Review - Wagner, Schumann and Mendelssohn, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 5 November 2016

Prelude to Act One and Good Friday Music from 'Parsifal' (Wagner)
Piano Concerto (Schumann)
Encore: Second movement from Nocturne op. 9 (Chopin)
Symphony No. 5 'Reformation' (Mendelssohn)

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
David Fray (Piano solo)
Constantin Trinks (Conductor)

In this survey of three iconic German composers from the romantic period, the selected works all distinctively have a progressive contemporary outlook but also referencing music around or before their time. Both Mendelssohn and Wagner include the 'Dresden Amen' as a musical expression of faith. The Reformation Symphony takes a dramatic approach on romantic ideology, which expands from solemnity and darkness to a confident triumph. In Parsifal, redemption is the ultimate goal through thematic examinations of the grail, holy rituals and resisting temptation. Leitmotifs give a music illustration of the symbolism and underlying ideologies. Despite Schumann's piano concerto not religious in nature, many lyrical themes are hymn like. It is also quirky in style and rather invert looking in compare to other piano concertos of its time, which often focus on technical showcase with big gestures.

The challenge in performing the prelude from Parsifal is how to keep the music in shape at slow tempo and without losing the direction. Constantin Trinks employed a broad tempo but well paced and never drag. The orchestral playing was noble and majesty by producing a transparent texture. A pure and clean effect with the desire projection from the trumpet solo. Quality woodwinds playing by making a beautiful tone and sensitive to dynamic changes. The produce sound had a level of depth and magnificent playing from the brass on the grail theme. Though the orchestra lost the focus in the more fluid flowing Good Friday Music. It still maintained a beautiful sound but lacked certainty in phrasing and shapes. The score arrangement was also not helpful with a lean texture, and the absence of vocal line did not give an idea where the music was heading but only recurring themes. Horns fell short from matching the radiant tone produced by their colleagues and some shaky tuning. Only at the redemption theme direction regained with the woodwinds' dialogues being sweet and tender. The music spoke for itself with its beauty and emotions.

David Fray's playing was gentle and polish in Schumann's Piano Concerto, but the impression lacked a character and the employed dynamics often too soft for the acoustics. One hardly could distinguish the left hand part and the produced sound lacked presence. Despite one could sense the momentum flows, strangely it far from providing a clear navigation. One could argue that the composer emphasized on beauty and adopted an introvert solo part for his wife Clara's premiere back then, thus, a lighter weight on the keyboard touch. Though I felt the soloist should still be prominent to an extent so the texture could be heard clearly and phrased the music more. Despite a minor coordination issue in the third movement noticed by my friend, the orchestra accompaniment was more spirited and gave more bites in their playing to generate the rhythmic impulse. The phrasing created more shapes and contrast to keep the listener interested. Cellos were hearty and passionate in the expressive theme of second movement. Both the first and third movement the orchestral playing was more effective in bringing out the emotions. Only the virtuosic coda of the third movement that the pianist caught my attention for the technical showcase in display.

Constaintin Trinks continued the good work with the orchestra and rarely a rendition of Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony so brilliantly and exciting. Brass made a confident opening of the first movement but woodwinds' transition was mysterious and uncertain. The strings driven tutti then gave a dramatic ebb and flow of the fiery and tempestuous passage. It was highly responsive to the conductor's indication for accelerando and captured the wildness vividly, before a smooth return to the solemn recapitulation. The second movement has some reference to Beethoven's symphonies but also the fairy's dance from incidental music to Midsummer's Night Dream. Trinks had successfully drawn the orchestral playing to dance with the music. Strong rhythmical momentum and the sheer contrast in dynamics sustained the intensity. Expressive playing from the strings at the third movement to pour out the emotions even the music was dark and serious. Trinks appropriately took a rather brisk tempo in the last movement to keep the music flowing with energy. Beautiful woodwinds' playing of the chorale theme with the brass and lower strings. The band also delivered a muscular body of sound but not too dense. The dance passage was majesty and confident with a strong direction. Sectional dialogues at the fugue was articulated clearly with a good crescendo up to the triumphant ending. It would have been a perfect conclusion if the trumpet did not slip on tuning at the final climax.

