Widely recognised as one of the top five orchestras in the world, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) will return to Hong Kong for three concerts under the baton of its Music Director Sir Simon Rattle in September. The performances, which will also feature talented local pianists Colleen Lee and Aristo Sham, as well as the Grammy award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax, are part of the celebration events to mark the 30th anniversary of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC).
The first concert will be held at 8pm on September 22 (Sunday) at the HKCC's Concert Hall. The orchestra will play Haydn's "Symphony No. 86 in D" and Rachmaninov's "Symphony No. 2 in E minor". Lee will perform Prokofiev's "Piano Concerto No. 3 in C".
The programme of the second concert, which will be staged at 8pm on September 24 (Tuesday), will comprise Britten's "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" and Brahms' "Symphony No. 2 in D". Sham will perform Rachmaninov's "Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor".
For the last performance, which will take place at 8pm on September 25 (Wednesday), the programme will include Adams' "Harmonielehre" performed by the orchestra and Brahms' "Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat" performed by Ax.
Established in 1904, the LSO is one of the first self-governing orchestras building on the values of partnership and artistic ownership. It strives to bring great music to as many people as possible. The orchestra enjoys long-standing relationships with some of the world's greatest conductors and soloists, who relish the boundless musical ambition that the LSO offers. It also has a history of innovation that helps to keep it relevant and contemporary, having more recordings to its name than any other orchestra. Millions of people have enjoyed the orchestra through its leading work for film, which includes hundreds of classic scores from "Star Wars" to "The King's Speech", "The Shape of Water" and "Indiana Jones".
Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He became the LSO's Music Director in September 2017. He has made over 70 recordings and has received numerous prestigious international awards for his recordings on various labels. Sir Simon has also been awarded several prestigious personal honours which include a knighthood in 1994, becoming a member of the Order of Merit from Her Majesty the Queen in 2014 and, most recently, being given the Freedom of the City of London in 2018.
Born in Hong Kong, Colleen Lee started piano lessons at the age of 4. Since winning the 6th Prize of the 15th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, Lee has performed extensively throughout Asia, Europe and North America in solo recitals and with many renowned orchestras.
Aristo Sham first received international recognition when he won First Prize and the Barenreiter Urtext Special Prize in the Ettlingen International Piano Competition in Germany in 2006 and later won First Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in 2008. He won the First Prize at the 2018 Young Concert Artists Award in New York.
Emanuel Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and in 1979 he won the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in New York. Ax has received Grammy awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn's piano sonatas and also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano.
The concerts by the LSO are presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Tickets ranging from $380 to $2,080 will be available from May 25 (Saturday) onwards at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_737.html.
Live relays of the concerts will be available with free admission at the Piazza of the HKCC and the Auditoria of Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Tuen Mun Town Hall and the Yuen Long Theatre. Details will be announced later on the Cultural Presentations Section's website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp. The first concert is sponsored by Mr Albert Hung and Mr Wilfred Ng.
Follow this news feed: East Asia