Pires's concert in Macau

I attended a concert in Macau by Maria Joao Pires last Wed. She played Mozart Piano Concerto No.9 in the first half and Beethoven No.4 in the second half.

As everybody expects, Pires was really good at Mozart - the smooth flow, the musical phrasing, the easiness, the elegance, etc, all captured the audience's attention. The acoustic was however not very good. The orchestra under the baton of Shao was marginally satisfactory, because it did not communicate well with Pires.

I did not expect much for the Beethoven, but it was an above average performance. Pires's slow movement was far better than the other two fast movements. I have no complaint about it, though, because one could easily tell that she really gave her heart to the music.

I very much look forward to attending her recital in Hong Kong a few days later.