Shenzhen Symphony Darrell Ang HKPO Zee Zee Koncz

Concert Review (21-1): Shenzhen Symphony/Darrell Ang HKPO/Koncz/Zee Zee

April 30, 2021, Shenzhen Concert Hall
Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra/Darrell Ang
Shi - Bruch - Franck

My, my first concert in over a year!

Concert opened with a weirdly named Inside and Outside of the Light Cones 光锥内外, a Concerto for Suona (a double reed) by Shi Fuhong 史付红. It made use of suona of various sizes (kind of like the sax family; the larger the lower the reach). The piece was well crafted and performed by Zhang Wei Wei 张维维.

It was apparent from the opening of the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 that the winds and brass were too upfront for the strings and they remained so for the rest of the piece. Thus, some crucial atmosphere was lost (I think of the opening in Kyung Wha Chung's Decca recording, wonderfully conducted by Rudolf Kempe). But what bothered me more was the soloist, Wu Qian 吴倩, who was reasonably secure but played without much subtlety in dynamics and phrasing. It was just plain bland.

The orchestra came out charging in Franck's Symphony. But again, the brass and winds were just a little too prominent. This can be partly attributed to my seat, which is directly above the first violins. This piece, with its repetitive elements, is not an easy piece to play well as it requires much delicate balance and chording. As I am familiar with the sound of this orchestra from this seat, I had to conclude that ensemble hasn't returned to pre-pandemic standards, and some coarseness came through. I say this despite having been away for 3 years, during which they changed director, because most of the principals are still there, and the roster hasn't changed that much.

Singaporean Darrell Ang is generally well regarded (regularly conducts in Russia, where he had studied) and currently director of the Sichuan Philharmonic. Perhaps it was not the best chemistry? I am not sure whether he was pleased with the result, as he only acknowledged the cor anglais and harp soloists at the end, with no nod to the individual sections. Attendance was low though, and he may not have wanted to drag out the applause.

Shenzhen Symphony is a favorite of mine, an orchestra that I think is better than the HKPO. I shall continue to root for them, even if the pandemic means I won't get to hear the many Russian and Eastern European musicians they used to get (including the great Elizabeth Leonskaja). In a month I shall be listening to them in Mahler 7, conducted by Li Xincao, a conductor who impressed me many years ago in his guest appearance with the HKPO (if I remember correctly, it was Beethoven 7th; now he is director of China National Orchestra).

On China's Bilibili, which carries a lot of videos, many originating from Youtube (not operational in China), there is a video of Daniele Gatti, who fell from grace at the Concertgebouw due to sexual harassment, conducting the Shenzhen Symphony in Brahms (very good). And guess who is co-concertmaster of the Shenzhen Symphony these days? William Preucil, who fell in Cleveland for similar reasons. Now, is the West too Woke and China not Woke enough? :-)

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May 5, 2021, Hong Kong Cultural Center
HKPO/Koncz/Zee Zee
Liszt/Brahms

I wish I were able to attend this concert. The following brief report (over wechat) is from my good friend shidi. Christoph Koncz is a rising Austrian conductor, and Zee Zee a rising Chinese pianist whose real name is Zuo Zhang 左章. I recently streamed her DG albums with her Z.E.N. Piano Trio (formidable line up; E for Esther Yoo and N for Narek Nakhazaryan, all superb soloists in their own right) and was mightily impressed by the pianism.

"... (in Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1) She is a great pianist...really solid playing with beautiful tone from the HKCC Steinway, which says a lot about her technical ability. I am glad that l have secured the piano side seats of her 17 May recital prior to the concert tonight...

(in Brahms Symphony No. 1) Excellent. Conductor managed to change the sound of HKPO, particularly the strings, which yielded a silky and smooth tone, away from Jaap's typical pushy and heavy approach. That speaks for this conductor's talent; he is principal violin of VPO. He seated the orchestra with divided violins, bass to the right and cello in the centre, to very good effect. He delivered clear and abundant low level harmonics. It is a pity that l sat in the stalls rather than my usual balcony spot, where the sound would have been even better! All in all an excellent delivery, with a very engaged orchestra, the strings sounding delightfully European, and brass section (French horns in particular) sounding sweet and beautiful. Most would agree that this has been a very enjoyable Brahms performance!..."

In 2 weeks Shidi would go to hear her in a solo recital. I shall hear the same program in SZ 3 weeks after the HK recital. No doubt the lag is due to quarantine. It will be great to compare notes later.