I’m just back from hearing the amazing Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Picture an ensemble…

… that mirrors a modern European symphony orchestra, but coimposed of traditional Chinese instruments: a range of bowed (and plucked) string instruments running from the soprano range (gachi) to the sub-bass (bass gehu), Chinese fluites, shawms, shengs (a brass-reeded cross between a bagpipe and chamber organ), and percussion. While their repertoire sports Western-style harmonic grammar, tunings are traditional. Their repertoire combines traditional Chinese music in brilliant orchestrations with contemporary original works.

This evening’s program consisted of four recent works. Law Wingfai’s Flowering Phantasm is seeded with layers of instrumental and percussive sounds that burst into colorful bloom. Guo Wenjing’s 3 Melodies of West Yunan uses the tunes as a point of departure into three tribal symphonic poems (the third itself divided into three sections, titled “sacrifice,” “Toreches” and “Potent Liquors”).

Zhao Ziping is best known in the West for his film music, most notably the remarkable scores for Farewell My Concubine and Raise the Red Lantern.  Zhuang Zhou’s Dream is a concertante work for cello and Chinese orchestra. Soloist Trey Lee played the composer’s self-admitted “anti-virtuoso” part with a lush, deep sound; theharmonic language of this work was more than a little reminiscent of music by Howard Hanson and early Barber.

Cheng Dazhao’s Yellow River Capriccio is a full-scale Chinese rhapsody that has parallels in those for Western orchestra by Liszt, Alfven, and Enescu — and even includes audience participation. Each member received a small two-headed Chinese hand drum with clappers attached to the side that is played by rapidly rotating the drum back and forth. Conductor Yan Huichang gave the audience a brief and very entertaining tutorial on how to play the drum and shout on his cue for the work’s climax. Both orchestra and audience brought enthusiastic energy to this work. The orchestra performed two Chinese traditional selections — one serene, one spectacular (and spectacularly orchestrated) — as encores.

Thie HKCO is a must-see ensemble — miss them at your own risk!