Whether in culture or couture, people in Hong Kong rarely accept anything less than brand names, which makes chamber music - not gala performances by multiple soloists but genuinely intimate, collaborative music-making - a rather tough sell. Last weekend's multiple events, judiciously billed as the territory's first "international chamber music festival", were hardly short on glitz (the Swiss luxury watchmaker Breguet was a key sponsor), but the focus was clearly on the repertoire and its ethos.

Much of the credit goes to the Hong Kong-born, Juilliard and Harvard-educated cellist Trey Lee, who, in conjunction with the local presenter Premiere Performances, amassed a roster of emerging, like-minded players similar enough to be musically compatible, yet different enough to keep things interesting. Some were already familiar from Hong Kong appearances, though none so established or individualistic to stand apart from the crowd.