Discover Classical Romance (11 January 2019)
Time Travelling back to Classical and Romantic Austria with the HK Phil’s Great Principal Players
27 DEC 2018
Hong Kong
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Meggy Cheng
Director of Marketing
Tel: (852) 2721 9035
Email: meggy.cheng@hkphil.org
Flora Fung
Media Relations and Communications Manager
Tel: (852) 2721 1585
Email: flora.fung@hkphil.org
[27 December 2018, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is proud to present a concert that features Michael Wilson, Andrew Simon, Benjamin Moermond and Lin Jiang, four of the principal players of the orchestra. In this only performance on 11 January 2019 in the Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium, conductor David Stern will return to direct the orchestra for the first time since 2017.
The programme includes Mozart’s midnight masterpiece - Don Giovanni Overture - which he wrote in a single evening just before the opera’s premiere in Prague in 1787. A splendid showcase for the orchestra’s own wind principals follows in the shape of the melodious Sinfonia Concertante which is often claimed to be by Mozart but whose real composer remains a mystery.
The programme also includes a rare performance of a forgotten masterpiece by a forgotten composer. Although the music of Hans Rott received high praise from Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner, it is just little known today. Mahler said of Rott that “it is completely impossible to estimate what music has lost in him. His First Symphony soars to such heights of genius that it makes him - without exaggeration - the founder of the New Symphony”. For the final year of his studies in 1878, Rott entered the first movement of his Symphony in E into a composition competition. The symphony was completed in 1880 but never received a public performance during the composer’s lifetime.
Do not miss the opportunity to travel through time with the HK Phil and enjoy this rare musical gem and true classics from 18th century Austria.
The HK Phil and conductor David Stern will stage the same programme in the Zhuhai Huafa & CPAA Grand Theatre on 13 January 2019 (Saturday), sharing the joy of time travelling with and presenting a New Year blessing to the audience in the region.
Discover: Discover Classical Romance will be held on 11 January 2019 (Fri), 8PM in the Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium. Tickets price: HK$320, $280, $180, $120 are now available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.
Artists
David Stern, conductor [full biography]
David Stern's musical leadership is spread across three continents. Whether conducting a major symphony orchestra, baroque opera, teaching vocal master classes or defending cultural activities, Stern keeps his musicians, students and audiences riveted by sharing his strong musical convictions, his flexibility of approach and his belief that music is relevant and indeed essential in today's world. He is the Founder and Director of the Paris-based opera studio and period-instrument ensemble Opera Fuoco, as well as Artistic Adviser and Chief Conductor of the Shanghai Baroque Festival and Chief Conductor of the Palm Beach Opera in Florida.
Michael Wilson, oboe [full biography]
Michael Wilson was appointed Principal Oboe of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2009. Prior to this he was Co-Principal Oboe from September 2005. Before moving to Hong Kong, he worked regularly with London-based orchestras including the London Philharmonic. Michael studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he graduated with First Class Honours and received the Philip Jones prize for woodwind.
Andrew Simon, clarinet [full biography]
A graduate of The Juilliard School, acclaimed clarinettist Andrew Simon has appeared as soloist and guest lecturer on four continents. As Principal Clarinet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Simon has recorded solo works by Baermann and Stravinsky and has given over 60 concerto performances. As guest lecturer, he frequents institutions such as Yale University, the Sydney Conservatorium, the Royal College of Music in London, and the Central Conservatory in Beijing.
Benjamin Moermond, bassoon [full biography]
Benjamin Moermond has been Principal Bassoon with the HK Phil since 2010 and is an active teacher and performer in Hong Kong and throughout the region. Previous solo engagements include the Haydn Sinfonia Concertante and Mozart Bassoon Concerto. Prior to joining the HK Phil Benjamin completed his studies at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Judith LeClair. He was an active chamber musician with the PUFF! woodwind quintet and toured extensively over summer festivals.
Lin Jiang, horn [full biography]
Lin Jiang began playing the horn at the age of ten and continued his studies at Scotch College in Melbourne, the Victorian College of the Arts, and graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Music degree with honours. He has performed with the major orchestras in Australia. Lin has won many major prizes in Australia, he also won prizes in international horn competitions and was a finalist in the prestigious Freedman Fellowship Program as well as a semi-finalist in the ARD music competition Munich.
DISCOVER: DISCOVER CLASSICAL ROMANCE
11 | 1 | 2019
FRI 8PM
Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium
HK$320 $280 $180 $120
Tickets are available at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above
Artists
conductor | |
oboe | |
clarinet | |
bassoon | |
horn |
Click the thumbnails to download press photos
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David Stern | Michael Wilson | Andrew Simon | Benjamin Moermond | Lin Jiang |
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The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra |
Programme
MOZART | Don Giovanni Overture |
MOZART | Sinfonia Concertante, K. 297b |
ROTT | Symphony in E |
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden
Principal Guest Conductor: Yu Long
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is recognised as Asia’s foremost classical orchestra. Presenting more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season, the HK Phil attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually.
Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, has been the orchestra’s Music Director since the 2012/13 concert season, a position he will continue to hold until at least 2022. Maestro van Zweden is the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from the 2018/19 season.
Yu Long has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor since the 2015/16 season.
Under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Jaap van Zweden, the HK Phil has attained new heights of artistic excellence, garnering international critical acclaim.
Following on from the success of the European tour which included a filmed concert from Vienna’s Musikverein, the HK Phil has toured extensively within the mainland China. In 2017, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, and with support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, the orchestra performed in Seoul, Osaka, Singapore, Melbourne and at the Sydney Opera House.
Jaap, the HK Phil, a superb cast of soloists and a chorus successfully completed an epic four-year journey through Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” in January 2018. The concert performances and live Naxos recordings have been enthusiastically received by audiences and praised by critics at home and abroad. The recording of Götterdämmerung will be released towards the end of 2018.
Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Joshua Bell, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Matthias Goerne, Stephen Hough, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Ning Feng and Yuja Wang.
The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings on the Naxos label featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions. Its acclaimed education and community engagement programmes in schools, hospital and outdoor space, bring music into the hearts of tens of thousands of children and families every year.
The Swire Group has been the Principal Patron of the HK Phil since 2006. Through this sponsorship, which is the largest in the orchestra’s history, Swire endeavours to promote artistic excellence, foster access to classical music and stimulate cultural participation in Hong Kong, and to enhance Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the great cities of the world.
Thanks to a significant subsidy from the Hong Kong Government and long-term funding from Principal Patron Swire, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and other supporters, the HK Phil now boasts a full-time annual schedule of core classical repertoire and innovative popular programming, extensive education and community programmes, and collaborations with, among others, Opera Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Ballet.
Originally called the Sino-British Orchestra, it was renamed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957 and became fully professional in 1974. The HK Phil is a charitable organisation.
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and is Venue Partner of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
SWIRE is the Principal Patron of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.