While expecting the ongoing Beijing Music Festival to come to another climax with the Berlin Philharmonic's concerts on Friday and Saturday, music lovers in China's capital will not forget Edo de Waart, the Dutch conductor who set the festival off to a good start.

His baton steered the China Philharmonic Orchestra to give Sarah Chang strong support and an energetic rendition of Mahler's Symphony No 1 on October 15.

De Waart has proven that he is an orchestra builder.

Director Acclaimed

In fact, he has already demonstrated his ability to set an orchestra onto a fast developmental track with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO), after he took the position as artistic director and chief conductor in September 2004.

Stepping down from the position at Sydney Symphony Orchestra, de Waart had signed a five-year contract with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2004/05 season. He has established his own goal to bring the ensemble to become the foremost orchestra in Asia as well as to enhance classical music in Hong Kong the financial, business shopping and dining hub.

During his first year of tenure, the Hong Kong orchestra's performance has enjoyed increasingly enthusiastic critical acclaim.

"In the few months since Edo de Waart took over the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, he has transformed it, and their performance now sounds like that of a world-class orchestra. This is truly a miracle," Hong Kong-based critic Leo Lee wrote in a review published in the February 2005 issue of Ya Zhou Zhou Kan (Asiaweek).

A feedback evaluation report offered by the orchestra indicates that 63 percent of the audience "noticed wonderful improvement in Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra," a view that echoes the positive feedback gained from music critics and professionals since last September.

"Since de Waart took the baton, we have really witnessed a blossoming of this orchestra into the fine ensemble that we heard from the concerts," said Joseph Wong, the marketing manager of HKPO, who accompanied de Waart to Beijing.

"The orchestra has come a long way in a very short time under his leadership, and the future looks extremely bright."

According to Wong, the subscription of the 2005/06 season has achieved an increase of 73 percent from the previous season's subscriber numbers.

The surge reflects a renewal of audience confidence in the orchestra under the leadership of de Waart since season 2004/05, as well as the successful refinement of programming that strikes a subtle balance between artistic excellence and audience building.

"This is the result of a number of factors, the most palpable being the 'Edo Effect'," said Timothy Calnin, chief executive of HKPO. "Since his arrival at the beginning of season 04/05, Edo has led what can only be described as the renaissance of the orchestra. There's no doubt that the audience can hear the difference, and they're inspired to come back next season."

The conductor himself stresses the "craftsmanship" and "fundamental work" during an exclusive interview with China Daily early this month after his rehearsal with the China Philharmonic Orchestra.

"Each orchestra member is the craftsman of music," he said. "First, they should work hard on the techniques, which is the basic factor that influences the musical expression and performance."

Coming from a country where soccer enjoys great popularity, de Waart describes his relationship with the orchestra like that between the coach and the team.

"I have worked with many young and rising orchestras and for these orchestras, working on the fundamental things is very important," the conductor added. "I always start with the basic sounds, tones and the timbers."

Choosing Programs

Another factor contributing to his success with HKPO is the program he selects. It offers both artistically challenging projects, some best-beloved classics and contemporary music and even Broadway programs.

"There are thousands of hours of great music in the world, but every season, we have just some 40 to 50 hours, so it's always a big puzzle for the artistic director to decide the programs. But I love to make the puzzle and try to present a balanced mixture of diversity in music," he said.

"Some works are popular among concert-goers, some not so pleasant to the ears but good to the development of the orchestra, while others might be controversial. All these must be taken into consideration. And in short, we are firmly committed to bringing artistic excellence to the whole community of Hong Kong."

The 2005/06 Season has 23 programs that started on September 15 with Richard Strauss's Elektra. Last season, de Waart for the first time introduced to the Hong Kong audience the format of "opera-in-concert" with their sensational concert performance Salome.

Other highlights for this coming season include the series to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, and Shostakovich's 100th birthday. The season ends with a three-week Tchaikovsky festival, a comprehensive look at this romantic giant's late symphonies and best-loved concertos.

For this season, de Waart gives China's musicians much stage time. A total of eight soloists, including pianists Li Yundi and Rachel Cheung, cellists Wang Jian and Qin Liwei, violinists Li Chuanyun and Lu Siqing and two conductors of Chinese descent are featured in different series.

"I want to tell the Hong Kong audiences that Chinese artists have reached true excellence in the classical music arena, that they are a real force in bringing classical music to further heights in the decades to come," said the conductor.

On January 26-27, 2006, Hong Kong audiences will be able to savor for the first time Li Yundi's performance under the baton of de Waart in Liszt's First Piano Concerto. Li won the top prize at the 14th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2000, Li's first top award in 15 years.

Multi-award winning cellist Wang Jian returns to fascinate Hong Kong concert-goers with his rendition of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations on June 30 to July 1, 2006.

The Hong Kong-born pianist Rachel Cheung will play Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto on January 13 and 14.

Apart from the regular concerts, de Waart, an educator with a true sense of mission, is committed to the orchestra reaching Hong Kong youth. He said he hopes to do this through joint programs with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and in the annual concerts at university campuses in addition to the season's program.

"Educational projects are part of my longer-term plan of audience development in Hong Kong," he said. "Now the local people favor pop gigs and mass entertainment TV programs. I hope with our effort, the orchestra could achieve the finest level of performance to enrich the cultural life of this city, and enhance Hong Kong's reputation as a cosmopolitan city so that it would be as highly regarded as a cultural hub as it is a financial, business shopping and dining hub."

Now, the 64-year-old conductor is enjoying his life and working in Hong Kong. His whole family moved there last December. His 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son study at a bilingual school. A private teacher also comes to his house three times a week to teach him and his wife Mandarin, and he is learning tai chi.

His only regret is that the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra does not yet have its own place to rehearse and play in. He said he looks forward to the day when the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will increase the annual budget to build up a home for the orchestra.

(China Daily November 2, 2005)