CCOHK ENEWSLETTER Issue No.41

Richard Harvey's new concerto written for Michala Petri & the CCOHK and infused with a bit of magic!

Concerto Incantato (Bewitched Concerto) is a new five-movement work for recorder soloist (playing sopranino, descant, treble and tenor) and small orchestra by Richard Harvey. It successfully combines his talents as a recorder player (who has had a fifty-year association with the instrument and performed on the international stage), and as an award-winning composer of music for film and television. The piece is specially commissioned for Michala Petri, who Harvey greatly admires for her virtuoso playing. Both musicians have contributed influentially to restoring the profile of the recorder and its neglected repertoire. Himself a virtuoso, Harvey knows the technical possibilities of the instrument, and is aware of the need to balance the sound with small orchestral forces. Here he scores for muted and pizzicato strings, flutes and clarinets. Harvey acknowledges “It has been a great privilege to be asked by Leanne Nicholls to compose this piece to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the wonderful City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong”.

In this concerto, Harvey introduces some of the fun which he deems to be missing from many compositions written during the 20th century recorder revival. It is a challenging piece, in which he experiments with bringing out the different characters of the various recorders, from tenor to sopranino. With its enchanting title and allusions to magic, witchcraft and spells, Concerto Incantato promises, in the composer’s own words, “a concerto for the Harry Potter generation......with a liberal sprinkling of faery dust!”

For more information on Richard Harvey please refer to the following website: www.richardharvey.net