Review: Philadelphia Orchestra in Hong Kong – non-stop magic under Nézet-Séguin
Precision, controlled power, beautiful pacing and perfect solos on display in Brahms’ Symphony No 2, while Scheherazade was played with urgency, freedom and irresistible elegance
Two works, by Brahms and Rimsky-Korsakov, made for the ideal programme to bask in the Philadelphia Orchestra sound. No concerto, no overture to get in the way, just non-stop orchestral magic.
Like a great Hong Kong milk tea, the beauty of orchestral sound comes from the complex depth and blend of flavours. The rich string legato is key but so are faultless brass, singing woodwinds and crisp percussion.
The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the so-called Big Five orchestras in the United States, was founded in 1900 and formed its style under legendary leaders Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been conductor since 2012.
Nézet-Séguin’s youthful demeanour belied his serious approach to Brahms’ Symphony No 2, in which he showed himself a master of the romantic line and of forceful statements.
The Brahms No 2 is a tuneful piece, and the first movement, Allegro non troppo, kept returning to sunny, swaying waltzes, their arrivals beautifully paced.
The power of the orchestra was never raw, but revealed with control; there were no hard edges in transitions. At the endings, no cut-off was audible – the sound simply wasn’t there any more.
