Unique concert celebrates the SAR’s 20 th anniversary
The Hong Kong Dream concert turned out to be a happy meeting ground for people who believe in the generosity of spirit that music inspires. Presented by Global Symphony Orchestra and hosted by China Daily Hong Kong, the concert at City Hall on Wednesday night was conceived as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the country, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of the newspaper.
At the end of the day, however, the concert seemed to have achieved a lot more, bringing together musicians from as far as the Czech Republic and South Korea.
Also, between themselves, China Daily’s distinguished writers and columnists who sat in the audience were from diverse cultures, covering half the globe. The invisible thread binding the performers and the audience was that they were all invested in Hong Kong and cared for its future.
Maestro Mak Ka-lok, the founder-conductor of Global Symphony Orchestra, had composed a special piece to celebrate the founding of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, borrowing elements from both Egyptian and Chinese mythology. Mak felt The Legend of the Phoenix, based on the story of the fire bird which rises from the ashes, captured the spirit of celebrating a unified China.
“I think it was the high point of our concert,” said Mak. “One could sense the energy and the vibes touching the audience as this is a story of rebirth. The piece suggests the regeneration of all Chinese people, metaphorically speaking.”
Jiang Jing, the young tenor from Sichuan province, who sang the male part in The Legend of the Phoenix, said he was quite overwhelmed to be back in the city where he had trained at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA).
At the same time, he felt a surge of pride about his national identity as he sang the male part. He said: “I am very honored to be singing this poem at this historic moment. It inspires a genuine feeling of oneness of the Chinese people.”
Jiang’s mellifluous rendering was the perfect foil to soprano Samantha Chong’s robust, full-throated singing. Originally from Malaysia, Chong said she “grew up, musically” in Hong Kong (she too trained at HKAPA), and was very pleased to collaborate with a singer from the Chinese mainland. “There are opportunities for such collaborations in opera but The Legend of the Phoenix is a symphonic poem and it is very rare to get a chance to sing a poem in duet,” she said, enjoying her moment under the spotlight.
Koo Bon-jiu from South Korea and Karel Untermuller from the Czech Republic, who shared the stage, playing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante — a piece for violin and viola — had met only the day before. “Then that’s a musician’s life,” said Koo. “We move across cultures and play with different sets of musicians.”
“Then music has no boundaries,” said Untermuller, a bit shyly, after he had given a soulful rendition of his part, playing the viola.
“Hong Kong Dream is not just about dreaming but realizing it as well,” said Mak, in between talking to fans who appeared backstage to congratulate him for giving them an uplifting experience.