Andrey Kudryakov Chen Sa

Reviews

I have been tardy in recording the few events that I have gone to, not that there were many before covid restrictions eased. The latest one was the most wonderful, so in reverse chronological order:

Dec 11, 2022, Longgang Cultural Center
Andrey Kudryakov Recital
Beethoven - Chopin - Schumann - Tchaikovsky

Finally, after a long drought, a concert near home (Longgang is close to a cultural desert)! This took place not in the larger hall, but in the more intimate smaller one on the fourth floor. Very nice hall!

I must say, given that I pay especially close attention to Russian musicians, I have never heard of him before. During this narrow window, there are 2 more Russian pianists playing around the city, one in the very faraway Bay Opera.

Andrey Kudryakov, a veteran and prize winner of competitions, is staff at some conservatory (I think Moscow? And I think in China too). He also judged at the 2020 Prokofiev International Competition. A little more info here in English and short interview in Chinese.

Barely into the first piece, Beethoven’s Op 31/2, “The Tempest”. I already knew I was in good hands for the evening. Here was a pianist with perfectly calibrated technique as well as sensibility! Nothing seemed forced or artificial. In this sonata relative calm is tempered by raging storms, and the pianist did not overdo anything. Then followed perfect renditions of Chopin’s Scherzo No.2 and Ballade No. 4, where again delicate moments co-exist naturally with sturm und drang passages. The pianist never played to the galleries for effect, yet he was more successful that most others more famous than him in keeping the drama unfolding. The Schumann Fantasiestucke was rich and alive, but not stretched here and there for no good reasons (hallmark of bad Schumann players).

The second half was the complete Tchaikovsky “Seasons”. Most listeners likely know a couple of them only, and I had trepidations before it started. I could never finish the cycle on my home equipment, but hearing it live is different, and the pianist was as good a messenger as one could have wished. In fact, I’d go hear him play anything, anytime.

Encore was a "concert paraphrase" of the Yellow River Concerto.

It occurred to me that, with the possible exception of Beethoven, the music played all had more elements of fantasy than structure. It’s a tribute to the pianist that while exploring all the poetry and colors on offer, he kept a tight rein and trajectory. Just marvelous!

I was sitting on an incline in the middle of the hall. The hall sound seemed to me just a little too reverberant and bass-heavy, though the pianist’s utter clarity ameliorated this to a large extent.

Come back to SZ! Come back to Longgang! You have a fan waiting!


Aug 19, 2022, Bay Opera
Chen Sa 陈萨and Friends
Schumann - Mozart - Mahler

I have too long neglected to record this concert (as well as the entry below). It’s been too far away in time to write in great details.

Chen Sa is a known entity and she played expertly. Equally gratifying were the 5 string players of the Youth Strings Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, marvelous and idiomatic across the board, with a particularly luscious sound from the viola. While the Schumann Piano Quintet and Mozart Piano Concerto No. 14 (arranged by Ignaz Lachner) were both very good, the prize was the last piece, Mahler’s youthful Piano Quartet. It should be played more often, here rendered with great colors and passion.

The hall is the smaller multi-function one and had reasonable sonics. I was seated mid-row. However this concert was relayed sometime later on the internet. I streamed at home and enjoyed the sound better than in the concert hall (my equipment are good)! The vagaries of concert seating!

We need more chamber music concerts of good caliber!


Aug 13, 2022, Longgang Cultural Center
Xie Xin 谢欣
一撇一捺

Xie is one of the more famous modern dancers in China, and her company here has travelled abroad to acclaim. This was a recent work but not a new one. Techniques incorporate western and eastern elements. The dancers were all very good but I found the choreography (and lighting) a little too four square and repetitive.

Mahler 7

Concert Review: Mahler 7th

July 16, 2022, Shenzhen Concert Hall
Shenzhen Symphony - Lin Daye
Mahler

After a period of cancellation and changes, SZSO finally mounted its last concert of the season. The program was originally scheduled to be on the day before and conducted by Li Xin Cao. But I am glad it happened anyway under director Lin Daye, who had previously established his Mahlerian credential in several concerts (1st, 5th and 6th).

Lin conducted in his customary incisive manner. The outer movements fared the best, with steadfast build-ups culminating in impressive climaxes, especially the final movement. The second and third movements were carefully sculpted, but I wished for a bit more fantasy (in this most enigmatic of Mahler’s symphonies). The slow movement showcased some lovely string playing and tenderness but, to me, also brought forth the less desirable aspect of divided violins. The second violins seemed lacking in power compared to the first (it is notable the regular section leader, the Ukranian Lesya Kot, was not present).

It had never occurred to me how similar the 7th is in layout to the 5th. But during the live performance (not so often in concert programs) it is more than obvious. And the difficulties in interpretation, especially in distinguishing the 2nd and 3rd movements, are also similar. One could always wish for more, but it was a very fine effort that everyone should be proud of, and it was obvious on the beaming faces of the players at conclusion. They fully deserved a rousing ovation.

Moscow Trained Chinese Conductor and Ukrainian Soloist

Concert Review: Moscow Trained Chinese Conductor and Ukrainian Soloist

June 6, 2022, Shenzhen Concert Hall
Shenzhen Symphony, Zhang Guoyong 张国勇, Lesya Kot
Prokofiev and Mahler

Click pic to enlarge.

Finally, a real concert one can sink one’s teeth into! Given my admiration for conductor Zhang Guoyong, my expectations were high but only partially fulfilled.

I have heard Zhang many times, and shall never forget his valedictory Shostakovich with the same orchestra in 2010 (my review in Chinese only; if you read Chinese, I urge you to read it as it contains much info). He was his own unflappable self, but on this occasion seemingly a little more animated than usual. The gargantuan Mahler 5th unfolded naturally, with firm control of its sprawling elements and gear shifts. Colossal sounds were unleashed at the climaxes (the most cataclysmic I have heard from this orchestra) but as things went on one could not help feel something was amiss. The opening Funeral March lacked a heavy footstep (when called for). The following movement and Scherzo lacked fantastical elements and were not sufficiently differentiated from each other (admittedly not an easy task). The Adagietto went very well and brought some respite, but the Rondo-Finale imho was not successful in conveying the repeated stop and go quality of the music, as it lacked true romp that a rondo must possess.

Mind you, it was still very good, but for many of us steeped in decades of Mahler performances, a structurally sound and well executed performance that is on the literal side (like this one and the HKPO under Sinaisky in 2014) is not going to totally satisfy (but it’s better than the flaccid one by BSO/Nelsons I heard in NYC). Mahler may not always need the kind of angst Bernstein brings, but the music certainly needs a little tug here, a little agogic accent there - in other words, a little manipulation. In this respect, the performance last year by director Lin Daye had more fire, momentum and a sense of the macabre.

I was seated to the left, a little more more upfront than my usual seats, and the sound was not quite the same as what I have been used to. Lovely bass, but coarser and louder winds and brass. I shall listen again to the broadcast (aerial mikes, 3, + 2 in tandem) on 6/18 and see what’s the difference. I bet it’s very interesting. I doubt it will revise my views but I shall post an addendum then.

What’s even more interesting was the unusual opener, Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2. Now, Prokofiev was Ukrainian-born, from the currently conflicted Donetsk region (which has an airport to his name). It’s important to know he spent his substantial musical life in Moscow, both in his formative years (around the Revolution and Civil War) and upon his hard decision to return from the West many years later to Soviet Russia. Although many regard Prokofiev as a Soviet composer, and though he had won occasional governmental recognition, he had also been blacklisted and lived in fear, as Shostakovich had. It is also important to recall that many brilliant Russian-Jewish artists, like Rostropovich, Oistrakh and members of the Borodin Quartet, worked as closely with him as with Shostakovich in bringing forth the many masterpieces they wrote. Prokofiev's life is fascinating, and this Britannica entry is very good place to start.

Conductor Zhang Guoyong, like many Chinese conductors, studied in Moscow. He was a star pupil of the very great Gennadhi Rozhdestventsky. I have heard Zhang many times in recent years, and he is an excellent conductor (though Mahler may not be his forte)!

