Concert Under the Stars

Fantastic finish to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture Finale!

I miss going to concerts... but how about an outdoor concert? I jumped at the chance, and so did 10,199 other people with the Hong Kong Philharmonic having its "Symphony Under the Stars" sponsored by Swire. It used to be an annual event until 2018 because of the protests and Covid-19 and now it's back.

A few weeks ago we all had to go online to get the free tickets... as soon as 10am hit, I had over 1,500 people in front of me... by the time I got the tickets, they were near the back. No matter -- I have tickets! Each person was allowed to get a maximum of four tickets so I asked a friend to bring her husband and daughter along. 

Registration was tedious, including each person's email and mobile number and we had to use the Leave Home Safe app. And... no eating or drinking!

Thank goodness for big screens!

Previous outdoor concerts were a picnic affair, where groups would stake out their territory early with picnic blankets, bring food and drinks while enjoying the concert.

But alas we were told not to bring food or drinks into the venue. 

It was held at the Central Harbourfront Events Space, and instead there was seating, each marked with a seat number.

At the entrance, staff made sure we had our tickets, then we proceeded to security where they made sure we had scanned the Leave Home Safe app, then had a quick check of what was in our bags before allowing us in. 

I walked further and further away from the main stage... to section J. And each grouping of seats was in fours. There were several rows behind us, but we were pretty much at the back! The musicians on stage were practically dots. My friend's husband did bring binoculars, but really it was about listening to the music.

The concert was hosted by Harry Gor Gor or Harry Wong the musician and former radio host. He was lots of fun for the kids in the audience, especially when he got out his instrument that he played with his nose... even playing Brahms' Hungarian Dance with it!

When Wong tried to joke with some of the musicians, they came off sounding very serious... Except for a trio of trumpeters dressed in relaxing holiday gear. They told Wong they had just had a staycation in Yuen Long and handed him a wife cake!

People waving their phones to Blue Danube

The program's theme was dance music, so all the pieces were very familiar and easy to listen to, like Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, Saint-Saens' Danse macabre, Johan Strauss II's Blue Danube Waltz, and Anderson's Bugler's Holiday.

Wong kept teasing the audience about the fireworks, that it would happen... two pieces later. During the Blue Danube he encouraged people to turn on their phone lights as the drone above us swooped past. One of the composer's name is Khachaturian, and Wong joked if you said it in Chinese it sounded like gaat-jat choong leung, as in cockroach having a bath... 

After the two-hour mark, the concert was over, but not before the orchestra performed Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture Finale with fireworks! Amazing sight after having not seen any fireworks for over two years because of the anti-government protests and then the pandemic.

In front of us was a family with two young boys and they obviously loved the music. One kept swaying his arms like a conductor, the parents patient with them, not telling them to sit still, except for a security guard telling the younger one not to play with the chain bordering our section. But otherwise towards the end they were dancing and so excited to be there.

An exciting finish to the concert! 

Concerts like these help foster children's love of music and that's so important.

What's also interesting is that while Wong thanked Swire and people clapped, no one did when he also thanked the Hong Kong government for sponsoring the event as well... or at least I couldn't hear any applause...

Watch the concert here. Wong's nose instrument playing is at 1:48:07

Wong has a fun skeleton dance at 48:19

Dresden: Semperoper, the Famed Opera House

Approaching Semperoper, the opera house designed by Gottfried Semper

Dresden is a two-hour train ride from Berlin and even though it's south of Berlin it's colder here at 6 degrees (Berlin was 11 degrees)!

We even had rain greet us at the train station which was worrying. But in the late afternoon the rains cleared to blue skies (though very chilly).

The historic centre is very photogenic -- everywhere you look there are beautiful old buildings, many of them restored after World War II. However they also seem to need a good cleaning too, as the roofs of the buildings with beautiful decoration from stone carvings and bronze domes are black as soot. But it's understandable there are many other things on the priority list to fix than clean some buildings.

Inside the decor is completely faux to create an illusion

Some landmark buildings or areas are being refurbished, and so while the place is photogenic, there are construction gates everywhere that make some angles unsightly. Guess you can't have everything.

Nevertheless, today we got to tour the Semperoper, the opera house -- actually the second one, that was named after the architect, Gottfried Semper who was a professor of architecture in Dresden.

He designed the first opera house that was built in 1841, which had a round facade and was said to have the best acoustics and the most beautiful opera house in Europe.

However, much like the recent Notre Dame fire, some renovations of the opera house led to a fire that razed it to the ground in 1869 and the residents clamoured to have Semper redesign another opera house on the same site.

An "ad" for Shakespeare's Hamlet above one doorway

While he did draw up the plans, it was his son Manfred, also an architect, who built the second opera house, described to be Neo-Renaissance in style.

