Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre /
Hong Kong /
Jul 5, 2024 /
Ernest Wan /

On 4 July, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra announced that the 24-year-old conductor Tarmo Peltokoski, of Finnish and Filipino descent, will become its music director in the 2026/27 season. Peltokoski had previously conducted the HK Phil in only one programme, in June 2023; following the announcement, his second ever engagement with the orchestra, which took place the very next day, was eagerly anticipated as an event offering nothing less than a glimpse into the orchestra’s future.

This concert of new-found significance was ushered in by the muted first notes of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 2 (1913, revamped 1923), with Seong-Jin Cho as soloist. The 30-year-old South Korean pianist loaded that unassuming opening theme with portent in the first movement’s huge, dense cadenza – which he performed with exceptional clarity – and thus lent its fearsome subsequent tutti restatement a sense of inevitability. In the intermezzo, which plods away like futurist machinery, Peltokoski savoured its many weird sounds, such as the loud low trill in the oboes near the start, executed with their bells up. In a delightful surprise, he had the movement’s pianissimoclose segue into the riotous fortissimobeginning of the finale, which was played extremely fast. Cho’s large leaps in this tempo were breathtaking.

While abrupt changes in tempo, dynamics and texture generated much excitement also in Peltokoski’s fleet account of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (1902) in the second half of the concert, his handling of numerous passages that call for subtle shifts and smooth transitions, as in the flexibly sculpted adagietto and the incrementally accelerating coda of the scherzo, commanded still greater respect. At his generally high speeds – the entire performance lasted just 65 minutes – some momentous passages, especially those in the opening Trauermarsch, had perhaps less weight and hence emotional impact than contemporary audiences are accustomed to, but impressed both by the host of clearly audible details and by the conductor’s sober restraint. Apropos of speed, listeners might think that he turned the rondo-finale’s last bars into a mad dash, but he simply observed the prestomarking there that few others do. His mastery of the score and attention to detail were nowhere more evident than in the kaleidoscopic scherzo: the curt fortissimobelch on a single low E by all three clarinets amid quiet, delicate, molto espressivochamber music in the middle of the movement was signal enough of his grasp of Mahler’s phantasmagoric sound world. The musicians played with gusto throughout for the incoming music director.

At the previous day’s press conference, Peltokoski was repeatedly asked to articulate his vision of and aspirations with the orchestra under his future leadership, but stated little other than his intention to programme interesting and neglected works in the repertoire. Nevertheless, it’s a gratifying thought that the conductor’s honest, insightful music-making in this concert, so rich in interesting and neglected details, will characterise his work to come in Hong Kong.

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香港文化中心音樂廳
香港
2024年7月5日

香港管弦樂團於7月4日宣布，現年24歲的芬菲混血指揮家佩多高斯基將由2026/27樂季起出任樂團音樂總監。此前，佩多高斯基只在2023年6月指揮過港樂一次。他在消息公佈的翌日第二度與樂團合作，外界非常期待，希望趁這個機會窺探樂團未來的發展。

這場具備新意義的音樂會，以浦羅哥菲夫《第二鋼琴協奏曲》（1913年創作，1923年重組）低沉的首個音符揭開序幕，由趙成珍擔任鋼琴獨奏。這位30歲的韓國鋼琴家在第一樂章長篇密集的華采樂段中，以出色的清晰度為不起眼的開場主題給了預兆，從而令隨後重現的可怕齊奏變得無可避免。在第二樂章中，音樂沉重地行進，如同未來主義的機器一樣。佩多高斯基很享受各種奇特的聲音，例如開頭雙簧管以仰頭舉起喇叭口的方式演奏的響亮低音震音。出奇的是他以極快的速度，將樂章極弱的結尾與末樂章極強的開頭無縫銜接。在這種速度下，趙成珍的大跨度跳躍令人嘆為觀止。

音樂會下半場，佩多高斯基以明快的速度演繹了馬勒的《第五交響曲》（1902年），節奏、力度，以及和諧感的突然變化同樣激起了觀眾的熱情。他對多個需要靈活變化和平穩過渡的段落的處理更令人敬佩，例如柔韌雕琢的柔板樂章和尾聲逐漸加速的諧謔曲。他的速度一般偏快，整場演出只有65分鐘。在一些重要的段落，特別是開首的葬禮進行曲中，重量和情感影響可能不如當代觀眾所習慣的強烈，但清晰可聞的細節和指揮克制的處理都給人留下深刻的印象。說到速度，觀眾可能會覺得輪旋曲終曲的最後幾小節瘋狂的衝快，但其實他只是跟從了很少人會看的急板標記。他對樂譜的掌握和細節的留意在千變萬化的諧謔曲中表現得淋漓盡致，在樂章中段安靜、精緻、極富感情的室樂中，三支單簧管發出簡短的低音E強音，足以證明他對馬勒的奇幻音樂世界非常有把握。樂師紛紛為即將上任的音樂總監傾情演奏。

在前一天的記者招待會上，記者反覆問到佩多高斯基對樂團未來發展的願景和抱負，但他只是表示有意在曲目名單中加入有趣和不起眼的作品。不過令人欣慰的是，指揮家在這場音樂會中誠懇和眼光獨到的音樂演出，以及對有趣和被忽視細節的處理，將會是他未來香港作品的寫照。