Rozhdestvensky's Shostakovich with HKPO

If I was allowed to choose only one HKPO concert this new season, without a doubt, it would be the one on the previous Saturday, when the Russian legendary conductor Rozhdestvensky gave us the memorable performance of Shostakovich's symphony no.10 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. I'm glad that I didn't miss it. And I feel pity for the local music lovers who didn't go and witness such a Russian master (who had lived through Stalin's tyranny and could probably understand Shostakovich's music in a deeper level) in transforming our local orchestra and giving an outstanding interpretation of the work here.

Honestly, I was at first a bit hesitant about it and even skeptical about such a 78-year-old Maestro's mental acuity and physical agility in leading an orchestra on stage (a mental picture of the very old Celibidache conducting the Munchner Philharmoniker from a sitting position playing slowly the Beethoven's fifth in HK a long time ago unavoidably spring to my mind). Although Rozhdestvensky was similarly in favour of the slower tempo overall, he obviously has a very clear mind and can conduct efficiently with the minimal limb movements and gestures. Not standing on the conductor's platform on stage and reading carefully the musical score in front of him all the way, he nevertheless showed absolute control of the whole orchestra and the music produced.

Such a well disciplined playing and nicely balanced orchestral sound was already evident from the tutti introduction at the beginning of Beethoven's violin concerto. Slower than what we used to hear, the momentum and tension of the music was never lost or hindered throughout, with the orchestral structure tightly built up and different harmonic parts neatly revealed, which would all be lost or rushed through normally and gone unnoticed in other versions that I've heard live or on CDs. The second movement was so beautifully played by the strings that gave me goose-bumps. Dynamics, articulations and phrasings were all miraculously done that the music was profoundly touching, while the final movement was satisfactorily exciting and exhilarating regardless of its consistently slow tempo.

Sasha Rozhdestvensky, with the slow but intimate accompaniment by his father, leisurely and carefully let his violin's long solo lines unfolded step by step. He produced very sweet and warm singing tone from his expensive violin, not to mention his good foundation of technique. However, some pitch problems were noticeable along the way, and his interpretation was quite plain and straight-forward due to his "self-restraint", so he left his lustre and showmanship in the cadenza (written by Schnittke), which sounds interestingly contemporary yet very difficult to play (and I thought it even comprises some fragments from other famous violin concerto including Brahms and Shostakovich). In view of this slow tempo (almost an hour long of running time), overall he did a decent job in keeping a good flow and holding it all together without much boredom. However, I personally feel that his technique is above his musicality in this concerto, and his encore piece of Bach's gigue proved me quite right. I guess maybe some modern contemporary music would be a better choice for him.

Luckily, the Shostakovich's 10th was the one I was interested. And it not only didn't fail me, it actually exceeded my every expectation. Some people may found Maestro's adoption of an overall slow tempo a bit disappointing, especially in the finale. To me, this approach intensify the pessimistic quality of the piece as the composer wrote after Stalin's death, and I enjoyed and appreciated it. I loved it right from the gloomy introduction by the cello and then the music built up gradually in the first movement. It was tastefully subtle and slow-paced that the effect was even more frightening and intimidating. Then the brief Scherzo was played excellently with enough anger and relentless forceful drive, in which the accented harshly-bowed string sound was particularly impressive to me, not to mention the screaming woodwind and overpowering brass.

In the following Allegretto, the two contrasting dialogue music (one introspective while another the self-confident DSCH motive) inter-played and inter-wined marvelously until interrupted repeatedly by the mellow and dreamy horn solo played excellently by Mark Vines. The finale began slowly and cautiously until gradually gaining momentum and lightening the atmosphere with very good control and build-up. But what I admired most from Maestro's interpretation of this movement was the palpable underlying uncertainty and pessimism within the apparent ecstasy that the music seemed and sounded. The orchestra's playing was top-notch, with a totally upgraded String section and a stably competent woodwinds (Andrew Simon and Kam Shui both excelled in their respective solo passages here). I couldn't help but gave it a standing ovation. Bravo indeed......

This was the best Shostakovich's Symphony no.10 performance I've ever encountered (I'm starting to like this symphony more and more afterwards), and one of the best and memorable concert I've ever experienced. Considering the ticket price as well, it would definitely be the best for value concert ever in Hong Kong that I've ever attended!