Been doing lots of tests - the fastest way to light this is pure HDRI, but there are trade-offs; splotchy shadows and the even lighting creates some lack of definition. Using only area lights (with geometry & no Radiosity) can take longer to render but have a more consistent look.
I modified Franks Area Light - I enlarged it to 20x20 and lowered it and reduced the samples to 7 (after many tests, 7 gets you even shadows in most cases) - I also did tests with adding a second light - see image for results.
Renders created on an iMac i7 Dual Quadcore with 16gb ram.
This render is only HDRI lighting + Radiosity
One Area light (20x20) directly above the scene @ 7 samples - Strength is 1.0
Same as #2 PLUS smaller area light to one side - also 7 samples and 1.0 strength
Same lighting configuration as #3, but samples for side area light are set to 1
PROs & CONs for each
PRO - fastest render, even lighting. CON - lack of definition - splotchy shadows
PRO - Better Shadows and reflection. CON - A little dark - Long render
PRO - Better Highlights. Even & Consistent. CON Longest Render
PRO - Highlights promote hard surface, modest render. CON Hard shadow
As you can see there are trade-offs and compromises - you'll have to judge for yourself what is most important. Personally, for animated scenes I choose NOT to use HDRI or Emissive Lighting with a Radiosity tag if possible due to splotchy shadow artifacts. There's nothing groundbreaking in the file, but I included it anyways as an easy start point for your own experiments - I didn't include the HDRI in the ZIP since it's the same.
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