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Ken Smith

You have to admire the gumption of a provincial teacher and church organist who, after encountering Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, decides to commit his professional life to the symphonic form.
Where almost everyone else heard Beethoven’s duration and complexity as the last word, Anton Bruckner saw an invitation to continue the discussion.
For Bruckner, the answer was not just to write longer and more complex works, but to challenge listeners’ notions of what length and complexity meant. His symphonies were monumental, with sonic heights that have long drawn comparisons to Alpine landscapes and emotional depths that palpably reach for the soul.
His musical pacing, particularly in the slower movements, often approaches the state of religious ritual.
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The challenges Bruckner faces in a fast-paced, secular world were frequently apparent on Friday, however, when Christoph Eschenbach led the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in the composer’s Fourth Symphony at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.
Under Eschenbach, Bruckner’s score became a brilliant showcase for the Philharmonic’s musicians. Rarely do individual sections particularly the brass, from the opening horn calls to fanfares in the finale – have such chances to shine. Moment by moment, the piece shimmered brilliantly.

From moment to moment, though, the performance was often problematic. It wasn’t simply the pacing – though at 65 minutes, this was one of the slower performances of Bruckner’s Fourth in recent memory – but also an inconsistent pulse that often kept the piece in place, mesmerised in the moment and neglecting momentum.
If anything, Friday night’s performance made the case that slower pacing does not necessarily mean greater profundity. For all his focus on the summits, Eschenbach neglected the valleys; where Bruckner’s much vaunted spirituality was concerned, Hong Kong listeners found not so much a contemplation amid the Austrian mountains but the glimmer from a row of empty skyscrapers.
That spirit was at odds with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto before the intermission, which, despite superb playing from the orchestra, could easily be called “The Ray Chen Show”.

Not only was the violinist’s star power – cultivated on stage and recording as well as in social media – constantly in evidence, it also coursed through the musicians on stage to the audience in the hall.
From fist-bumping Philharmonic concertmaster Jing Wang to working different sections of the crowd like a pop star, Chen played to an audience that was clearly there to see him perform (though most did stay for the Bruckner after the intermission). Soloist and conductor blissfully ignored the old sentiment that soloist and orchestra should be in opposition.
Regardless of their instrument, virtuoso soloists usually divide into two extremes: the first dispensing the music with no apparent effort, the second making the physical effort part of the musical drama. Chen, for his part, splits the difference.
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At times, his sound – to twist a metaphor – was like an angel dancing on the head of a pin; other times, he channelled the devilishness of Paganini, with the exertion (and added sounds from the bow, strings and wood) becoming part of the impact. It was not an approach to please everyone, but if Friday’s audience was a reliable gauge, it appealed to the broadest possible range.
Chen returned to the stage to perform a solo encore of Paganini’s Caprice No. 21, and followed it with the Prelude to Ysaye’s Sonata No 2, “Obsession”, both times with Eschenbach slipping into the ranks of the orchestra to listen. Even when Chen was playing alone, the evening maintained a spirit of collaboration.
“Eschenbach & Ray Chen”, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Reviewed March 31


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Christoph Eschenbach and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra receive the applause of the audience at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on March 31 after their performance of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No 4. Photo: HK Phil/Ka Lam

Under Eschenbach’s baton, sections of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra shimmered brilliantly in Bruckner’s Symphony No 4 but the pacing suffered. Photo: HK Phil/Ka Lam

Soloist Ray Chen and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra play Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on March 31. Photo: HK Phil/Ka Lam

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Yo-Yo Ma performing in Guangzhou in 2018. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

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Handout image shows Khatia & Bruckner concert in Hong Kong. [07MAY2019 FEATURES]Credit: Ka Lam / HK Phil

Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic receive the applause of the audience at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall after their triumphant performance of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. Photo: Ka Lam/HK Phil

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Conductor focused on the symphony’s summits while neglecting the valleys; although Hong Kong Philharmonic’s musicians shone, there wasn’t a consistent pulse
Earlier, the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, Ray Chen, showed his star power, alternating playing of effortless ease with Paganini-like exertions


Conductor’s reading of Bruckner’s Symphony No 4 focused on the summits at the expense of the valleys, his pacing offering Hong Kong Philharmonic sections a showcase but also an inconsistent pulse.


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