27 May 2017, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall:
Overture 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Mendelssohn)
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mendelssohn)
Symphony No. 4 (Mahler)
Lan Rao (soprano)
Serena Wang (piano)
Long Yu (conductor)
The ongoing Mahler cycle by the philharmonic orchestra now spread across three seasons, but not knowing whether the eighth symphony being planned for future performance or not. Two of the concerts in this review are long overdue for review, yet recent performance of Das Lied von der Erde provides the excuse to recall what happened. The 2016/17 season focused mainly on symphonies of the wunderhorn phase with the fourth symphony marked the conclusion.
Mendelssohn filled the first half for a lighter start supposedly, but reading my notes it seems impatient and aggressive playing created most of the impression. The strings hurried along the overture that the gallop was energetic but rough. There was hardly any shape in phrasing but the simply hurrying through. Whether to do Yu Long's unclear conducting, who just beating out in two than showing any shape, or an individual in the orchestra played ahead, the end of one line was audibly messy and wrong. The orchestral's wildness continued into the first movement of the piano concerto which too much energy expressed by the playing. Lyrical moment was not elegantly rendered and the orchestra began to shape the music on auto mode by ignoring the conductor. Serena Wong's playing on the piano was smooth and beautifully executed, particularly the second movement, which she allowed the space for the music to breathe and recalled the much needed calmness. The orchestral entry to the third movement was more relaxing with a flowing progression yet swift in tempo. Technically Serena Wong was precise with a good touch that never being aggressive, yet it would take her few more years to sophisticate and mature her thinking on the work.
Though the orchestra was impatient again at the start of Mahler's fourth symphony. It did not feel like a delicate dance and the dynamic contrast felt rather extreme. A rather awkward structure continued with too much rubato employed in the lyrical section and lacked direction during the melancholy transition. The crushing climax fell short of the violent effect, yet the return to the more happy looking expressive moment stayed very loud and muscular. These all created a heavy footed impression by being sticky and lacked contrast in colours. Focus was lost by the broad and steady tempo adopted in the second movement. The orchestra dragged along and failed to realise the atmospheric change from the grotesque outlook to the sweet coda.
Strings managed though to play more tenderly in the third movement but still very vertical progressed, which lost some momentum and turned it into fragments than continuation. It was probably why the climaxes lacked the weight of impact and the pastoral excitements felt extreme than naturally developed. Neither was the connection between ebbs and flows of emotions effectively created, but merely making an explosive sound or accelerando. To further dampen the appreciation, Rao Lan's singing was often inaudible with poor diction in the fourth movement. Vocally she did not carry the support in reaching the high register and at times not even together with the orchestra. The orchestral playing instead became over dramatic with the woodwinds being wild. Messy coordination again when Yu Long also forgot to indicate the rubato. After Gergiev's chaotic performance with the World Orchestra For Peace some years ago at the BBC proms, this added to another disappointing live experience onto the list.
9 September 2017, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall:
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 5 (Mahler)
Yuja Wang (piano)
Jaap van Zweden (conductor)
The game switched three months later with Zweden in charge of the fifth symphony. The first half continued the week long feature of Yuja Wang with Beethoven's second piano concerto. Despite textually it still bears the Mozartian features, the orchestra gave a rather vertical reading of the introduction than sustaining a forward momentum. Wang played tenderly on the lyrical passage but also impatient with the tempo. Later she was more even rhythmically in the arpeggios, while the orchestra ably made appropriate dynamic contrast to accompany her in the background.
Yet there was the tendency to rush through and made a muscular tone, instead of the majestic and silky sound that had in mind. The cadenza seems could not make up its mind how to develop than a labouring of notes in thick texture, which felt rather odd with the composition style. Wang and the orchestra hurried through the first half of the second movement, which also felt too energetic and too bold than the sweet gradual progression. Yet right hand playing at the pianissimo passage made a spellbinding effective and the orchestra finally allowed the music to sing with the space. Wang and the orchestra felt more at home in the third movement with the lightness to keep the direction with dynamic contrast.
After the interval, an explosive start to the fifth symphony after a confident and accurate trumpet solo, which was most effective compare to past performance of the same work by HKPO in my memory. Strings did not linger on the expressive theme and blazing tone from the brass. A violent climax was reached with sheer devastating cries in contrast to the gentle march later, which was sweeter than melancholy. The contrast in the second crushing climax was effective followed by attaca into the second movement with masculine brass entry being very crisp in tone colour. The tone of lower strings was thicker and tidier than the upper strings. Ebbs and flows of sound waves culminated for sheer intensity. Sadness drove between the negotiation of hope and sorrow. Explosion passage created a hurricane impression with emotional sentiments. The raw tone on strings recalled the chilling wind alongside war like percussion. Triumphant fanfare from the brass accelerated the impact to fullness before dying down to a mysterious close.
