Composer’s six Brandenburg Concertos, rarely played all together, launch 11th edition of Hong Kong chamber music festival. An eclectic group of musicians put on a masterly evening of virtuoso ensemble playing.
A well-constructed account of the opening movement of Mahler’s unfinished symphony was followed by a fast-paced reading of the Shostakovich symphony, in which contributions from the principal flute and French horn stood out.
Soloist’s expressiveness and technical mastery of the keyboard, and orchestra’s refinement, were on show in Russian composer’s Piano Concerto No 2.
Philippe Entremont took the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong through its paces last night in an all-Beethoven concert, leading things in a manner in which Beethoven himself would have likely done.
Orchestra perform two of Scottish composer MacMillan’s works, including the one that launched his career, and accompany pianist Ben Kim in two Shostakovich concertos.
Echo of Glenn Gould in soloist’s interpretations of late works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Prokofiev
French pianist interprets Beethoven and Tchaikovsky with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, led by Hungarian conductor Gabor Kali in an exciting eclectic programme that sometimes lost clarity. Part of Le French May
Spanish composer’s Sinfonia Flamenca gives each performer their moment to shine, and they didn’t disappoint, from the mesmerising singing of Noemi Humanes to Sergio Aranda’s dazzling dance and his own expressive playing
Controlled brilliance characterised Russian pianist’s performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 and HK Phil under baton of Swiss maestro Charles Dutoit
Dutch maestro brings out the dynamic subtleties and intricate moments of Austrian’s monumental work while maintaining a firm grasp of its structure, aided by principal horn Jiang Lin’s confident playing
Konstantin Lifschitz’s playing in first of eight recitals of all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas showed technical proficiency, subtlety and shadings of colour, but also moments of harshness
For all her technical and sartorial flamboyance, it was Wang’s musicality that shone through in Tchaikovsky concerto, while orchestra warmed to the task in The Rite of Spring under van Zweden’s assured baton
Chamber orchestra and pianist delivered ensemble playing of the highest order in some lesser known works by Mozart and Haydn
Chen’s flamboyance and expressiveness, allied to Elizalde’s empathetic accompaniment, is such as to sweep even musical purists along
Understated approach to Dvorak’s grief-stricken work brought out its profundity, in a triumphant, cathartic performance by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Janacek Opera of the National Theatre Brno
Hong Kong Philharmonic rises to the challenges of Ring Cycle’s third episode, and singers overcome issues with balance to convey in concert form the power and emotion of the epic story Wagner tells
Orchestra showed itself up to the challenges of monumental six-movement symphony from the opening bars, and produced a performance of emotion and precision lit up by some wonderful solo playing
Jaap van Zweden coaxes out the personality of HK Phil timpanist James Boznos’ new work, gives principals room to excel in Haydn Sinfonia Concertante, and delights in the detail of Dvorak symphony