When we introduce cellists, we often tend to discuss some foreign musicians who are active or even already a legacy. However, if the audiences also want to know local musicians in Hong Kong, where should they start? With this question in mind, we invited Richard Bamping, one of the most representative names in Hong Kong at present, for a simple conversation. He is a figure known as the principal cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 1993 among cello listeners, and also teaches at the Academy for Performing Arts. Over the years, he has trained many local cellists.

    At the end of October last year,, he completed the virtual ensemble collaboration with the Vienna Haydn Symphony Orchestra, which he and the Orchestra performed in two cities separately. Before the performance, we asked him to share his experience of this new ensemble method, as well as how he sees his own teaching and musician life. This cello giant of the city has also proposed methods for cello lovers to improve their playing skills in his eyes. The following is a brief recap of the interview:

1. Can you please share with us this experience, how does the rehearsal go and how do you feel from having this virtual practice with other musicians far from Europe?

    Often we do concert and stream, but never we do an orchestra in Vienna and one soloist in Hong Kong, at the same time, live. Therefore, it has been very complicated to organise.

    In this experience, sound technicians has become extremely important - if the sounds come in live on stage is not big enough which I cannot hear the orchestra, I can’t play! So the biggest problem here is that the sound tracks cannot be in two levels, yet they are from different microphones and the sound balance is very difficult to achieve.

    There’s almost a 2-second delay of the sound comes from Vienna. Yet there isn’t any method to fix the delay. You cannot escape this speed of light, which makes the signal to get here. It(the delay) actually make big differences when you play.

    For example, at the end of a Cadenza, when there won’t be any orchestras playing with me, I just play with the sound which comes out from the orchestra. So it’s a bit like playing Karaoke, Karaoke Haydn. But the problem is when I am playing the Cadenza, they cannot hear me from Vienna. So the conductor needs to listen to my delayed Cadenza and she has to estimate seconds early to play in the orchestra. It’s really complicated.

2. What does it mean by teaching a cello student?

    Teaching has a terrific responsibility. You just need to encourage people in whatever way you need,  or the way you think they will be benefited from. It’s not always about fingering or balancing or playing cello. I have quite a few students who hadn’t become Cellists, but I felt like I have tried to give them something anyway.

    I just try to make people a little bit better, for example, I teach them about discipline. When you play an instrument you need a lot of discipline and that’s useful for whatever thing you do in your life. 

3. It has been nearly 30 years since you were appointed to be the principal cellist of the Hong Kong Phil. What is the most significant change you think you have, as the principal cellist here, or in general the orchestra has?

    In the last ten years we have gone through quite a lot of things in the structure of the orchestra. Now we have involved more new players. The orchestra is hiring more, which obviously changed the operation. And I think that it plays a huge difference to the sound of the orchestra, that’s the main difference. Also, we have a fantastic conductor (Jaap van Zweden). He just doesn’t tolerate anything below the profession and has the ambition to create something more special. And I think we have largely achieved. Just before this awful pandemic happens, we won the Orchestra of the Year award^[1], which is an amazing accomplishment.

4. What do you think of the scene of cello music in Hong Kong now?

    We have some more auditions at this moment and the quality at this time is amazing, much better than we had before. It is more encouraging because we can see more people trained overseas and they have decided to come back to Hong Kong. They see that Hong Kong has a musical future. You know a lot of overseas countries are struggling with arts programmes and the orchestra itself. But in Hong Kong I would say the government is doing a good job in art.

5. What cello or more specifically music means to you?

    Music feeds your soul that no other kind of art can do. It is like the mountains of the world. It is not about language and culture, because it is universal. For me, I suppose the most important music to me is Bach’s Cello Suite. It’s the first cello music I knew and to me, it defines what a cello can do. 

6. Hong Kong Cellist Society is for cello lovers and players and some of them may still be in the beginning stage of cello playing, is there anything you want to share with these freshers?

    We are really lucky these days. We have YouTube, an absolutely amazing place where almost every recording is on there. There are truly inspiring wonderful videos about how to play a cello and from all of the greatest cellists throughout history. In YouTube there are some sharings of their performances which you can watch, no matter just some videos or lessons; Watching master classes is the greatest lesson to learn for yourself. It’s unbelievably powerful.