Widely recognised as one of the world's greatest living pianists, Evgeny Kissin will return to Hong Kong in October for an exhilarating recital.
The programme will include a selection of exuberant and colouristic preludes by Russian composer Rachmaninov, as well as the grandest sonata Beethoven had ever written, "Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier'" which is considered a monumental masterpiece by Beethoven for its sheer scale and technical difficulty. The recital will be staged at 8pm on October 24 (Wednesday) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Born in Moscow in 1971, Evgeny Kissin began to play by ear on the piano at the age of 2 and entered a special school for gifted children, Moscow's Gnessin School of Music, at the age of 6. He came to international attention in March 1984 when he performed Chopin's piano concertos 1 and 2 in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Philharmonic. In 1990, Kissin made his first appearance at the BBC Promenade Concerts in London and, in the same year, made his North American debut, performing both Chopin piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic.
Musical awards and tributes from around the world have been showered on Kissin. He was a special guest at the 1992 Grammy Awards ceremony and three years later became Musical America's youngest Instrumentalist of the Year. In 1997 he received the prestigious Triumph Award for his outstanding contribution to Russian culture, one of the highest cultural honours to be awarded in Russia.
"Encore Series: Piano Recital by Evgeny Kissin" is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and sponsored by FANCL. Tickets priced at $250, $400, $550, $700 and $880 are now available 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_471.html.
A pre-concert talk entitled "Pianism from Beethoven to Rachmaninov" (to be conducted in Cantonese) will be held at 6.45pm at the Foyer Reception Area, 4/F, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The speaker will be Ernest Wan. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
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