Concert Review: Shenzhen Symphony - Ehwald - LiMarch 7, 2014, Shenzhen Concert Hall
Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra - Christian Ehwald - Johnson Zhongxin Li 李仲欣
Wagner-Beethoven-Bruckner
As they say, good things come in pairs, or so I thought. It is not so often one gets to hear Bruckner in Hong Kong. But the day after the magnificent performance of Bruckner 9 in HK (see last post) there was a Bruckner 4 next door in Shenzhen! I was tired but still decided to go.
Concert opened with a straightforward Wagner Meistersinger Overture I could have done without. Nothing prepared me for the wonderful performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto 1 by Hong Kong's own child prodigy Johnson Li Zhongxin 李仲欣. Judging from what I read on the internet, he must be 11 now, not 9 as the program bio (largely copied from other material) claimed. Although dynamics and shading were not quite comparable with good adult pianists, Li nevertheless played with verve and in a sonorous manner. The interpretation was straightforward and articulate, well supported by the orchestra.
I was quite surprised by the slow tempo Ehwald adopted for Bruckner's Symphony 4, clocking in at more than 70 minutes, and that is almost Celibidache territory. Although Ehwald had the full measure of this symphony and easily managed the tricky passages, the Shenzhen Symphony, good as they are and valiant in their effort, was only periodically successful. One could not help but feel (and endure) the glacial tempo. Not everyone is Celibidache!
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