Concert Review: HKPO-Jaap-Yuja Wang

Concert Review: HKPO-Jaap-Yuja Wang

Sept 9, 2017, CCCH
HKPO-Jaap-Yuja Wang
Beethoven-Mahler

I kind of suspect, in a way, perhaps young and flamboyant Yuja Wang, one of my favorites, is trying to ape Martha Argerich, in her repertoire, that is.

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 is an Argerich staple, and she has recorded it at at least three times. I am delighted Yuja Wang elected to play this, for otherwise we would not get to hear the piece.

Yuja Wang played the piece in her customary virtuosic but non-sentimental manner, just what this classical piece needs. The orchestral contribution was secure but a little too heavy and over-inflected for my taste.

Yuja Wang played two encores. It was the first time I heard the Volodos-Say re-composition (arrangement doesn't come close to what it is) of Mozart's Turkish Rondo, and it was a delight. Then, a beautiful Gluck-Sgambatti Melodie closed the program.

I did not stay for the Mahler.

Note: I came across this excellent New Yorker article on Yuja Wang, worth a read! 

Bach, Musica Antiqua Koln and Tadao Ando

Bach, Musica Antiqua Koln and Tadao Ando
I recently chanced upon this 2007 Berlin Classics DVD of Bach's Art of the Fugue. Two things caught my attention:

-it was played by my favorite Musica Antiqua Koln, who disbanded immediately after.

-the playing took place in a building (museum) in Germany designed by Tadao Ando.

I watched it on 中秋節 and was riveted by the musical performance. After a while, the (minimalist) architectural lines under the camera's obsessive scrutiny became tedious, even narcissistic, but the magnificent music carried the day.

The director of the film speaks here.

Someone has loaded most of the video on youtube. As you know, piecing things together this way is not at all easy. At the bottom is my feeble attempt. For completeness, I urge you to buy the video.



Contrapunctus 1:



Continued:



Contrapunctus 4:



Canon a la ottava:



Contrapunctus 5:



Canon a la decima:



Contrapunctus 8 (click here; cannot embed)

Contrapunctus 9:



Contrapunctus 12:



Fuga a 2 Clavier:



Canon per augmentationem:



Contrapunctus 14: