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Dear Friends of the CCOHK,
We are pleased to launch the SECOND issue of CITY RHYTHM.

Contents of This Issue

A. Coming Events
Famous Australian pianist Roger Woodward performs with the CCOHK in June

B. Spotlight
Interview with the Associate Concertmaster of the CCOHK, Katrina Ma

C. Sounding Board
Audience feedback from our "A Night in Bologna" concert

D. Artist Scoop
Extra snippets of our guest artists

E. Music Amuses
Interesting but little known things in the world of classical music

F. CD Corner
Recommended CDs

G. Quiz
Answer the quiz and win FREE concert tickets

Enjoy the newsletter now !

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A. Coming Events

Don't miss our coming concert which features the famous Australian pianist Roger Woodward.

Visiting Hong Kong for the first time in over ten years, Roger Woodward has been described by the London Guardian as "A Genius".

Details

Roger Woodward Plays Bach & Beethoven
28 June (Friday) 2002, 8:00 p.m.
City Hall Concert Hall

Artists
Roger Woodward ----- Piano
Kian Pin Hiu ----- Conductor

Programme
Haydn : Symphony No. 92 in G major "Oxford"
J. S. Bach : Piano Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 2, in B flat major, Op. 19

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B. Spotlight

Interview with the Associate Concertmaster of the CCOHK, Katrina Ma

Where are you from and how long have you been in Hong Kong?
I was born in Huddersfield, England. It is a small town in the county of Yorkshire. When I describe this area to people, I never fail to conjure up pictures of greens, hills, cows and rain! I first came to Hong Kong in 1992, stayed for a year, lived in Oklahoma for two and a half years, and returned in 1996. I am still here.

What brought you to Hong Kong?
Well, I was just about to graduate from the Royal College of Music in London, when my friend showed me an ad of the auditions held by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO). I went along, feeling quite relaxed about it all. I even remember I had to travel right up to the north of London to play for about five minutes and then go home again! Anyway, someone called me that evening and told me that I had got the job. I immediately jumped up and down, yelling, "I'm going to Hong Kong!" ........ and that was that.

Not a great deal of thought went into my decision to leave England for a tiny city at the other side of the earth. I'm always one to follow my heart. It proved to be fate, since I met Michael - my husband - who was leading the HKPO at that time. We now have a five-year-old son called MJ who - yes - is also learning the violin!

You mentioned that you once played in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO). How do you compare this experience with playing in the CCOHK?
Well, it's a little hard to compare playing in a large symphony orchestra to a small chamber orchestra, since the music played is so different. I have always loved playing in orchestras. I don't think there has been a time, since I was six years old, that I haven't played in an orchestra. Each experience is so very different. I love the repertoire that a symphony orchestra can play: the sound can be so amazingly huge and layered. On the other hand, I have always really liked playing in string orchestras. One reason is that the string orchestra has such a unique, pure sound of its own. Another reason is that many composers have written lovely pieces for string orchestras. Examples are the serenades composed by Elgar, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. Such exquisite works!

Playing in the HKPO was a lot of fun and I particularly enjoyed playing under David Atherton. He was really a mastermind at rehearsing. He didn't waste a second, and he always knew exactly what he wanted from the orchestra. Consequently the orchestra always sounded better under him than it did under any of the guest conductors. He was magnificent!

In the CCOHK, we have different conductors for each concert. This is very interesting and keeps us on our toes. Each conductor opens up new ideas and perspectives for us. This is good for a young orchestra like ours.

Which CCOHK guest artists have made the biggest impression on you?
I have enjoyed playing with Michala Petri, who was so virtuosic in her recorder playing, and Ryota Komatsu, who played the bandoneon with sheer - yes - abandonment. I also loved playing with Richard Harvey, conductor and tin-whistle wizard and with Graham Preskett on the fiddle. Both were superb musicians. I enjoyed working with these world-class musicians not only because they played so wonderfully, but also because they were such warm, friendly people whom we had the pleasure of meeting. Getting to know these fantastic musicians makes our orchestra seem more like a close-knit family.

As a founding member of the CCOHK, which concert has been the most memorable for you?
Oh what a question! I love all the concerts we've done, but if I must choose one, it would have to be "Spirit of Ireland". I love Irish music!

Your parents were both professional violinists. How much have they influenced your career as a professional violinist?
Of course I had heard the sounds of violins before I was born. Moreover, both my parents taught me the violin when I was small. Nonetheless they never pushed me one way or another. At one stage I decided to become a pediatrician. My parents supported me then too. However I myself knew that to be a pediatrician would mean giving up the violin. When I gave more thought to the matter, I knew I could not part with my violin. Now I always tell my students that I was born to play the violin. I really love playing it.

Name one of the most important milestones in your music career.
One great time for me was when I played for the Sante Fe Opera Company in New Mexico in the United States. Every summer there are ten weeks of non-stop opera. The orchestra is superb, the scenery breathtaking. At 9:00 p.m. the sun goes down and the opera starts. It's incredibly beautiful.

What message do you have for our friends?
Keep coming to our concerts! Every one of our concerts is different. We enjoy playing and love to have an enthusiastic audience to support and appreciate us.

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C. Sounding Board

Friends who attend our concerts and are successful in having their comments published will win 2 FREE tickets to one of our future events.

In this issue we are pleased to share with you the following COMMENTS FROM OUR AUDIENCE MEMBERS who attended our "A Night in Bologna" concert on 8 May 2002:

It was one of those evenings where we were made to breathe a little easier and smile a little more. Please keep that "unique", "boutique" characteristic!

---------- Irene Tsang (Central)

The programmes are very nice and special.

---------- Henry Lam (Tai Po, N.T.)

Inspiring. Very well played throughout. The Il Tramonto was breathtakingly beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

---------- Christine Maclean (Mid-levels)

The music was elegant and the performance was taken seriously. Excellent rapport among orchestral members.

---------- Loretta Lau (Kowloon)

It was different from an ordinary concert.

---------- Lee Pik Ying (Quarry Bay)

Congratulations to these five friends, who have each won 2 FREE TICKETS to one of our future concerts. We will be in touch with you soon!

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D. Artist Scoop

Roger Woodward, the classical pianist who will appear as soloist in CCOHK's concert on 28 June 2002, played the musical rival of Helfgott - the main character in the movie "Shine":

Shine, directed by Scott Hicks, tells the story of the child prodigy David Helfgott, an Australian pianist whose early musical success is derailed by the onslaught of mental illness, apparently the result of parental pressure, and he is institutionalized for more than a decade. What if the unwashed hordes who worship David Helfgott wouldn't know musical phrasing if it sat on them? Roger Woodward, the classical pianist who played Helfgott's musical rival in SHINE, once praised David Helfgott as an important contributor to classical music: "Because of the success of this extraordinary film and his career in life and what he's done, and the way he's brought all these strands together, he's done a colossal service to classical music all over the world."

Source:
http://inkpot.com/classical/helfgott98p.html

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Roger Woodward will be featured in the programme "Profile" presented by Stacey Rodda on RTHK Radio 4 in June. Details are as follows:

14 June
Friday
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
15 June
Saturday
12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
(Repeat)

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Please be informed that we will be selling CDs featuring Roger Woodward (including works by Chopin) at our concert on 28 June. Roger Woodward records for the Artworks label which is NOT available in Hong Kong

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E. Music Amuses

Interesting but little known things in the world of classical music

Did you know that Bach's keyboard concerto No. 1 in D-minor, BWV 1052, was first performed in a coffee house?

Bach produced a total of 13 concertos for one to four keyboards. As is often the case in artistic endeavours, circumstance played a big part in their creation. In 1729 Bach was the director of the Collegium Musicum which boasted forty gifted university students, most of whom studied with him. The group performed for two hours, once a week, in Zimmerman's Coffeehouse, a sort of Starbucks in Leipzig in the eighteenth century. These performances were unrehearsed yet serious "reading sessions" during which the audience drank coffee, smoked tobacco and applauded the musicians. For these sessions Bach transcribed a large number of his own violin concertos for keyboard as is the case with his concerto No. 1 in D-minor.

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F. CD Corner

If you enjoy the music of Respighi, then this excellent CD, available at HMV, is definitely worth a listen:

Respighi : Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (includes Trittico Botticelliano)
Teldec Classics No. 8573-80978-2

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G. Quiz

Answer the quiz and win FREE concert tickets

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Question 1
Name one of the composers featured in the CCOHK concert entitled "A Night in Bologna" on 8 May 2002.

Question 2
Name one of the piano concertos which will be performed in the CCOHK concert entitled "Roger Woodward Plays Bach and Beethoven" on 28 June 2002.

( For answers to these questions please check our website: http://www.ccohk.com/ )

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Send your answers to us by email maryanne@ccohk.com on or before NOON on 10 June 2002 (Monday) together with your name and postal address.

The first FIVE friends who submit correct answers to BOTH questions together with their name and postal address will win 2 FREE tickets to our next concert ----- "Roger Woodward Plays Bach & Beethoven" on 28 June 2002.

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We hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. Do forward this to all your music-loving friends so that they can join in the fun and win free concert tickets too.

The editor of CITY RHYTHM is Mary Anne Pun.

If you have any questions, please e-mail her at maryanne@ccohk.com