New Releases: The Intimacy of Creativity - The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra / Bright Sheng (Naxos)

Critic: Dennis Wu

This celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology features an exciting range of music, from the string orchestra version of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht to a sequence of invigorating contemporary scores. They provide a perfect opportunity to showcase the individual and collective talents of the distinguished principals of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Two works, by Ming-Hsiu Yen and Matthew Tommasini, focus on Hong Kong’s landscape, whether majestically natural or manically urban, and the selection ends with Arvo Pärt’s modern classic, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten. (Presto Classical)