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Robin Zebaida

In the opinion of many, J.S. Bach is the greatest composer bar none. Just one of the manifestations of his pre-eminence was his seamless blend of musical tradition and innovation.
He was remarkably ahead of his time. An inveterate and unapologetic recycler, he still astounds us with his ability to arrange and reuse materials. Bach was never one to let a good tune go to waste – neither his own, nor those of his great contemporaries.
As I well remember from the 1960s Ladybird Books’ series Lives of the Great Composers, the 10-year-old Bach honed his craft by spending the wee hours secretly copying out reams of Pachelbel and Froberger by candlelight.
The four keyboard concertos that were on offer at the July 27 concert by the New Hong Kong Philharmonia (NHKP), ably directed by Harty Tam with soloist Colleen Lee, were examples of how he recycled his own material.
The Keyboard Concerto in D minor is an adaptation of Bach’s violin concerto in the same key; Keyboard Concerto in F minor is also familiar as an oboe concerto in G minor, while Keyboard Concerto in G minor is recognisable to every serious string student as an arrangement of a violin concerto in A minor.
Though described as a baroque ensemble, NHKP played on modern instruments, if only to match the magisterial Steinway Model D on the stage, and were attractively arranged in an acoustically balanced, widely spaced semicircle strangely reminiscent of Covid-era social distancing.

The orchestra players were worthy and sensitive accompanists – and momentary blips in otherwise scrupulous ensemble and rhythmic rigour at the start of the Brandenburg Concerto No 3 were more than compensated for by youthful dynamism, vigour and rich, well-balanced tone.
Lee, a prize-winning finalist at the 15th International Chopin Competition in Poland in 2005, whom I have had the pleasure of hearing several times in the past decade in a remarkably wide repertoire, was on top form in this most exacting music.
One notable feature of all four concertos was that the tempi for the outer, fast movements were pleasingly relaxed and restrained.
The opening movements of both the Keyboard Concerto in D minor and D major were full of rhythmic punch and almost Handelian pomp. The finale of the Keyboard Concerto in D minor was distinguished by crisp, anapaestic patterns and bouncily crisp articulation on the piano that never crossed the line into spikiness.
It was a breath of fresh air to hear playing at a tempo where rhythms were really grounded, and which opened up a new spectrum of creative potential.
Throughout the cycle, Lee rigorously set out tastefully stylistic, dynamic and emotional boundaries, then exploited every musical possibility within those limits. She excelled in the many sequences where Bach repeats the same material, taking the listener through a seemingly endless stream of keys and somehow managing to find different shades of nuance and meaning for each iteration. Quite magical!

Another highlight was the slow movement of the F minor concerto. Here, the plucked strings accompanying a sinuous melody immediately brought to mind a famous series of 1970s British cigar adverts with Air on the G string playing in the background.
Lee wove an elegantly sophisticated and expressive melodic line. She amply justified the slower tempi by exploiting the expressive potential not so readily available on original instruments.
This movement was delightfully encored, finishing on a tantalising imperfect (unfinished) cadence, as if to coax the audience into booking for NHKP’s next concert – a reminder perhaps of the sagacious advice to young performers: “Leave your audience before your audience leaves you.” I’ll certainly be there at the next one.
“Colleen Lee Plays Bach’s Keyboard Concertos”, New Hong Kong Philharmonia, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Reviewed: July 27.


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Colleen Lee and the New Hong Kong Philharmonia played variations of violin and oboe concertos in an energetic and elegant presentation


Colleen Lee and the New Hong Kong Philharmonia played variations of violin and oboe concertos in an energetic and elegant presentation.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Colleen Lee and the New Hong Kong Philharmonia played variations of violin and oboe concertos in an energetic and elegant presentation

Colleen Lee and the New Hong Kong Philharmonia played variations of violin and oboe concertos in an energetic and elegant presentation