Prokofiev and Yuja Wang

I am both unhappy and happy this week. I missed the performance of Krystian Zimerman on Wednesday evening! And not for lack of a ticket! It never happened before. I blame it on our electoral reforms. When I was leaving the office after an extremely busy day, one of our  secretaries told me that she would be going outside the Legislative Assembly Building to give support to the protesters and asked me if I would like to go. Then we got into a long discussion on the pros and cons of the political reform. As it was about to rain and I didn't have an umbrella, I had to hurry home before the rain started. Once home, I had so many domestic chores to attend to, bank statements and utility bills etc to be filed, junk mail to be thrown away, dirty socks and laundry to be stuffed into the washing machine but above all, I had to watch what was going on inside and outside the Legislative Assembly on the 24-hour news channel. I watched and watched and watched and completely forgot about the concert! I learned later that Mr Chu did call me at my mobile several times to remind me of the concert but my phone was dead! I failed to charge it! So I was destined to miss it!  I fully deserve to be kicked 10 times on the shin! How could I!!! Must be getting old. I got even madder at myself when Mr Chu told me last night what a superb concert it was! Will I get another chance? God knows. But I certainly missed this one!

But I got a consolation prize last night. I heard the performance of Yuja Wang. But before that I heard Symphony No. 1 in D, Opus 25 of Sergei Prokofiev by the HKPO led by a very good conductor from the PRC called Muhai Tang.  The No. 1 was a classical symphony which Prokofiev wrote with Haydn in mind. Prokofiev was a child prodigy. He wrote his first composition at 5, a first "opera" at 9 and was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory at 13! He wrote the No.1 just to prove to his tutor Glazunov, who walked out of a performance of his Scythian Suite, that he could write a symphony in the classical style, if he wanted to and not just produce those dissonant notes which the latter did not like.  But it still had some novel features in it. He said he composed it whilst walking through the fields. It was a very happy symphony and certainly one of his most popular. Many of its themes have been used in films. The first movement plunges into the main theme right from the start and then repeats it by various sections. The second contains one of the most romantic melodies ever written. The final ( in vivace molto) is really fast and furiously happy, with an inimitable lilting rhythm which ends with the full orchestra exploding in a sea of sonic joy. 

The highlight of the evening was of course the long awaited play of Yuja Wang. She entered the hall in an eye-catching and body-hugging bright red evening dress of very light material with three red bands across her shoulders and the middle of her bare back and long thin white arms. She is really slim. It looked as if she got an enormous head over a match-stick body. I can never forget how long her fingers are as portrayed on the cover photo on the Programme Notes. She certainly put them to good use. She played for us Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Op. 26 which Prokofiev first began whilst he was still a student and which he completed a decade later in Britanny after having gone through the first world war, being exiled in America before going to France to devote himself completely to composition and then premiered it in Chicago in December 1921. According to the Programme Notes, what is new in the concerto was a series of ascending parallel chords in the lst movement, 5 contrasting variations in the second, only white notes in the third. It was concerto requiring the most contrasting techniques across the whole range of the keyboard, very powerful and forceful chords amidst the fastest and lightest run of the keys. But it appeared to be a piece of cake for Yuja. It was wonderful to be able to watch her play. She appeared to enjoy every minute of it. Not only did she play with perfect technical skill. She played with both her head and her heart. As expected, the applause was thunderous. And we got two encores from her including  a waltz from Chopin. I heard the other but could not remember from what piece it was which had been played by Richter before. Needless to say, it was a tough night for my hands. I am surprised I could still use them after I was done with my clapping. But I can listen to her without further injury to my hands. I got both of her CD's , the previous Sonatas and Etudes and the recent Transformation, just released not more than 2 months ago. And she was so polite. When she bowed, which she did many many times because she had to come out more than 4 times, she would bow so low that her head reached almost the level of her knees! I never saw such a "deep" bow, from any performer!

The second part of the concert was another very popular piece:  Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, which I first heard more than 30 years ago from the make-shift hi fi room at the drug store below my now demolished home. It was one of the most picturesque pieces of programme music ever written. The 4 movements were written after the Arabian Tales of 1001 Nights: The sea and Sinbad's ship, the tale of the Kalender Prince, the Young Prince and Princess and finally the Festival at Baghdad--the Shipwreck.  Of course, it was nothing compared to Celibadache's rendition of it or even that of Gergiev but it was still quite good, although I found that it could have done with a bit more of continuity in places. It required solo passages from the first violin, oboe, clarinet and flute and the cello sections and of the lyre, which all played very well indeed. The HKPO was conducted last night by Muhai Tang, a stout and sturdy young Chinese who has been the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra since 2006. He has a very relaxed conducting style but from time to time, he would hunch his back and hold both his arms high and suddenly bring them down in lightning swift motion to emphasize where different sections or the whole of the orchestra must come down or come in whilst at other times he would let his body move up and down in tune with the lilting rhythm of the music. He uses his left hand instead of the baton, quite a lot, moving his finger in complex little waves, Gergiev like. His Prokofiev No. 1 and the Piano Concerto No, 2 were excellent. Perhaps there was insufficient time to rehearse the Scheherazade. I really have no idea. But I had absolutely no regrets to have to brave the wind and rain to attend this "compensation concert" last night!