. Similarly, in the third movement's Funeral March, the klezmer-like episodes were more unbuttoned, preferable to the spick and span of Rattle's Berlin forces in their view of the same symphony here in 2010.

If one wanted to be swept away by the finale's fury, then consider wish granted. Two taps of the drum led directly into the tumultuous “cry of the wounded heart”, which was as passionate as one could have hoped for. The brass was on top form, not least the 8 French horns and associates who raised their bells at the final stand for a grandstanding finish. That was not all in this 20-minute long movement which had its share of reflective moments, and it were in these that Zweden brought out playing of the greatest definition. When themes for earlier movements were relived, the palpable sense of nostalgia was all pervasive, making the symphony's final triumph all the more poignant.

The standing ovation was overwhelming and spontaneous on the first curtain call, with individuals and sections of the orchestra taking their bows. And the encore, the Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's Die Walküre, brilliantly delivered, was yet another subtle (or maybe not too subtle) reminder of something that Singapore has yet to accomplish – to mount its own Ring Cycle.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic is a class act, and a repeat visit with Jaap van Zweden is imperative. 

All photographs courtesy of 

Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay.

EXPERIENCE ONE OF ASIA'S GREAT ORCHESTRAS "LIVE" - THE HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Photo by Cheung Chi Wai,
Courtesy of Esplanade - Theatres On The Bay

THE HONG KONG 

PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 

Experience one of Asia's great orchestras perform at Esplanade Concert Hall on 1 May 2017. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra led by its Music Director Jaap van Zweden performs for one night only in its Esplanade Concert Hall debut.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic, formed in the 1970s during the British colonial era, has previously performed in Singapore in concerts at Victoria Concert Hall in 1983 and 1999. The pride of Hong Kong SAR, its reputation has never been greater, boosted by its recent performances of Wagner's Ring Cycle under Dutch maestro Jaap van Zweden.

This concert offers a rare opportunity for concert-goers to face the conductor head-on and observe his directions, with tickets to gallery seats being sold at $35 and $50.  Jaap van Zweden is also the Music Director designate of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. His last appearance in Esplanade was conducting the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Singapore Sun Festival in 2009.

The programme is as follows:

FUNG LAM Quintessence 

  (HKPO commission)

MOZART Violin Concerto No.4

MAHLER Symphony No.1 "Titan"  

The soloist is Chinese violinist Ning Feng, past winner of the Paganini International Violin Competition. 

Monday, 1 May 2017

7.30 pm, Esplanade Concert Hall

Tickets at $35, $50, $75 and $100 are available at all SISTIC outlets and the SISTIC website via the link below:

https://www.esplanade.com/events/2017/hong-kong-philharmonic-orchestra

Photo courtesy of Esplanade - Theatres On The Bay

Do book early to avoid disappointment.

SINGAPORE SUN FESTIVAL 2009 Concerts / Review

SINGAPORE SUN FESTIVAL
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Wednesday, Friday & Saturday 

(7, 9 & 10 October 2009)

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 12 October 2009.

The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra was the resident orchestra for the 2009 Singapore Sun Festival. Although it did not boast the “brand name” status of the Russian National or Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras of previous years, it fully deserved the accolades for the varied programmes offered.

A lack of pre-conceptions and expectation proved to be a good thing. After all, the vast majority of Wednesday evening’s crowd had come to see and hear the legendary Irish flautist Sir James Galway. In his usual friendly and casual manner, the bespectacled, grey but still hirsute, soon-to-turn-70 superstar thrilled and tantalised in Mozart’s Second Flute Concerto in D major.

His pristine, golden tone remains an object of beauty, and the nimbleness in which he engaged his tricky and witty cadenzas a marvel that turned back the clock. Twenty minutes of aural bliss seemed all too short, but all was placated with two Irish encores, including one of his signature tunes, Londonderry Air or Danny Boy.

There were two further stars for Friday evening. Russian cellist Nina Kotova, worked the Asian premiere of American composer Christopher Theofanidis’ Cello Concerto (dedicated to her), with its Greek-Byzantine dance rhythms, from prayer-like contrition to fever pitch. Fifteen-year-old Chinese American pianist Conrad Tao then put his own unerring personal stamp on Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody, a totally impressive Singapore debut that can only be described as the most prodigious individual performance since the first coming of Lang Lang in 1997.

Supporting the fireworks were Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden and his excellent orchestra, hitherto somewhat of an unknown quantity, but had proved their mettle within minutes. Beethoven’s Second Symphony was treated to a lithe but not lightweight reading, one that rejoiced in the glow of youth but engaged in some serious fist shaking, prompted by deafness taking its toll.

Equally impressive were ten numbers from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. The orchestra reveled in its potent blend of strident dissonance and fluid lyricism, with the inherent violence of fatal love fully realised.

Still on Russian music, Tchaikovsky’s highly dramatic Fourth Symphony began on low voltage but soon gained momentum as the neuroses piled up. The wind soloists were excellent going into the slow movement’s lament and the central folk dance of the 3rd movement’s pizzicato polka. Then all caution was thrown into the wind that made for an exciting tempestuous finale.

The only Dutch music offered was Johann Wagenaar’s Cyrano de Bergerac Overture, modeled on the concert overtures of Berlioz but filled with the expressive devices of his better-known namesake Richard Wagner. Braying brass, svelte strings, and a surfeit of melody all made for an enjoyable performance.

The marquee event was surely the all-Italian opera gala evening on Saturday helmed by Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu. It was an unmitigated pleasure to finally find an artist at the height of her expressive powers, rather than some over-the-hill diva with unreasonable demands for the air-conditioning to be switched off. Sporting three changes of evening gowns, including a flaming red cleavage-revealing see-through outfit, the irrepressible Gheorghiu oozed charisma and sexuality from every pore.

Whether it was in solo arias or duets with her compatriot, the rising tenor Marius Manea, she commanded the stage with a clear-as-a-bell richness of tone and vivacious presence. The arias from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (Un bel di) and Catalani’s Le Wally (Ebben! Ne andro lontana) were perfection itself. Not to be overshadowed, Manea hit his high notes in arias from Verdi’s Luisa Miller and Puccini’s La Boheme like a young and once-fit Pavarotti.

The couple elicited a rare chemistry in four duets, including less familiar gems from Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz, all sensitively partnered by the orchestra now conducted by the Italian Paolo Olmi. Arguably the best operatic concert in almost two decades (and certainly this century thus far), it was capped with five substantial encores.

Like in Placido Domingo’s 1990 gig at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the audience was invited to sing the chorus in the Brindisi from Verdi’s La Traviata. The response was less than coordinated clapping and a respectful silence. Judging by the high spirits and inspiration engendered, some souls may be led to take on singing lessons themselves. In the meantime, the operatic offering for next year’s Singapore Sun Festival cannot come soon enough.