Concert review: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates 50th anniversary with sterling show

Esplanade Presents: Jaap van Zweden conducts Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with Alexandre Kantorow

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden (conductor), Alexandre Kantorow (piano)
Esplanade Concert Hall

Feb 20, 7.30pm

When the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) last performed in Singapore in 2017, its music director Jaap van Zweden was beginning his tenure with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO).

His NYPO tenure ends soon, but touring with the HK Phil as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, the rapport that van Zweden has built up with the orchestra comes through in spades in tonight’s performance.

The evening opened with a special commission for the HK Phil’s anniversary – Daniel Lo’s Asterismal Dance. An asterism is a term for a grouping of stars, so the work can be described loosely as a dance of the stars.

This rhythmic, pulsating work explored all corners of the large orchestra, including the depths of the lowest notes on a contrabassoon. The music was imaginative and showed off the HK Phil’s full, round sound.

Van Zweden took full advantage of the Esplanade’s acoustics, timing the orchestral climaxes to perfection.

Multiple award-winning French pianist Alexandre Kantorow followed with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s ever-popular Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini. The explosive orchestral introduction led into some very brisk piano variations, almost breathless at times. Kantorow’s playing was highly energetic, and van Zweden matched this with a highly responsive, light-footed accompaniment.

When the work came to the irrepressible Variation 18 – “the one with the glorious melody” – there was tenderness and great beauty from both the soloist and the orchestra, but it was also where the Esplanade’s Steinway, which lacks body on the bass and lower notes, was a weak link.

Although the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody is ostensibly a work that features the solo pianist, the orchestra plays a huge role. The HK Phil’s adroit playing, excellent balance (kudos to the basses and percussion sections) and van Zweden’s sympathetic direction made this a resounding success.

The second half of the concert saw a reprise of Mahler Symphony No. 1, the Titan, which the orchestra played during its last visit to Singapore.

This was a disciplined, well-prepared performance of one of the greatest masterpieces for a very large orchestra. With the horn section now boosted to nine players, and most of the woodwind sections doubled in number, the ultimate volumes achieved were naturally much higher.

However, van Zweden kept rein of the dynamics very well and the performance was never overpowering.

There was a clarity in sound and a unity of purpose from the eerie, quiet opening notes of the symphony which remained throughout the performance, even as more instruments joined in. Van Zweden shaped the long lines beautifully, and the evenness of sound from section to section was to be admired.

In the second movement, Mahler wrote a modified minuet and trio based on the Landler, an Austrian folk dance. Van Zweden’s Landler was a touch angular, and could have been more whimsical and folksy.

Double bass principal George Lomdaridze opened the third movement with a soulful solo of the “Brother John” theme. The chamber music skills of the musicians really shone as the theme passed on to other instruments, with the timpani connecting them. The quirky Klezmer band section in the middle was taken with a generous dose of rubato, which felt very much in place.

The jubilant finale, with the obligatory standing horn section, supplemented by a trombone and trumpet, was greeted at the close by strong, well-deserved applause.

Throughout the performance, the percussion section was outstanding, the brass solid, the woodwind solos most musical and the horns brilliant – never sticking out but always on top of the music. Van Zweden’s conducting was equally impressive – always in control, leading the orchestra with purpose and direction.

At this concert, the Hong Kong Phil did much to affirm its being picked as Gramophone magazine’s 2019 Orchestra of the Year.