Review - Matsukaze (Toshio Hosokawa & Sasha Waltz), New Vision Arts Festival, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, 23 October 2016

Matsukaze - Miwako Handa
Murasame - Jihee Kim
Monk - Douglas Williams
Fisherman - Kai-Uwe Fahnert

Vocalconsort Berlin
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Hong Kong New Music Orchestra
David Robert Coleman (Conductor)
Sasha Waltz (Director and Choreographer)

One highlight of Human Requiem back in March was the spellbinding choreography by Sasha Waltz & Guest, which effectively revealed the inner truth of Brahms's Requiem I reckon. Audience and performers went on an emotional theatrical journey from death to afterlife, before arriving an imaginative glimpse of the eternal dwelling. The city is fortunate again to receive another highly regarded contemporary opera production by the same company. A testament of quality and intellectual stimulating staging that allows creativity, inspiration and beauty at its fullness at the theatre. In contrast to the ideology underlines in Human Requiem, Matsukaze follows the concept of Noh plays by contemplating memories and emotions between life and death. The yearning for passionate feelings will eventually fade and vanish, than reaching any spiritual comfort or redemption. Though the pain and the impression of being trapped within space is to be remembered and retold as a tale in romanticism.

In this production, the dance aspect is as equally important as the music. It is a physical expression of abstract emotions and also marking atmospheric characteristics. The sound of waves and theatrical fog set the first scene at the coast in the night. Dancers' arm movements resemble the pressing weight of the tempestuous sea on the shore. The silent lone girl in black surrounds by a dancer doing tai chi, which gives a visual demonstration of inner psychological yearning. The eerie music style creates a sense of uncertainty at a haunted space, especially the bass drum rolling increasingly hard and loud. The dance choreography is increasingly more exaggerated by bigger arm gestures. Atmospherically unsettle and disturbing up to the monk's chanting that provided the background. Various dancers in pairs or groups move across the stage were not an imitation of ghost, but flashback in memory lane without a time sense. The vocal ensemble in circular shape symbolically form a speaking old pine by singing 'ar', and gradually change into a human wall to resemble the tree branches. A woman in white then very slowly pulls a giant web across the stage forward for the next scene.

Metaphorically the web is a memory cage, which the sisters trap themselves into by lamenting past affections for the nobleman. He dies after leaving them for the capital, which the plainsong dialogue between the fisherman and the monk provides the background. Though the net is also emerged as fishing nets when masked dancers pull long ropes alike out from the sea with the chorus emerges from behind. Nothing out of ordinary and symbolism of objects are created from elements in the related nature. Glockenspiel playing evokes small bells ringing along with the sound of water drops, while darkness descends as the stage lights fade. The music become more spooky and chilly when ghostly figures of the sisters descend. Dancers climb around the screen but stuck within an area like insects trap in a spider web. The chant like music texture and atonal in style make a cold and emotionless impression with a moonlight effect illuminates in the background. Eventually the sisters vanish again in the dark, and dancers move like in the shape of frogs on the screen. It creates a pictorial sequence of nature awaking for dawn.

The fantasy seamlessly turn into a more realistic state under this extraordinary sequence of nature and time. The framed wooden structure of a house replace the screen with a soft wooden house floor. Though dimmed light remain to keep the haunting sense of the place. The monk is supposedly to question the sisters in the house but sings from the orchestra pit instead. This provokes the question of whether any is real or just a dream, even a physical space is in place. The music develops more contrasting dynamics, wider vocal range and more emotions engage. Drums and gongs produce violent musical effect to imitate wild gust and stormy seaside. The spinto soprano gives many wild cries at the high vocal range and dancers in open arms posture to plead.

All add to the weighting message that Matsukaze cannot fling off her persistent desire for the return of her lover, despite her sister Murasame warns of the danger that she will fall into false imagination. A masked dancer carried a pole with a hat on it then forms the illusion, follows by a passionate dance duet to capture the intense love and feelings. Dancers also regroup into the shape of branches and more colourful than before. The exuberance of expressive emotional outpour inevitably come to an abrupt end when a shower of needles from the pine tree drop onto the stage. The monk awakes from the surreal state of mind while chimes' ringing return. In the end, water drops replace the music gradually and conclude with a lone girl walks very slowly towards the audience before vanishing in the dark.

Graphical surrealism is undoubtedly the highlight of this production, and elevates by a highly effective dramaturgy to present symbolic or metaphoric aspects at a natural sequence. The dance choreography gives a visual demonstration of the psychology and feelings with an expressive outlook. Music on the other hand delivers the dramatic audio effect in conjunction to the visualisation of senses and theatrical atmosphere. The four soloists are vocally capable with the right timbre and range, though diction is more audible on vowels than articulating the words clearly. Orchestral playing phrases well under the baton of David Coleman and never in the danger being out of shape. All contribute to a coherent and awe-inspiring staging that memorable in many ways. It is a shame though a poor turnout in the audience despite a vigorous marketing campaign in public beforehand. Conservatism, the lack of cultural curiosity and backwardness in artistic knowledge still prevailed unfortunately.