Music from the Madness

Ning Feng (centre) talking about the joy of suffering in life and music

After this week's nonsense from the government about how barbecues emit more air pollution than tear gas, and blaming protesters for delays in the opening of the Sha Tin-Central MTR link, when in reality there have been a series of construction scandals at the Hung Hom Station, my friend YTSL and I escaped temporarily to the Concert Hall at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre for some music.

In October the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra won the Gramophone Orchestra of the Year which is quite a feat, but thanks to music director Jaap van Zweden, the orchestra has improved significantly in the past few years.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic the best orchestra in the world

Tonight though, the orchestra was led by principal guest conductor Yu Long, with an interesting programme that featured violinist Ning Feng.

The uncertainty of the protests resulted in the concert hall being just barely half full which was a pity because those who didn't buy a ticket missed a good show. To start, Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite that was very lively and lots of percussion involved.

Ning came out for the second piece called La joie de la souffrance for Violin and Orchestra. La joie de la souffrance means "the joy of suffering", and composer Chen Qigang was commissioned by Yu to write a contemporary Chinese music piece.

At first we found it hard to understand; at times the violin would follow the musical motif of the orchestra -- shouldn't it be the other way around? And also the music didn't seem to have many technically challenging aspects to show off Ning's amazing skills on the violin.

However, after the concert, Ning and Yu gave a short talk. Ning explained "the joy of suffering" with having a child. He had a second child, a girl this past March -- which may explain his weight loss -- and he said that while he was so happy to hold her in his arms, it also meant he would lose more sleep.

Yu Long and Ning Feng talk about tonight's concert

Ning said the piece was quite difficult to play and it took him a while to learn the piece. The piece is titled in French because Chen lives in France.

Meanwhile Yu explained that Chen wrote the piece incorporating a 2,000-year-old piece of Chinese music, called The Song of Yangguan, and tried to make it contemporary sounding. He also wrote the piece mourning the loss of his son, which made the music quite emotional to play. Apparently this composer likes to write different versions of this piece, and tonight was the Hong Kong premiere of it.

The final work of the evening was Carmen Suite by Rodion Shchedrin. YTSL showed me the program indicating it was 44 minutes long with 11 movements in it. We wondered if we would last. But I didn't read through the program and was pleasantly surprised by the Carmen excerpts that used a lot of percussion that kept the music lively and the momentum going. Was I the only person in the room nodding my head to the beat?

Afterwards Yu explained that he had conducted Bizet's Carmen many times and the music is not something that can or should be altered. However Yu says Shchedrin keeps the most important bits and strings them together along with using a lot of percussion, including drums, gong, triangle, xylophone, snare drum and tubular bells.

When the short talk was over, Ning obliged to take pictures with some fans and then went over to greet his uncle who came to see him perform. Looking forward to seeing him back in Hong Kong early next year!

Yu Long: The Firebird and Carmen
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Stravinsky
The Firebird Suite

Chen Qigang
La joie de la souffrance for Violin and Orchestra (Hong Kong premiere)

Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (After Bizet)

Russian Soft Power through Music

Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov at the piano

Tonight I attended a Hong Kong Arts Festival concert by the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov" -- a mouthful to pronounce, but a fantastic performance made even better by the fun encore at the end.

The State Orchestra is one of the oldest symphonic ensembles in Russia, formed in 1936 and it was granted the honorary title of "Academic" in 1972, while "Evgeny Svetlanov" was tacked on as he was the longest serving music director for 35 years.

The Russian State Orchestra performed in Hong Kong

And as a soft power initiative, the program featured Russian composers of course -- Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) and Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971).

But first Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 1 in F-sharp minor, Op 1 (1917 version) performed by pianist Denis Matsuev. I sat on the right side of the stage so I was unable to watch him playing at the keys, but he gave a solid performance. The first movement was so exciting for the audience that many couldn't help themselves and clap!

It's the 1917 version, as Rachmaninov had written his first piano concerto when he was 18, but revised it in 1917 as the Bolshevik Revolution was happening.

The music started with a dramatic flourish and overall had a romantic feel, and Matsuev had ample chances to show off his technical skills. Meanwhile the orchestra was robust, in particular the percussion with up to four musicians playing drums, xylophone, triangle and tambourine.

The finish culminated into quite the flourish. Conductor Kristjan Jarvi doesn't like to break too long between movements, going one after the other and before you know it, the piece is over.

Denis Matsuev is considered a Rachmaninov expert

After a very short break Matsuev and Jarvi returned to the stage for Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, Op 18 by Rachmaninov. It is considered a piece that helped the composer work his way out of a long episode of depression caused by a disastrous premiere of his First Symphony in 1897.

Apparently the Piano Concerto No 2 helped cure his creative block and restored his confidence, and it was well received. Unlike the first piano concerto, this one starts off very quiet and quickly builds into big chords that signal the tolling of bells.

More fingers flying over the keys continue and at one point Matsuev gets a short break that he uses to wipe his brow. The second movement is recognizable and perhaps a tribute to Tchaikovsky.

At the end a guy two rows in front of me jumped up and clapped and would not sit down until Matsuev returned to give a short encore. It's quite fitting this pianist is performing here -- he is considered a Rachmaninov expert, having collaborated with the Sergei Rachmaninov Foundation established by the composer's grandson. Matsuev was even invited to play on Rachmaninov's piano in his home in Lucerne. Talk about goosebumps.

Kristjan Jarvi is an energetic conductor on stage

Following the intermission, the orchestra reassembled to perform Stravinsky's The Firebird (1945 Suite). Conductor Jarvi practically danced on the podium and it was a lively performance throughout, hardly pausing very long between movements.

The music is meant to complement the ballet The Firebird that has a good-versus-evil plot based on Russian sources. It alternates between heavy percussion clashes and pastoral light melodies.

When the performance was over, the audience was excited and clapping loudly, but many of the orchestra members stood stony faced -- were they told not to show their emotions? It seemed strange for them not to want to at least crack a smile that their performance for the evening was over?

Meanwhile conductor Jarvi was very happy and the orchestra played a fun encore -- was it Strauss? And encouraged the audience to clap along and sing ho ho ho. We clapped some more, but Jarvi put his two hands together and cocked his head as if motioning to want to sleep so that was the end of that.

Roots

Denis Matsuev, piano

Kristjan Jarvi, conductor

State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov"

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Sergei Rachmaninov

Piano Concerto No 1 in F-sharp minor, Op 1 (1917 version)

Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, Op 18

Igor Stravinsky

The Firebird (1945 Suite)