An energetic start to the third movement that strings played the accent exaggeratedly for a muscular dance. Flowing wind passage compare to the strings' complex fugal dialogue. The horn solo sustained a bright tone and stayed swift in momentum. Soon a chamber like dialogue made a change from the loud and violent beginning. Each part seamlessly connected with the others, and the dance had more bite and energy this round to create an exuberant swing even at quick tempo. The horn solo took the risk for sheer excitement in the gallop and aimed for a resounding end.
Whereas the depth of emotions poured out in full at the fourth movement. Zweden even managed to keep the climax flowing like a song without word that was magical in many ways. Dynamic difference at the ebbs and flows was big in the leap, followed by a heartbreaking fade on the violins. A majestic entrance to the fifth movement from the horn and woodwind. The following fugue was energetically driven in full bodied tone, though at points it also felt rushing along. Though there was the intention to slow down in order to build up the climax for a resounding impact. The sound of wall, machine gun like, marked hope triumphantly over sorrow by the brass fanfare. A highly dramatic finale from the abyss of melancholy to the wholehearted celebration of positivism. It was surely the most dramatic account of the fifth symphony I experienced so far.
28 April 2018, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall:
The Song of the Earth (Ye Xiaogang)
Das Lied von der Erde (Mahler)
Yu Guanqun (soprano)
Ildikó Komlósi (mezzo-soprano)
Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor)
Yuan Chenye (baritone)
Long Yu (conductor)
Instead of the usual programme formula with works from the classical period, the performance of Das Lied von der Erde was paired with Ye Xiaogang's composition that based on the original Chinese poems in the first half. A colourful introduction to the first movement with woodwind imitating tides and waves. Despite diction was not that clearly articulate at the first hearing of Yu Guanqun's singing, her intonation was secured and carried the projection. The reach to top notes was smooth and flexible in switching between registers. Vocal style recalled those in Elektra but harmonically simpler and less violent. It tried to be broad and majestic in style. The second movement was rhythmically more energetic especially among the percussion, but was not quite the shyness that depicted in the text. It was festive enough to visual a lively scene but the soprano vocal part was less sophisticated comparing to the first.
A broad sound world that captures the atmospheric beauty of night music in the third movement, with bells chiming in the background like clock ticking. The baritone finally appeared in the fourth movement for the violent and tense opening. The composition style was similar to a mixture of Peter Grimes and Turandot. Yuan Chenye sang dramatically throughout but lacked the vocal body. The drum rolls towards the end of the movement felt abrupt and should have been continued into the fifth movement. A return to the vast and deep sound world, but Yuan's line was not that smoothly executed. The brass fanfare gave a positive outlook to the exuberant fantasia, though lacked some sonic impact. Mysterious finale in the last movement while being tranquil. The heroic climax was ironic for the first time, yet the return to the calm and sedate atmosphere was awkwardly developed. It recalled the night music of Mahler's seventh symphony to some extend, but the coda with clashing gongs and bass drum fading away was completely opposite.
An exuberant start in swift tempo to Das Lied von der Erde, which the orchestral playing was so wild and aggressive that nearly drowned out the singing. Though Vogt's singing still managed to filled the hall and kept the tender impression. Yu Long seems lost control of the orchestra and the playing felt rather unsettling throughout the first movement. He was not able to get the depth out of the orchestral playing than an energetic chase. Same being felt in the next movement with the oboe led theme, which was rather out of shape and simply galloping along. Komlósi sounded uncertain how to fit her singing within the restless progression. Her diction was unclear too and employed heavy vibrato in the higher vocal range. Yu Long's conducting also looked all over the place that flicking the baton aimlessly.
While Vogt tried hard to stay soft in the third movement, Yu Long did not able to slow down the orchestra from hurrying the tempo of the festive March. It created further hurdle to Komlósi who struggled to fit the sung text while the tempo was pushed to extreme in the fourth movement. No musical shape at all but a mechanical galloping to jump leaps. The festive wildness went too far and created chaos, which the return to lyrical part was abruptl. The coordination throughout the fifth movement was better than before with the orchestra more responsive to Vogt's word painting. He continued to keep the vowels bright and kept the projection forward. It felt sweeter even in such excitement.
The white hot orchestral colour carried too much brightness for the mysterious opening of the last movement. Komlósi's phrasing was out of shape again and not able to sustain the long vocal line, also audibly employed too much vibrato. Flute solo was beautiful and enchanting at the tranquil transition into the calm and expressive moment. Yet the swift tempo followed was in great hurry and difficult to understand what she was singing. Only at the climax then Komlósi able to sing more than speaking the text early on, and conveyed the emotions, but her mid vocal range was insecured with poor tuning. The full sense of sorrow was finally realised in the moody and melancholy second half. Sadness was expressed in the funeral march but lacked some direction of a slow dance. Though again it needed to hold back the forwardness to allow more space and broad tempo for the dream like conclusion.