The choice of soloist is even more interesting. Lesya Kot is Ukranian, and Principal Second Violin of the SZSO (mind you, SZSO have always had Russian and Ukrainian musicians). There is not much info on her anywhere. Chinese Sohu (here) has the following:

1993年出生于乌克兰基辅，3岁学习小提琴，7岁被基辅米可拉李森科天才音乐学校录取，16岁破格考入德国汉堡音乐与戏剧学院，师从Christoph Schickedanz教授，23岁满分毕业取得小提琴演奏硕士学位并受聘于德国北德广播易北爱乐乐团，柏林国家歌剧院。

蕾西娅·柯特8岁就与乌克兰基辅国家交响乐团合作协奏曲开始了在欧洲的职业演奏生涯，并在国际小提琴比赛中屡次获奖，包括大卫奥伊斯特拉赫国际小提琴比赛，捷克Kocian小提琴国际比赛，德国保罗欣德米特小提琴国际比赛。

My Translation: Lesya Kot was born 1993 in Kiev, Ukraine. She started learning the violin at age 3, was admitted to a Talent School at 7 (the transliteration of the school's name sounds like Michaela Lischenko) and first performed with the Ukraine National Symphony at 8. At 16, she was admitted to Hamburg Conservatory and studied under Christoph Schickedanz. She graduated with a master's degree and Top Honors at 23. She has worked for the NDR Elbphilharmonie and Berlin Staatsoper. She had won prizes at several prestigious International Competitions, including the David Oistrakh, Kocian and Paul Hindemeth.

Now, readers of tea leaves, does that tell us something about the political stance of China, SZSO, Zhang or Lesya Kot? Add to this the very strange poster design. We can forget about the totally inapt name “Back to Nature". However, why is Zhang's face half in the dark?

Back to the music. Though not perfect, the soloist played very well and as expected was thoroughly into the idiom. The orchestra was not big but the brass and woodwinds sometimes covered up her tone. Nonetheless, I very much appreciate her authenticity (much more than many a more famous names). A very good performance for which she received generous applause.

On 6/18, 8 pm, the concert shall be broadcast “direct” 直播 on Bilibili.

Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra Recorded Concerts

Click pics to enlarge: Top, Principals Winds; Clarinet, Zuo Cheng 左丞; Bassoon, Hsieh Ming-Ching 谢明静; Flute (assistant P) Rao Dan 饶丹; Oboe, Cui Xiaozheng 崔晓峥. In my view, the SZSO winds are fabulous and coherent, a feeling I never get with the HKPO.

Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra Recorded Concerts (and more)

It has been a frustrating few months for the SZ concertgoer. Ever since Hong Kong’s massive Covid Fifth Wave (Omicron) started and spilled over into China, Shenzhen has gone into constant cycles of alert: massive testing mode, imposition of restrictions, and cancellation of concerts, including 2 that I most look forward to, Bruckner 7th and 4th. :-(

So nothing for a while, but suddenly, for the past weeks, SZSO has gone active on the internet, and in quick succession offered many recorded concerts for streaming. The programs so far overlap with but do not exactly match those of the canceled concerts. So some of these were planned anew and carried out expediently, and many are works the orchestra had played before. These were recorded mostly not in their main performing venue, the Shenzhen Concert Hall, but in an unspecified hall, likely their headquarter in SZ (Luohu area).

The administration of the SZSO exasperates me. These concerts were announced almost last minute on their Official Account (公众号) on wechat, and one better subscribes to it to receive the news. Incidentally, they seem to have finally revamped their long dilapidated Official Webpage, and it looks better than before (here and here), but I have little faith they will keep it consistently updated (China has basically abandoned the web and focused on smart phones apps - many things can be found only through cellphone apps and wechat official accounts).

These videos were recorded live without an audience, and cast on Bilibili.com (which I use, as I have its app on my Windows laptop) or Wechat and 小红书, usually at the concert time of 8 pm. Some become permanently available later, some are not - there’s no rationale to it (perhaps some are held back because the conductor is not satisfied? I wonder). Here are archived videos and here is the Live Room (only when there is a cast). I am not sure the links will work; if not try searching in Chinese 深圳交响乐团 ). Here are a few I listened to:

4/17 Conductor Lin Daye 林大叶
2012 winner of the prestigious Solti International Competition, Lin is Musical Director of the SZSO. So far I have been very happy with him, live as well as, as we shall see, virtually. This Mahler is creme de la creme.

