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)

Ning Feng Comes to Town

Ning Feng is a crowd favourite in Hong Kong and he loves us too

Now that my office is in Times Square in Causeway Bay, I take the MTR to work and walk up the slope to get out of the station. On the way there are many posters and one of them was called "Scottish Fantasy" featuring violinist Ning Feng -- YTSL's favourite musician.

I finally remembered to tell her about it over a week ago and she was very surprised to hear about it because she keenly looks out for concerts she's interested in. We didn't know what the ticket situation would be like so I bought them right away -- third row from the stage!

There were still front row tickets too, but we didn't want to be that close.

In the end it turned out there was no one in front of us so in a way we did have front row seats. The concert wasn't that well advertised -- a last-minute addition? And also it's the tail-end of Qing Ming and Rugby Sevens is on. As a result the concert hall wasn't packed, which was a bit disappointing, but we were in for a treat.

Ning has played many times with the HKPO

First up, An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise, op. 120 by Peter Maxwell Davies. We didn't quite know what was going on here -- bits of tunes were stitched together like a patchwork quilt and didn't necessarily go together sound-wise. It was hard to follow at times. But at the end conductor Yu Long looked behind him and we heard a bag piper, Robert Jordan -- in full uniform from the back of the concert hall and walk down the stairs by us and then up to the stage.

Next Ning came out to perform Scottish Fantasy, op. 46 by Max Bruch. The violinist looked like he'd lost a bit of weight and wearing his signature untucked black shirt and trousers. The music was fun and had a strong Scottish theme, but it wasn't very challenging for Ning.

After the performance he came out with his violin and spoke to the audience. In English he said that he loves playing in Hong Kong and in particular with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He said for piano there are many pieces to choose from for an encore, but not violin -- it's either Bach or Paganini.

He asked the audience what they'd like to hear and some said "both", but he asked us to put up our hands for Bach (not many), and then Paganini (a lot). So which Paganini piece? YTSL said God Save the King along with another audience member, but Ning wasn't too keen to do that. He conferred with the concertmaster Jing Wang before deciding on Paganini's Caprice no. 24. Here is a version of it he played many years ago.

We were spellbound while he played it with gusto -- at one point he was plucking the strings with his left hand so quickly and effortlessly while his bow struck the strings that we couldn't help but clap. He still had his bow up, ready to continue playing -- when we stopped.

It was nice to be able to watch him up close -- he was very much enjoying the music and fusing together with his instrument and having a good time.

After the intermission it was Symphony no. 3 in A minor, op. 56, Scottish by Felix Mendelssohn. There were five movements here and while we enjoyed the playing, we couldn't help but wonder if more could have been done to create more tone in terms of volume. Everything was mezzo forte and louder, but what about creating more contrast in volume to make things more interesting?

Nevertheless, a good evening out -- the concert finished just after 10pm. But we couldn't find a quiet spot for drinks after!

Scottish Fantasy

April 6 and 7, 8pm

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Yujia Wang's Distracting Dress

Here is pianist Yujia Wang covered up! in a promotional poster

Tonight was the season opener for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the soloist was superstar pianist Yujia Wang.

It's quite amazing that I've seen her perform for 10 years now -- I saw her play in a small concert hall in Beijing in 2007.

And tonight she played in front of several who's who -- Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, principal guest conductor Yu Long, former lawmaker Emily Lau Wai-hing former Hong Kong Monetary Authority Joseph Yam Chi-kwong to name a few.

While her performance tonight of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 was mesmerizing, she doesn't seem to have matured as a person.

This is the dress she wore (here with the Santa Cruz Symphony)

She walked on stage in this revealing dress -- a turquoise number with a deep V both in the front and back, but it was actually covered up with skin-coloured cloth. Then she could barely walk and I soon could see why -- she was wearing platform heels which forced her to stick her butt out.

When she sat down -- and we sat behind her -- we could see her G-string... how classy.

Why was she wearing such a skin-tight dress with skin-coloured fabric? This is not figure skating! This is a performance at a concert hall! And those heels -- gold coloured too -- belonged on the dance floor. Hardly sexy or sophisticated.

As for the music, we really loved her playing, but that bow afterwards needs some work. She just flings her head down, puts her right arm across her chest and shuffles off in that skin-tight dress that might as well be a nylon tube sock. She hardly acknowledged the crowd sitting behind the orchestra -- at least Lang Lang would have given them a few bows in gratitude.

And what about some kudos so the orchestra that performed with her? She barely gave any thanks to them except finally shaking the hand of the concert master before again shuffling off.

She seemed ambivalent about giving an encore, but when the audience won't stop clapping, surely they want to hear more?

Wang finally obliged -- twice -- and we were very pleased. But how about a bit of humility? Or was it nerves from performing in front of dignitaries or the dress and shoes weren't working out?

If she's not comfortable in them, she really shouldn't wear them. I want to see a performer who is confident and happy and shows some grace. I guess she still has a lot to learn.

After the intermission, the Hong Kong Phil gave a very lively performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Music director Jaap van Zweden was militant about the timing and also jumped up and down several times to make his point.

The orchestra replied with fantastic sound that resonated throughout the concert hall, dischordant at times, but very experimental and full of energy and full use of the entire orchestra, especially percussion!

When the concert was over, with two rounds of clapping, Carrie Lam got out of her seat to approach the stage. My friend nudged me to leave so we did -- along with scores of other people!

