Poème symphonique (Ligeti)
Concerto No. 5 in f minor, BWV 1056 (Bach)
Fratre (Pärt)
Chaconne in g minor (Purcell)
Violin Concerto (Ligeti)
Ricercar from Music Offering (Bach, arr. Webern)
Those not necessary into the experimental landscape of Ligeti would be surprised by Webern's clever arrangement of Bach's Ricercar. The tonal colour and body of sound might be familiar but themes were connection only than a dominant feature. The augmented full orchestra was a sight but the produced sound did not reflect the size. The melodic focus is not the attraction, but cloudy timbre and lean texture instead. The randomness of motives were not totally aimless and created a curiosity of the colour. Like Ligeti, both pieces referenced a recogisable theme including folk tunes, but being intelligently presented in different forms, or even became a response in parallel to the dissonant subject. After all, I enjoyed the intellectual deception and the adventure into an unfamiliar sound world. More please in future concert seasons!
Concerto No. 5 in f minor, BWV 1056 (Bach)
Fratre (Pärt)
Chaconne in g minor (Purcell)
Violin Concerto (Ligeti)
Ricercar from Music Offering (Bach, arr. Webern)
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Colleen Lee (Pianist)
Caroline Goulding (Violinist)
Case Scaglione (Conductor)
My recent concert going experience had been dominated by late romantic repertoire, and this interesting programme made a welcoming change, particularly my first encounter of Ligeti's Violin Concerto. Before the actual concert, one hundred metronomes were assembled at the foyer to perform Poème symphonique by Ligeti. The ticking sound was the focus but spectators' reactions added another layer of audio and visual experience. Inevitably everyone performed the digital ritual with their smartphones to take photos or make video recording of the spectacle. Then all eyes and ears eagerly awaited which metronome would last the longest. The speculation became like a sporting competition with yelling and cheering when the result was revealed. Probably not the composer would have in mind, but the atmosphere and provoked reaction gave the mechanical performance a human touch and fascination.
I felt the concert programme itself was not an emphasis on comparing tonal and atonal music, but demonstrating how contemporary progressiveness took one step more on Baroque format to extend the sound boundary. Perhaps that was why the performing style of Bach and Purcell in this concert did not adopt the historically informed practice, which would have focused more on strong articulation, the dancing rhythmic motion and ornamentation. Instead Scaglione relax and precise conducting style generated a silky and transparent texture from the ensemble playing. Steady in tempo but not broad neither sluggish and still in shape. Colleen Lee produced exquisite playing in the more sedate second movement of Bach's fifth keyboard concerto with the right touch and a sense of naturalism. Though the hall acoustics felt slightly too big for such intimate chamber piece even from where I sat towards the front of the balcony.
In following, harmonic cleverly structured Fratre by Arvo Pärt was given a more vertical and objective reading. Not sure if the strings were on purpose to be choppy with the bowing but felt it needed more legato. The hymn like theme at the interval of a tenth would need to sing more than being rigid. As the music developed the emotion and thicker in texture, then only the ensemble began to move in direction with phrasing and contrast in dynamics with more bow hairs on strings. Same happened in the Purcell that the strings' playing were rather sluggish even the conductor indicated the phrasing, despite responsive to the dynamic contrast. The dotted rhythmic was not too exaggeratedly articulate to maintain the smooth and silky impression.
It was not difficult to detect a lot of efforts and coordinations had been inputted to prepare this superlative execution of Ligeti's violin concerto. The expanded orchestra with a large percussion section, curious instruments including alto flute and ocarina, and solo strings tuned to different pitches made an audio feast for the unique sound effects and music colour, as well as visual. More importantly, the orchestra finally had the road map in mind, knowing the corners and delivered confident playing. Caroline Goulding gave a fearless account by pulling out special effects on the solo violin and hold nothing back, particularly in the fiery and dramatic cadenza of last movement with dissonant double stopping and gradually returned to glissando in its simplest form.
My recent concert going experience had been dominated by late romantic repertoire, and this interesting programme made a welcoming change, particularly my first encounter of Ligeti's Violin Concerto. Before the actual concert, one hundred metronomes were assembled at the foyer to perform Poème symphonique by Ligeti. The ticking sound was the focus but spectators' reactions added another layer of audio and visual experience. Inevitably everyone performed the digital ritual with their smartphones to take photos or make video recording of the spectacle. Then all eyes and ears eagerly awaited which metronome would last the longest. The speculation became like a sporting competition with yelling and cheering when the result was revealed. Probably not the composer would have in mind, but the atmosphere and provoked reaction gave the mechanical performance a human touch and fascination.
I felt the concert programme itself was not an emphasis on comparing tonal and atonal music, but demonstrating how contemporary progressiveness took one step more on Baroque format to extend the sound boundary. Perhaps that was why the performing style of Bach and Purcell in this concert did not adopt the historically informed practice, which would have focused more on strong articulation, the dancing rhythmic motion and ornamentation. Instead Scaglione relax and precise conducting style generated a silky and transparent texture from the ensemble playing. Steady in tempo but not broad neither sluggish and still in shape. Colleen Lee produced exquisite playing in the more sedate second movement of Bach's fifth keyboard concerto with the right touch and a sense of naturalism. Though the hall acoustics felt slightly too big for such intimate chamber piece even from where I sat towards the front of the balcony.
In following, harmonic cleverly structured Fratre by Arvo Pärt was given a more vertical and objective reading. Not sure if the strings were on purpose to be choppy with the bowing but felt it needed more legato. The hymn like theme at the interval of a tenth would need to sing more than being rigid. As the music developed the emotion and thicker in texture, then only the ensemble began to move in direction with phrasing and contrast in dynamics with more bow hairs on strings. Same happened in the Purcell that the strings' playing were rather sluggish even the conductor indicated the phrasing, despite responsive to the dynamic contrast. The dotted rhythmic was not too exaggeratedly articulate to maintain the smooth and silky impression.
It was not difficult to detect a lot of efforts and coordinations had been inputted to prepare this superlative execution of Ligeti's violin concerto. The expanded orchestra with a large percussion section, curious instruments including alto flute and ocarina, and solo strings tuned to different pitches made an audio feast for the unique sound effects and music colour, as well as visual. More importantly, the orchestra finally had the road map in mind, knowing the corners and delivered confident playing. Caroline Goulding gave a fearless account by pulling out special effects on the solo violin and hold nothing back, particularly in the fiery and dramatic cadenza of last movement with dissonant double stopping and gradually returned to glissando in its simplest form.
Those not necessary into the experimental landscape of Ligeti would be surprised by Webern's clever arrangement of Bach's Ricercar. The tonal colour and body of sound might be familiar but themes were connection only than a dominant feature. The augmented full orchestra was a sight but the produced sound did not reflect the size. The melodic focus is not the attraction, but cloudy timbre and lean texture instead. The randomness of motives were not totally aimless and created a curiosity of the colour. Like Ligeti, both pieces referenced a recogisable theme including folk tunes, but being intelligently presented in different forms, or even became a response in parallel to the dissonant subject. After all, I enjoyed the intellectual deception and the adventure into an unfamiliar sound world. More please in future concert seasons!
The performance of Poème symphonique
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