Review | Hong Kong Philharmonic’s uplifting Beethoven 7th Symphony under Jaap van Zweden’s baton gets 2021/22 season under way
- Orchestra marks the return to the rostrum of its music director with a sublime performance from concertmaster Jing Wang in Beethoven’s violin concerto
- A new commission, Old Bei, about China and Beethoven, lacks balance – and initially so did the orchestra in composer’s 7th symphony, before a rousing finale
The concert began with Old Bei (an affectionate name for Beethoven in China), a new commission by composer Raymond Yiu which quotes familiar passages by Beethoven verbatim, alongside materials representative of a range of musical styles from different ages, including segments of the Chinese National anthem and the left-wing anthem Internationale.
It began promisingly with a mesmerising statement from flautist Megan Sterling that bloomed into an interplay with the other woodwinds. The first of the direct quotes (from the Fifth Symphony) popped up in comical fashion, but subsequent reproductions of Beethoven became lengthier and more frequent; the result was a work that felt like a patchwork of ideas and somewhat piecemeal.
The work is premised on the complex relationship between China and Beethoven, but the symbolism is not convincingly realised. Perhaps a more contemplative reinvention of the German materials rather than direct quotation could have better exposed that relationship.
Nevertheless, the canvas of emotions – from the grand to the playful – was executed well and ushered us towards more serious fare.
The first movement of Beethoven’s only violin concerto has a meandering structure, and to make sense of it the soloist needs to communicate a functional understanding and illuminate broader connections.
