Igudesman & Joo: Clash of the Soloists (10 & 11 April and 14 April 2019) - Asian Premiere
A fun-filled programme for adults and kids. Be ready to laugh till your belly hurts!

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

Download HERE

[3 April 2019, Hong Kong] The classical music-comedy duo Igudesman & Joo has caused a sensation around the world since they began creating their numerous ground-breaking shows 2004. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is excited to welcome them to share the stage with the orchestra and conductor Thomas Carrollat the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (10 & 11 April) as well as the Shatin Town Hall Auditorium (14 April), for a programme filled with fun and dazzling displays of virtuosity.

“Hear­ing and see­ing Igudes­man and Joo per­form­ing live is expe­ri­enc­ing pure musi­cian­ship, won­der­ful act­ing, sophis­ti­ca­tion and a ter­rific sense of humour. Their lack of pre­ten­tious­ness and the joy of their music-making offer an irre­sistible invi­ta­tion into the world of clas­si­cal music.”
--- Hanna Arie-Gaifman, Direc­tor 92nd Street Y, Tisch Cen­ter for the Arts, New York

Igudesman & Joo met at the Yehudi Menuhin School in the UK. Together they have created numbers of global hit shows, gathering over 28 million YouTube views serving to promote their vision of making classical music accessible to a wider and younger audience. In the Asian premiere of their latest show - Clash of the Soloists - they contest over which is the superior instrument, the violin or the piano. Who will snatch victory and prevail as champion in this iconoclastic, spectacular, Szechuan-spicy show? They blaze through concertos with such extraordinary dexterity and finesse that audiences will be on the edge of their seats.

Presented in English, this fun programme is suitable for aged 3 and above. It is available in the evening on 10 & 11 April in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the matinee on 14 April in the Shatin Town Hall. Please bring your friends, families, and especially kids, and laugh together at this one-of-a-kind concert until your belly hurts!

Swire Denim Series: Igudesman & Joo: Clash of the Soloists will be held on 10 & 11 April 2019 (Wed & Thu), 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets price: HK$480, $380, $280, $220 are now available at URBTIX.

Swire Sunday Family Series: Igudesman & Joo: Clash of the Soloists will be held on 14 April 2019 (Sun), 3PM in the Shatin Town Hall Auditorium. Tickets price: HK$480, $380, $280, $220 are now available at URBTIX.

For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Artists
Thomas Carroll, conductor [full biography]
Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and exciting musicianship, Thomas Carroll enjoys a distinguished and varied career as a cellist and conductor. Since conducting his debut performance in the Berlin Philharmonie in 2006, he has gone on to work with many orchestras in the UK and elsewhere. He founded the London Beethoven Chamber Orchestra and, in April 2012, was made Artistic Director of the Orpheus Sinfonia. Carroll has recently completed a tour of the UK, conducting in most of the country’s major concert halls.

Igudesman & Joo, comedy act [full biography]
Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo are two classical musicians who have taken the world by storm with their unique and hilarious theatrical shows, which combine comedy with classical music and popular culture. Their clips on YouTube, to date, have gathered over 28 million hits, and the duo has appeared on television in numerous countries. Equally comfortable performing in classical concert halls, as well as in stadiums in front of crowds of 18,000, their collective dream is to make classical music accessible to a wider and younger audience. 


SWIRE DENIM SERIES: IGUDESMAN & JOO: CLASH OF THE SOLOISTS
10 & 11 | 4 | 2019
WED & THU 8PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$480 $380 $280 $220
Tickets are available at URBTIX 

SWIRE SUNDAY FAMILY SERIES: IGUDESMAN & JOO: CLASH OF THE SOLOISTS
14 | 4 | 2019
SUN 3PM
Shatin Town Hall Auditorium
HK$480 $380 $280 $220
Tickets are available at URBTIX 

Artists

Thomas Carroll	conductor
Igudesman & Joo	comedy act

Click the thumbnails to download press images
 

Thomas Carroll Photo Credit: Kaupo Kikkas	Igudesman & Joo Photo Credit: Julia Wesely	Igudesman & Joo: Clash of the Soloists Photo Credit: Josef Brunner Fotografie
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Cheung Chi-wai/HK Phil

 

 

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 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 was released in November 2018.

Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Joshua Bell, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Matthias Goerne, Stephen Hough, Evgeny Kissin, 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 in 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.