Concert started with a (Chinese Award Winning) tone poem of veteran Ye Xiaogang (美丽乡村), which SZSO had played before and available on Bilibili. (I am indifferent to the vast number of tone poems by modern composers, which come with meaningless notes in concert). And then, Mahler Symphony No.1, in a Titanic performance (punt intended)! The orchestra was well nigh perfect, and amazingly thoroughly into the idiom. Interestingly, Lin adhered to the Viennese orchestral placement, with divided violins, and the brass stood up for the rousing finale. And the orchestral playing had more than a little Viennese feeling to it, especially the beautiful strings. Lin has again proven himself as a excellent Mahlerian (I attended his very good M5, each of the 5 movements irritatingly available separately on Bilibili: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; note the Hall is not the Shenzhen Concert Hall, but the Bay Opera Concert Hall). This performance of the M1 was much more impressive than Jaap van Zweden 10 years ago (I watched his RTHK Telecast with the HKPO before attending his concert with the NYPO).

I “attended” this concert “together” with shidi, Andrew (in HK). I am glad he scrambled last minute and enjoyed it! While listening, we were texting on wechat, commenting in real time on aspects of performance (and the great looking ladies) - it was simply great, and he said next time he’s going to have wine and nuts around. Try this with a friend! Even over distance, we had this camaraderie feeling, not easy to come by these days!

The great Mahler is now available on Bilibili for viewing (here). I urge you to do so.

4/14 Conductor Lin Daye
Concert opened with Bruch Violin Concerto No.1. Soloist Wu Qian 吴倩, a SZ local, was better than her performance of a year ago (here). Orchestral contribution was excellent. Amazingly, I found out she’s now one of the tutti first violins! Perhaps the experience has already helped her. In the Mahler 1st video (link above) she can be seen behind the concertmaster, next to a beautiful lady with pony-tail.

Then followed, amen for making up for the canceled concert, the Bruckner Symphony No.4. Just like the Mahler (above), it was a highly satisfying, thoroughly idiomatic performance. The difficult 4th movement was structurally sound and well controlled. Bravo!

This concert is unfortunately not available for replay at the moment on Bilibili.com. I wonder why!

3/4 Conductor Huang Yi 黄屹
This young conductor (bio here) has risen incredibly fast in China. He’s now one of the Principal Conductors of China Philharmonic, Chief Conductor of the National Ballet Symphony Orchestra (Beijing) and Artistic Director of the Nie Er 聂耳Symphony Orchestra (Kunming).

Concert started with a well turned Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite. The neoclassical style continued with Francaix’s excellent but little played L’Horloge de Flore for Oboe and Orchestra, expertly played by veteran Oboist Chen Qing 陈擎 (now head 团长of the Quanzhou Symphony). Then followed a disciplined Brahms 4th, ending a highly satisfying concert.

The Stravinsky is available on Bilibili (here) whereas the Francaix is not. The Brahms is not either, but the last 2 movements are available in an educational program (here, with a host introducing the pieces, sort of like a pre-concert talk; likely shot just before the performance of the whole symphony). Cut out the other stuff and start at 36:45.

June 2021

Duly impressed by the young conductor, I searched for other videos. Lo and behold, there was a concert last year  (here), which I regret I had missed! Damn! It started with Wagner Meistersinger Overture, which I had heard the SZSO play under their former director, Ehwald (here). At 17’ came the Saint Saens Violin Concerto No.3 (don’t know who’s the competent soloist). But the real meat came at 59’ for Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Most of us know this warhorse inside out, and I can say nothing much has perked up my ears this past decade, but the way Huang judiciously point and punctuate the music here and there is mightily impressive. One of the best accounts I have heard for a long time.

Hungry for more, I dug out his Dvorak Symphony No.9 with the Kunming Symphony (here). The video is subpar and the orchestra made mistakes (so not for everyone) but the overall narrative and flow was impressive. A young man to watch!

