City Hall October 11

Serious recorder music is all too rare. But anyone who doubted that the wind instrument could be a legitimate solo instrument would have been proven very wrong on Sunday night. Michala Petri the much-lauded Danish recorder player, showed an enthralled packed City Hall what a diverse and spectacular solo instrument the recorder can be, as she took centre stage in a wonderful, florid, and joyous celebration of City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s first decade.

Before the interval, Petri joined the orchestra for Vivaldi’s Concerto for Flautino in C Major, one of the few composers who wrote regularly for the wind instrument. With her positively miniscule sopranino recorder, Petri’s lines drifted along, both bird- and dream-like, always supremely in control of the breathless, continuous semiquaver and canyon-esque leaps.

The highlight of the evening came after the interval however, with the world premiere of Richard Harvey’s Concerto Incantato, a work written specifically for this concert and for Michala Petri and five (or perhaps it was six?) of her recorders, ranging from the deeper, rounder tenor, to the twinkling sopranino. Described by the composer himself in the program notes as “a concerto for the Harry Potter generation”, Harvey’s work brings together a broad range of musical influences. The lengthy, five movement work, draws heavily on his background in cinematic music, particularly fantasy and sci-fi soundtracks, oozing walls of warm string harmony and a distinct story-telling quality – a highly consumable work commandingly performed. And most entertainingly, Harvey’s prowess with the recorder stunned the audience, as he pulled a recorder from his pocket and joined Petri in a fun and upbeat encore.

Haydn’s first Sturm und Drang symphony, no 39 in G minor, opened the concert; Sibelius’ orchestral adaptation of two of his piano impromptus followed. And Astor Piazzola’s sensual Tangazo ended the evening. But by that point, much of the audience’s attention was still, perhaps emotionally, in the joy of the Harvey / Petri duet.

Overall, the concert was a fine tribute to the CCOHK’s first decade – a testament to what they have built over their first years, and a more than promising start to the next.

The concert will be broadcast on RTHK 4 on Friday October 16 at 8pm.