This release contains probably the only symphony ever written
to have been based on a kung fu novel! Fu-Tong Wong is a Cantonese
composer currently living in Taiwan. Initially self-taught,
he emigrated to New York in the 1970s to help in his brother's
noodle business, but was able to take a university degree in
music from 1975. Since then he has published books on music
theory and violin practice, taught and studied further, and
written a fair amount of music, although even as late as 1990
he was still working in his brother's concern.
This CD, on Wong's own label, was originally released in 2004,
and then again in 2009 on a disc paired with a recording of
Wong's Symphonic Poem of Shiau Feng.
The Hero with Great Eagle is based on a chivalric martial
arts novel with the unlikely title of 'The Return of the Condor
Heroes', by Chinese author Louis Cha (b.1924), who writes under
the pseudonym of Jin Yong, and who is reportedly the best-selling
living Chinese novelist. The Symphony took Wong 28 years to
complete, a feat of amazing dedication, but for listeners it
is worth the wait. The eight movements, which have both a traditional,
primarily implicative Western-style title and a more poetic
description, are as follows:
I. Prelude – A Rebellious Departure from the Monastery
II. Waltz – The Ancient Tomb Master and her Disciple
III. Variations – When a Man May be Called a Hero
IV. Adagio – The Greatest of Sorrows
V. Rondo – Practising Swordsmanship in the Billows of the Sea
VI. Fugue – What in Fact is Love
VII. Dance – Birthday Gifts Brought Forth by the Heroes
VIII. Fantasy – Reunion in the Valley
As the list suggests, each movement has a distinctive character,
both formally and programmatically, but there is a pervasive
mood of optimism throughout the work, with the exception of
the Adagio, which is a beautiful elegy for strings. Surprisingly
perhaps, the symphony has a very Western, at times almost neo-Classical
feel - the light-handed orchestration is inventive without recourse
to exotic instruments. It is not until the seventh movement
that the music takes an obviously Chinese turn, when the galaxy
of heroes turns up, as it were, but even here, the impression
- agreeable, nonetheless - is of a Western composer adding ethnic
colour.
The pick of the movements besides the Adagio are the Variations,
epic in character, and the high-seas drama of the Rondo, but
in truth there is not a dull moment for the listener, who is
swept along with the flow of Wong's lovely music, which culminates
in the lush final Fantasy.
There is a definite film score quality about the work in places,
particularly the Prelude and Rondo. This is quite apposite,
given that Jin Yong's story has been adapted on no less than
ten occasions for both big and small screen in the Far East.
The unremitting succession of seamlessly incorporated melodic
ideas, narrative interest and timbral imagination brings to
mind the scores of Malcolm Arnold or William Alwyn, or, from
an earlier age, Rimsky-Korsakov.
Sound quality is good, although there is a slight lack of definition
to the strings in tutti sections - most noticeable in the strings-only
Adagio movement. The Voronezh State Symphony Orchestra, despite
its low profile, is one of Russia's oldest, with an impressive
history of associations. It performs Wong's music capably and
respectfully, and is well guided by Mak Ka-lok.
The CD booklet is informative - but only for those who read
Chinese! The English-language notes are restricted to two or
three paragraphs, but yield just about enough information to
satisfy. The CD comes with a bonus DVD, although its attraction
is mitigated by the fact that it is in Chinese only. Nevertheless,
it does offer the opportunity to see the orchestra rehearsing
and later playing some of this symphony, and a happy-looking
Wong in interview.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
Voronezh State Symphony Orchestra/Mak Ka-lok 