Season Opening: Jaap & Yujia

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 1

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Musical Ping Pong

Whoa what a finale! Incorporating table tennis with music. How novel!

This evening YTSL and I had tickets to watch a concert by the Hong Kong Philharmonic called "Ping Pong Diplomacy", harking back to over 45 years ago when the table tennis team from the United States visited China.

It was considered a world-changing event in Sino-US relations, breaking the ice and paving the way for then US President Richard Nixon to come to China and meet with Mao Zedong.

Conductor Yu Long commissioned a piece -- featuring table tennis in the music! -- by Andy Akiho and it was performed for the first time two years ago by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Were the table tennis players going to use up all those balls?

But before that music. Yu led the orchestra in a rousing Tchaikovsky piece called Serenade for Strings, op. 48. I had forgotten Yu likes a fast tempo but was soon quickly reminded when the opening, which is supposed to be like a sonatina, seemed very rushed.

He tried to make the second movement, a waltz, markedly slower, but it too speeded up towards the end, as well as the finale.

I forgot to add that the musicians weren't dressed in formal wear, but black T-shirts and jeans instead which was a weird look, perhaps to make the audience not feel so bad to be casual either.

There was no intermission, and the stage was set for Akiho's Ricochet: Triple Concerto for Ping Pong, Percussion, Violin & Orchestra with three movements.

We the audience were forewarned that ping pong balls could fly into the crowd. This we had to watch.

The piece starts with a violinist making eerie sounds on her instrument, and then a percussionist stands by the ping pong table and starts playing on drums with it. Two actual ping pong players, both American, but one Caucasian male in a shirt and red bow tie, the other a Chinese woman, in a red sleeveless cocktail dress and black heels approach the table and actually start playing table tennis.

At times they rally, and then they start hitting balls towards the audience. They use tambourines to hit the ball so that they too make music, and she hits the drum on the ping pong table hard as a solo passage.

Imagine writing the music for this piece? Ping pong player hits drum; ping pong player uses tambourine to hit balls five times...

It was unpredictable when they were going to hit balls into the audience. In the end the violinist and percussionist each grab box of balls and dump them onto the table to end the piece. So crazy yet so fun!

Kids scrambled towards the stage to grab whatever orange balls they could.

It was just so interesting to see how table tennis could be incorporated into music and it works. The two ping pong players knew exactly when to hit and when to stop, catching the ball. They had several balls in hand just in case shots didn't work out to keep the momentum of hitting the ball going.

It was fun, lively and unpredictable!

Ping Pong Diplomacy

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, op. 48

Andy Akiho Ricochet: Triple Concerto for Ping Pong, Percussion, Violin & Orchestra

Fans Swoon for Yo-Yo Ma

A fantastic performer and warm guy, Yo-Yo Ma

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is someone I've long wanted to see perform live and somehow never got the chance.

When I saw an ad that he was coming to town to open the 2016-17 season for the Hong Kong Philharmonic, I tried to get a ticket. All the cheap ones were gone and unlike the Gustav Dudamel concert where I had to shell out for the most expensive tickets, this time I got the second-most expensive ones.

Waiting for the concert to begin in the concert hall

The concert hall at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre was almost full, and I sat up in the balcony, towards the top in the centre section. Great seat.

The Hong Kong Phil started the evening with Georges Bizet's Symphony in C conducted by Yu Long. It was wonderful to see Yu again -- I used to watch him conduct the China Philharmonic in Beijing and felt he was so passionate about classical music, and very classy too.

Following a short break, we all gathered back in anticipation of watching Ma. But wait a second -- while the platform was there for him next to the conductor's podium, where was his seat?

Luckily one of the violinists went back stage to ask for one and a stage hand brought it out, with some applause. He should have taken a bow or was too embarrassed!

Then Ma came out to much applause. He is so gracious and warm, treating orchestra members like cherished colleagues. He work a dark suit and tie, and once the music started, he was full immersed in it, playing his cello so softly we had to be very quiet to hear it.

He played Dvorak's Silent Woods, op. 58, no. 5, a very short piece that was reflective and showcased Ma's mastery of the cello as he played with the orchestra. So ethereal.

Then Ma was joined by Wu Tong, a sheng player to perform Duo, Concerto for Cello and Sheng by Zhao Lin.

Before the concert, a shot of the moon

In the program notes, it says the composition is based on The Great Tang Dynasty Record of Western Regions by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang.

The music is supposed to depict his journey through hardships, hesitation and ultimately leading to tranquility, and so there are three movements too that flow into each other seamlessly.

The sheng is a mouth-blown reed instrument with several pipes. I just remember it having a loud, brash sound, usually marking joyous occasions in folk songs.

But here it was deftly played by Wu, very softly, hardly rough around the edges. And as he played he undulated as if he was dancing with his instrument.

Parts of the music gave the impression of being in the desert, the cello and sheng having a conversation back and forth, complementing each other, very poetic and lyrical. By the end they kind of disappear into nothingness.

There was one encore with Wu and Ma, another composition that was inspired by a drinking song, before Ma came back on his own with another encore accompanied with the orchestra.

As he left the stage, Ma hugged or shook hands with many orchestra members, who were probably so thrilled to perform with him, and getting a hug must have been the jackpot.

And he gets to do it all again tomorrow.

Season Opening - Yo-Yo Ma

Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Bizet Symphony in C

Dvorak Silent Woods, op. 58, no. 5

Zhao Lin Duo