The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields live in Hong Kong


Last weekend (1st and 2nd November) saw the visit of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (ASMF) to Hong Kong,. The ensemble was led by the famous American virtuoso pianist and conductor Murray Perahia and made its appearance at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The first night's programme featured a string symphony by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 and Franz Josef Haydn's Symphony No. 94 "Surprise".

The concert was opened with Mendelssohn's String Symphony without a conductor. The violins, violas, cellos and double basses interwove with one another like an augmented string quartet. Impeccable performance was achieved thanks to the good understanding among the ensemble members and their skilled technique.

Mozart's 21st Piano Concerto is a lively, melodic work with moderate dynamic contrast. It has three movements. A broad and slow tempo was adopted in the second movement (andante). Perahia conducted from the keyboard while playing. His fingers fiddled around the keyboard like flowing water and clouds, exhibiting Mozart's otherworldly style.

The concert ended with Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony. The second movement was played with considerably wide dynamic contrast. I noticed a few people among the audience begin to doze towards diminuendo. All of a sudden the timpani played forte and scared them to jump out of their seats. I almost burst into laughter. Haydn was a playful composer, whose musical works remaining humourous throughout. This symphony was written to make fun of nobles who were used to dozing during performances.

The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (ASMF) was founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1959 as a small conductor-less string group. Performance and recording venue is based in Trafalgar Square's St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in London. The ASMF is the most recorded chamber ensemble, Innumerous recordings by Philips, Decca, Argo and EMI are available. I trust every music lover or audiophile owns at least tens of them.

While attending an audio fair in London in September 1999, I took the opportunity to tour the city. I stayed in the St. Martin-in-the-Fields for a while, only aware of this on departure! During my stay in London in 2002 there was a concert on my departure day. It was a pity I had to miss it. This time I was fortunate enough to obtain tickets for ASMF's concert with my wife.