A wonderful night you can buy, only for tomorrow

So far, tonight's concert is the second best concert i attended this year. (The very best is the trio concert featuring Shaham, Bronfman and Mork.)

Tonight's concert is part of the 3 weeks Tchaikosky festival of HKphil. Tonight we got HKphil with the pianist Simon Trpceski to play Tchaikosky's piano concerto No.1 and let the orchestra to play toe symphony no. 6 alone.

I must the whole concert is nothing but GREAT. Simon is at his best tonight. He showcasts his ability to move but not wow the audience, which i appreciate very much. He might be a bit peserved, yet he is super-moving and romantic when conducting some slow movement. HKphil's principal flute player is worth a mention who plays beautifully during the trio conversation between the piano, cello and the flute in the concerto.

But what really surpises me is Symphony no. 6. I guess playing Tchaikovsky is never easy, not becuase of huge demand on technique but on how to express emotion of the sorrow Tchaikovsky. In the first movement, i am surpised to hear how Hkphil expresses grief and swallow through its string section in a very moving way And the similar moment can also be found during the 4th movement which lead to the final silence of the whole piece.

The guest conductor Gelmetti also worths a mention. To conduct a dramatic piece like that, it's good to go for a conductor with extensive experience on opera conducting. Gelmetti as the chief conductor of Teatro dell'Opera since 2000, i observe his most frequent direction given is "Sh!!" ie. putting finger on his month. They can especially to be seen after explosive or strong movement. I guess it is one of his way to construct the dramatic effect the piece requires.

There will be one more concert tomorrow (8/7), I strongly recommend it to all of you.