The best oboist of his generation
François Leleux will “sing” arias from The Magic Flute (1 & 2 Dec)

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[8 November 2017, Hong Kong] Mozart and Oboe—a marriage made in Heaven! Hear famous Mozart arias from The Magic Flute re-interpreted by eminent French oboist François Leleux, who is recognised throughout the world as the best oboist of his generation. Under the baton of conductor and composer Peter Ruzicka, François Leleux will perform with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) in the Oboe Delights Concerts (1 & 2 December) at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. The programme will also include the Hong Kong premiere of Aulodie, an oboe concerto by Peter Ruzicka.

The Magic Flute has long been a favourite of audiences. In this concert, François Leleux will delight the audience by “singing” four renowned arias from it through his oboe. These are “Der Vogelfänger bin ich, ja!”, “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön”, “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” and “Der hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”. He will also give the Hong Kong premiere of Ruzicka’s Aulodie, a work inspired by the Greek ancient woodwind instrument.

This fantastic night of oboe will open with Beethoven’s joyful Fourth Symphony and close with Richard Strauss’ playful Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. Despite being less well-known than the others, the Fourth Symphony is one of Beethoven’s most original and inventive. Adapted from German folklore, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks is infused with fun and humour, making a perfect ending for this delightful concert.

Swire Maestro Series: Oboe Delights will be held on 1 & 2 December 2017 (Fri & Sat), 8PM, in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced: HK$380, $280, $180, $120 are now available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit www.hkphil.org.

Artists
Peter Ruzicka, conductor [full biography]
Peter Ruzicka received his early musical training (piano, oboe and composition) at the Hamburg Conservatory. The list of his compositions includes numerous orchestral and chamber works as well as the operas Celan, premiered in Dresden in 2001, and Hoelderlin, premiered at the Berlin State Opera in 2008. From 2001 to 2006 Ruzicka took over the Artistic Directorship of the Salzburg Festival. Since 2015 he has served as intendant of the Salzburg Easter Festival.

François Leleux, oboe [full biography]
François Leleux regularly appears as soloist, conductor and player/director with the world’s leading orchestras, festivals and concert series. In recent seasons Leleux has in parallel established a significant reputation as a conductor, working with orchestras including the Frankfurt Radio, Camerata Salzburg, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich and Sydney, Swedish Radio and WDR symphonies.

SWIRE MAESTRO SERIES: THE OBOE DELIGHTS
1 & 2 | 12 | 2017
FRI & SAT 8PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$380 $280 $180 $120
Tickets are now available at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above

Artists

Peter Ruzicka	conductor
François Leleux	oboe

Click the thumbnails to download press photos

Peter Ruzicka Photo Credit: Anne Kirchbach	François Leleux Photo Credit:Uwe Arens	The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai/HK Phil

Programme

BEETHOVEN	Symphony no. 4
RUZICKA	Aulodie for Oboe and Orchestra
MOZART	Four arias from The Magic Flute (arranged for oboe): Der Vogelfänger bin ich, ja! Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen Der hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen
STRAUSS	Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

 

 

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 2022. Maestro van Zweden will be the next Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from the 2018/19 season. Yu Long was appointed Principal Guest Conductor with the HK Phil for a three-year period commencing with 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 celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, and with support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, the orchestra recently performed in Seoul, Osaka, Singapore, Melbourne and at the Sydney Opera House.

Maestro van Zweden, the HK Phil, and a superb casts of soloists, have presented concert performances and recordings of the first three operas from Richard Wagner’s epic Ring cycle. These have been enthusiastically endorsed by both audiences and critics at home and abroad, and in recognition of their quality, the orchestra and Jaap have been invited to perform Wagner’s Die Walküre in staged performances at the Beijing Music Festival this October in a co-production with the Salzburg Easter Festival.

Conductors and soloists who have recently, or shortly will have, performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, 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 and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

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.