During our tour we were told the first opera house was only for aristocrats -- no ordinary folk were allowed in.

But by the time the second one was being built, the industrial revolution was well underway and created a wealthy middle class who were keen on higher pursuits, like the opera.

Apparently the aristocrats were mortified of the thought of having to share the opera house with the riff raff and pleaded with Semper to do something. His solution? Have the nouveau riche crammed up on the top floor -- but standing room only -- for three hours, while the aristocrats sat in boxes with partitions complete with snacks and drinks.

The bust of composer Richard Strauss

Also during that time it's interesting to note that these aristocrats had not traveled to Italy before and so the opera house was their first impression of quasi Italian opulence. The upstairs foyer -- only for the aristocrats -- appear luxurious but in fact are completely faux.

The marble columns and marble-like walls were carefully painted to give the impression of using rich building materials. Apparently to create the green marble columns, it took 200 to 250 hours of work just to complete one.

The opera house also inspired a nationalistic drive to write operas in their own German language, thus Richard Strauss was one of the composers whose operas premiered here.

Our guide also explained how the opera house had one of the first "advertisements" in the foyer. They were kind of like today's movie posters of the 19th century. For example there's a scene of Hamlet with the name of the play and the name "Shakespeare" below just to give the audience a hint of what's to come.

A look at the seating complete with the royal box

When we finally got the opportunity to go into the seating area, we were impressed by the lavishness of the decor, especially the royal boxes and the several floors of boxes around the massive room. We were also told interesting trivia that the stage and backstage was 3.5 times the audience seating area.

The stage is such that it can move 360 degrees, and it can fold up vertically. It can also be divided into rows and squares that move independently of each other.

When we were there, the steel fire door on stage prevented us from seeing the setting for Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, though while we sat there, the fire door was lifted up to reveal a beautiful setting of a sitting room area and technicians were testing out the lights.

The stage is set for Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss

Our guide also talked about intermission intervals and how 20 minutes is so stressful because you are either in line for the bathroom or for drinks and by the time you have your champagne in hand, it's time to go back to your seat. He said back in Semper's time intermission was 50 minutes long, and added the Met is currently experimenting with 45-minute intermissions. Maybe this will be the new standard for arts performances the world over?

Movie Music!

The Hong Kong Sinfonietta performed in the HK City Hall Concert Hall

 Tonight YTSL and I attended a really good concert put on by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta called "Sounds Great! Classical Music in Movies", held at Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall.

Originally a guest conductor called Jason Lai, a British-born Chinese was supposed to lead the orchestra, but a few weeks ago YTSL received an email saying resident conductor Yip Wing-sie would be heading the program.

Never mind -- we were keen on the music and enjoyed it very much.

The orchestra looked packed on the stage, squishing everyone and all the instruments in, as there were many percussion instruments and several keyboards including a grand piano!

The concert started with the tingling Also Sprach Zarathustra: Introduction by Richard Strauss, which film goers will recognize as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.



This was followed by Wagner's Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries that was used in a scene in Apocalypse Now where the helicopters fly low and start shooting at the Vietnamese below in a village by the water. Yip says this piece of music was perfect for this scene, making it indelible in her mind.



Next on the program was Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A, K622 (second movement), which was used in the film Out of Africa, a very romantic movie.



Tchaikovsky was next with two pieces, one was The Swan Lake, which Yip explained is always used in movies with ballets in them, followed by Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture, that has been used in soundtracks from Scrubs to South Park, Spongebob Square Pants and Looney Tunes cartoons.



After the intermission, we reassembled back into the concert hall to hear a rousing rendition of Mozart's Symphony No 25 in G minor, K183 (first movement). When I hear this piece I immediately think of the opening scene in Amadeus, where composer Antonio Salieri is found to have slit his throat. Yip says Mozart is the best composer in the world, which makes the film such a good one because it features his music in there.



Yip then talked about American composer Barber's Adagio for Strings. Originally it was supposed to be for a string quartet, but when it was used in the film Platoon, he adapted it for a string orchestra. Another haunting piece of music for Yip while watching the movie, but she said for those who hadn't, it was romantic piece.

It made me realize that as a conductor, she must listen to the music used in movies much more acutely than the rest of us! And how do composers feel about their music being used in films?



Then who can resist throwing in Johann Strauss Jr's On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op. 314, the music most synonymous with the waltz. The last piece of music was from John Williams, of course Star Wars. Yip explained the orchestra likes playing his works because he composes for all the members to play, in particular percussion, along with harp and piano. So it's not just the audience that likes his music!



Yip encouraged the audience to come back again -- they are performing the same program tomorrow and Sunday!

