Stellar Classical Music Performance

The audience thoroughly enjoyed tonight's concert in the Cultural Centre

The 47th HK Arts Festival kicked off this evening with a concert by the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.

Alsop is known as one of Leonard Bernstein's best students, and last year was busy performing for his 100th anniversary global celebrations.

Conductor Marin Alsop was a protege of Leonard Bernstein

Not only is she music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, but also principal conductor and music director of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. Later this year she will become chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra too.

This evening the opening concert was held at the Concert Hall in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and it was shockingly not full -- part of the reason was when booking tickets, there was no way to know where you would be sitting except have a general idea due to the price of your ticket.

My friend YTSL bought the tickets -- HK$720 (US$92) each and that landed us in the nosebleed section! We can only imagine how much it cost to sit closer to the stage. But in terms of acoustics we were happy, though it was disappointing to see large patches of areas where no one was sitting. The organizers will have to think twice about how they have overcharged for this event.

Nevertheless the real reason why YTSL bought these tickets was to see violinist Ning Feng! He seems to have lost some weight which is a good thing.

Ning Feng did not disappoint with Paganini

He definitely did not disappoint, playing Niccolo Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6. His fingers were so deft on the violin neck that it hardly looked like it was a difficult task for him. The audience was completely rapt with his performance that we could only stare and appreciate his technical and artistic flair that was so precise.

Each movement was quite long, but designed to showcase the soloist's violin skills. Needless to say we were blown away.

He played an encore, but I couldn't hear clearly what he was going to play, though it was still spellbinding!

After the intermission we settled into more of Alsop leading the orchestra in Camargo Guanieri's Suite Vila Rica that in part IX Humoristico had a nice latin beat to it, and part X Baiao - Gingando also had a nice rhythm to it.

Alsop leads the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra

This was followed by a long-winded Richard Strauss piece, Der Rosenkavalier Suite. It took a long time to build up to the end that featured a lot of percussion from the triangle to giant drums and snare drums to French horns, flutes, a harp and even keyboard.

Alsop was so thrilled by our response (we made up for the small audience numbers with big claps and shouts of approval) that she got the orchestra to play two encores, both not classical and got us all excitedly clapping at the end.

We hope the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra enjoyed playing here -- they do have another concert tomorrow -- and thank you Ning Feng for the amazing performance!

Marin Alsop with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra
February 21, Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Sergei Prokofiev, Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op 25
Allegro
Intermezzo - Larghetto
Gavotte - Non troppo Allegro
Finale - Molto vivace

Niccolo Paganini, Violin Concerto No 1 in D major, Op 6 (performed with Ning Feng)
Allegro maestoso
Adagio espressivo
Rondo - Allegro spiritoso

Camargo Guarnieri, Suite Vila Rica (exerpts)
I. Entrada - Maestoso
IV. Scherzando
VII. Valsa (Waltz)
VIII. Saudoso (Homesick)
IX. Humoristico (Humorous)
X. Baiao - Gindando (Bahian dance - Swaying)

Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Prelude
Presentation of the Silver Rose
Baron Ochs's Waltz
"lst ein Traum"
Waltz