4/6 Conductor Lin Daye
Concert started with Haydn Trumpet Concerto (here), perfectly played by the Principal, but a little more smiling would not be amiss (lack of audience is probably worst for a soloist). Then came a chaste and properly turned Prokofiev Classical Symphony (here). It showed off the strings, anchored by the excellent playing of Concertmaster Guo Shuai 郭帅. Last was Copland Apalachian Spring (here), which was decently played, but lacking a little in a sense of the theater to bring it completely to life. For Lin, a good concert but not on the level of his Mahler and Bruckner, or Strauss.

Most of the above I watched at the designated “Live” Cast hour. And then I went back and streamed a few more.

4/2 Conductor Liu Min 刘明
This reduced orchestra concert displayed unusually mature Mozart playing. You would be amazed how many western orchestras often cannot do Mozart with style as good as livered here! The ensemble is really small for the lovely Divertimento No. 11 in D K251 (here). More strings were employed (just the right number for me) for one of Mozart’s best symphonies, the sunny Symphony No. 29 (here). In between is the Piano Concerto No. 12 in A (here). Veteran pianist Yuan Fang 袁芳 is a SZ fixture (often as host in interviews and pre-concert talks). She played simply and directly. The whole thing is intimate and very enjoyable.

2/25 Conductor Zhao Xiaoou 赵晓鸥
The young conductor is associate professor at the Shanghai Conservatory and director of the (very important) Music Middle School under the Conservatory (like the Juilliard Pre-College). Kodaly Dances of Galanta was very well played and enjoyable. Most importantly, it had a good Hungarian and Gypsy flavor, so often missing in performances and recordings. As with most of the modern works, Shi Yongkang’s Memento for French Horn and Orchestra (played steadily by Gu Cong) was dispensable for me. Fortunately, concert ended on a high note with Dvorak Symphony No. 8, which was given a fluid performance of considerable merit. It balanced classical virtues with passion when needed. Everything just flowed naturally (starts at 35:26).

I am not sure readers in HK or the West can access these videos, but I have culled some of the best ones here, and I hope someone can enjoy.

The incomparablePrincipal Cellist, Karen Kocharyan

Unfaltering Principal Horn XuYiqi 徐毅奇

Concertmaster Guo Shuai 郭帅

Swan Lake

 

Click pics to enlarge. Above, note the locked feet in the corps. Below, the esplanade.

Jan 3, 2022, Bay Opera, Opera House
Shanghai Ballet
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake, Grand Version

With Chinese New Year on the horizon, the lockdown of Xian and a smattering of cases in many provinces surely have put immense pressure on Chinese health officials. Miracle of miracles, a string of performances in Shenzhen, at the Bay Opera, Concert Hall and Grand Theater went on as usual to end 2021 and start 2022. Shenzhen Art lovers had been well served! If not for living so far away, I’d have attended more of those performances, particularly those of the National Beijing Opera (traditional Chinese opera).

I’ll have it out: this was a miraculous performance that will remain in my memory for a long time. True to its name, it was Grand indeed.

The choreographer is English Derek Deane, who used to lead the English National Ballet. This ballet is well travelled and has had many versions and revisions over the years, even an amazing one “in the round” (Derek Deane on 20 years in the Round). English critics were not at all completely impressed, at least equivocal, in their reviews. Witness the Guardian 2016 Review.

This Ballet is one of Shanghai Ballet’s signature pieces and they have taken it on the road often, to great accolades. The SB’s official website (Chinese, English) quotes a Dutch review. Damn! This very production actually toured NYC in 2020, at the start of the pandemic! I don’t usually closely follow ballet so I missed out! Doubly regrettable since it had the estimable City Ballet orchestra in the pit (their excellent Christmas Nutcracker run is a NYC institution). This 2020 Review of NYC performance is excellent, and I urge you to read it as it pretty much sums up my feelings.

I watched the “matinee” performance, as it made the 2 hour travelling each way more manageable. It was a magnificent day and I took in the nearby waterfront like a fish to water. It was reminiscent of Hong Kong, but the air was better and there were less people (even on a holiday), enabling a more leisurely feel.

