ASO adept at capturing nuances of Chinese music

Reviews by Stephen Whittington, The Advertiser 11/02/2019

The advent of the Year of the Pig was celebrated in fine style by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

The orchestra presented an immaculately designed production and a cleverly planned program. To begin with LI Huanzhi's Spring Festival Overture was no surprise.

To follow it with Die Fledermaus Overture by Johann Strauss jr. might be unexpected, but the bat ('Fledermaus') is potent lucky symbol in Chinese culture.

That the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is becoming increasingly adept at capturing the inflections and nuances of Chinese music was revealed in the folk song The Brilliant Red Flowers of Shandandan, and in the tense and absorbing drama of The Rhyme of Taigu By the highly regarded composer Zhou Long.

Tchaikovsky is the most performed Western composer in China, thanks to enduring Russian influence.

Cellist Lei-Wei Qin was the superb soloist in his Variations on a Rococo Theme. With a beautiful sound and superb command of the instrument, his playing was the perfect blend of elegance and passion.

Another Chinese Australian, violinist Harmonnia Junus was soloist in The Butterfly Lovers Concerto. Her lyrical, refined playing captured the emotional tone of the music admirably.

The official program ended with the rousing finale to Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony, featured in the soundtrack of Babe - it's the Year of the Pig after all.

Firecrackers, showers of golden confetti and two Chinese encores brought this very successful event to a satisfying conclusion in keeping with the spirit of China's most important festival.