A Viennese Start to 2015

At the finale of the performance when performing the Radetzky March

To celebrate January 1 in Vancouver, my family and I attended the annual New Year's Concert Salute to Vienna at the Orpheum Theatre downtown.

We went last year and had a good time so we thought we'd try it again and we weren't disappointed.

It was a full house and the former Austrian trade commissioner (did she just leave her job?) wore a dirndl, a traditional country dress with a blouse, bodice, and full skirt below the knee. She talked about how these concerts, that are presented in various cities in Canada started 20 years ago and now they are performed in not only Vancouver, but also Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Montreal, Quebec and Toronto.

She even added tickets for January 1, 2016 would be available online this evening, or the old school way in a few days. Talk about advance ticket sales!

In any event, the show got underway and conductor Imre Kollar from Budapest was fantastic. You could tell he was very comfortable talking to the audience and telling jokes to liven up the atmosphere.

The Orpheum always has a warm glow when there's a show...

After The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performed the Overture to Die Fledermaus, Kollar turned around to say that he could see there were some late comers to the performance. He suggested they would want to hear the piece again and even got the orchestra to play the first several bars again.

He later talked about a friend who played the viola and was half gypsy, half Hungarian. The mother was Hungarian and the father was a friend of the father's....

Or he asked the tenor his favourite song, and when he named it, the conductor said they didn't have the score for that piece, but the orchestra would do their best.

The tenor later returned to the stage to see Kollar was not there so he stepped onto the podium and started conducting the orchestra, when the conductor returned and had no choice but to start singing the first few bars of the song...

And after the ballet dancers leave the stage, Kollar asks the audience how their performance was, because his back is to them and can't see them dancing...

You get the picture.

The two opera singers were fantastic, particularly Polish soprano Katarzyna Donalska was utterly amazing. Her voice range was so extensive, when she hit some very high notes, it reminded me of those cartoons where the opera singer is able to break glass!

In particular Les oiseaux or Doll Song from Tales of Hoffman was excellent, where she acted like a mechanical doll, or shall I say a flirty doll where at one point rearranging her top that was holding her ample bosom...

Tenor Martin Piskorski was also good -- for someone in his late 20s. He was comfortable on the stage too and also hit his notes perfectly, particularly with Dein ist mein ganzes Herz, from Land of Smiles.

The show was also energized with a couple who are international champion ballroom dancers, and ballet dancers from the Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine.

At the end the audience was invited to stamp their feet for Strauss' Thunder and Lightning Polka, Op. 324, which was fun, and then we were invited to stand for the singing of Auld Lang Syne, followed by the famous Radetzky March.

Wonder how they will top this conductor next year?

Salute to Vienna: New Year's Concert 2015

Orpheum Theatre

January 1, 2015

salutetovienna.com

New Year's Viennese Style

Inside the Orpheum Theatre waiting for the New Year's concert to begin

To celebrate the start of 2014, my family and I went to The Orpheum Theatre to watch "Salute to Vienna New Year's Concert 2014" performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with Viennese conductor Matthias Fletzberger, guest performers and six dancers from the Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine.

We'd never gone to one of these concerts before so we were pleasantly surprised by the combination of Strauss -- lots of Strauss -- singing and dancing.

The program not only featured Johann Strauss ad his brother Josef, but also Franz Lehar and Emmerich Kalman.

After the Overture to Die Fledermaus, Fletzberger gave amusing commentary for each piece. Soprano Monika Fischl from Budapest was amazing, particularly when she performed her second piece, Johann Strauss' "Fruhlingstimmen" Walzer, Op 410, where she had perfect pitch and control of her voice. Towards the end she had a mini duel with a flautist!

We also enjoyed the comedic singing and dancing duo Szilvi Szendy and Karoly Peller, both from Budapest. They came out dressed in a sleek ballroom dancing dress for say the rumba and a tuxedo respectively so we were surprised to see him flinging her around, her going through his legs and him doing cartwheels. How do you do cartwheels on stage in a tux? She also did the splits!

The ballet dancers were a nice accompaniment to the orchestra, though it was more about the female dancers, while the men were more the arm ornaments.

Finally the audience got to have a bit of fun taking part in Josef Strauss' Jokey Polka, Op. 278 where the conductor instructed us when to clap as if giving a horse a slap on its behind. More clapping ensued in the encore of Strauss' Radetzky March where Fletzberger again gave us hand signals of when to clap.

"Salute to Vienna New Year's Concert 2014" is being performed across the country these few days, from Vancouver to Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City.

We had the music, dancing and singing Viennese style -- the only thing missing was the super dense chocolate cake called Sacher Torte!