The leads were performed by the second cast of Feng Zichun 冯子纯 (Odette/Odile) and Tu Hangbin 涂汉彬 (Siegfried). The night before, they were performed by the better known pair seen in NYC and Europe.

The choreography, not so much for the leads than for the corps, is more stylized and geometrically patterned than more traditional versions (here my cheap concession ticket in the balcony, with its aerial view, actually confers an advantage). It was certainly a completely different viewing experience than the ABT and the Russian one I watched decades ago at City Center (NYC). The leads, especially Feng, danced beautifully, technically perfect (axial alignments of the limbs, even in turmoil, as in being snatched by Rothbart, were something to marvel at, not a whit less impressive than her Western counterparts,) even if slightly reticent in emotional expression, particularly as Odile (she is very young). But, of course, for this ballet, the corps have the pivotal role (punt intended). And it is here that the immensely high standard of the Shanghai Ballet manifests itself. Despite the height disadvantage when compared to Western corps, they are truly outstanding, the synchronicity truly astonishing, especially for such a large corps (48 swans in the corps! hence the name “Grand Version”). The way the members daisy-chained and locked their feet against each other (see pic above) was ravishingly beautiful. As was the way they folded themselves on the ground (for Odette, this also signifies hurt). The patterning are purposeful, as they do remind one of flocks of swans, some pronate and some standing. Rigorously regimented as it may be, the beauty is enormous, and is a case of function (emotional expression) following form. I urge you to watch some video clips. There is strangely nothing much on youtube, though there may be more from English troupes like the ENB, which I have not had time to investigate yet. On Chinese Bilibili there are some footages, but they are rather crude in quality:

Excerpts: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1LA411e76h/?spm_id_from=333.788.videocard.7

Act III and IV (I and II not available): https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV19q4y1N7Tk?from=search&seid=345722668198498571&spm_id_from=333.337.0.0

Credit must be given to the Set and Costume designer, Peter Farmer. Indeed, when the curtain first lifted, I was under the impression that I was watching a Watteau painting! Of course, that would not have happened without the aid of the superb Lighting by Howard Harrison. A complete triumph for production values.

Classical Ballet is thriving in China, and many provinces have their own troupes. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Liaoning Ballet presented a more traditional Swan Lake. I’d love to have seen it, but one must choose sometimes. The 2 ladies in front of me said the Liaoning moved along more and was more dramatic (likely with cuts). Shenzhen doesn’t have that many full-length ballets, so it’s really unfortunate that these 2 troups duplicate repertoire. That’s a common occurrence even in event-rich cities like NYC, where one could hear several Mahler 5th’ in one year without the other ones.

I love ballet, but I love even more classical music, so my views are dependent also on the musical contribution. So, as in Opera, I am selective. In Ballet, For Tchaikovsky, even if I love musically the most Swan Lake, and I frequently play the whole thing through my audio system, I do think its set pieces, various Pas de Deux (or Trois or Quatre etc) are not as enticing as the Nutcracker, but its almost Wagnerian apotheoses are eminently thrilling. I have still to get into Sleeping Beauty. Otherwise, my hands down favorite is Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, which moves along more than Tchaikovsky’s creations. Ballet is a product of the Romantic era, but acts like Delibes’ Sylvia and Coppelia, good as they are here and there, in inspiration fail to sustain an evening, and are frankly not up to the standards of Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev. I otherwise rather prefer more recent neoclassical choreographers, like Balanchine, who knew his classical music, be it Bach or Stravinsky.

As intimated above, a good Ballet orchestra is an asset. Regrettably, perhaps due to pandemic concerns (just the company without musicians was 100+) this performance was to a taped soundtrack. It was decently performed and the sound was “reasonable” (identifiably solid state and digital) but of course it was not at all like the real thing. There were small gaps which allowed the audience to clap for the performers. This was good. The team all deserved it. Ah, but a live orchestra would have enhanced it beyond measure. Given that the Shanghai environs have some smattering cases, I have no complaints, and are grateful that the performance happened at all.

A Remarkable Success! It is also a testament to the quality of Tchaikovsky’s score, which, no matter your viewpoint, is a masterpiece.