The City Chamber Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s 10th Anniversary season opened in October with a whirlwind of concerts, events, radio programmes and recordings. The opening concert on 11 October with Danish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri and the world premiere of Richard Harvey’s Concerto Incantato was a particularly joyous occasion.
Here are a few photos from the concert:
This was a signature programme for us, covering everything from Baroque to a new commission and lesser-known gems by Sibelius and Haydn. The addition of an orchestral work by Piazzolla and an early symphony by Haydn was in fact a continuation of the work we have been doing over the years to promote music by these two exceptional composers. Another special aspect of the programme was the fact that most of the composers were also virtuoso performers – Richard Harvey included. Harvey not only treated us to a beautifully written 25 minute recorder concerto, but surprised us all as he stepped to the stage, pulled out his recorder and gave a fun-filled encore with Michala backed by the orchestra! Michala’s playing on a range of recorders was stunning and everyone left the hall amazed at what the recorder can do in the hands of a virtuoso. The SCMP aptly described Michala’s breath control as “defying nature”. The final suspension in the last few bars of the 2nd movement of the Vivaldi concerto lingered so long that it still lingers in my head - incredible. The concert was recorded by RTHK Radio 4 and can be accessed on line by clicking here. After the concert Michala Petri spent a good hour signing CDs – some of them new releases and the evening ended with an enjoyable reception hosted by the CCOHK’s Board of Directors.
Here are a few after-concert photos from the night:
Please do take a moment to read the reviews of the concert in Time Out, the SCMP and Express Weekly. There was also a special anniversary article that appeared in the SCMP which you can view by clicking here. Oliver Chou gave a review of the anniversary concert on RTHK Radio 4 Morning Call on 12 October. To listen back to this click here. (start listening at the third hour at 37.02) During the month of October RTHK Radio 4 also produced a special 10th Anniversary programme featuring musical excerpts from the CCOHKs past decade and lovely interviews between Hyang Yoo (founding first violinist), Joe Kirtley (founding principal horn) Stacey Rhodda and myself (founder & artistic director). To listen back to the programme please click here.
Michala’s activities in Hong Kong also included a meet-the-artist Q & A session which was equally inspiring to all those who attended. To begin the session Michala played a beautiful Bach Sonata for recorder solo. The atmosphere was informal and relaxed and participants from as young as 8 years were eager to ask questions. During the class Michala emphasized the importance of a good breathing method in playing the recorder and demonstrated various techniques in octave playing, tonguing, glissandi and so on. Jean Thorel also began his pre-concert talks on 11 October prior to our anniversary concert.
October was also filled with many other activities and events including our first appearance at Musicarama in a very challenging programme of new works by Tang Man-ngai, Lydia Ayers, Elliot Schwarz and Yii Kah Hoe, Niels Rosing-Schow and Therese Brenet. Highlights included the CCOHK’s concertmaster Hong-ying Ho performing the world premiere of French composer Therese Brenet’s Seuls tes yeux demeurerent… for violin solo, percussion, harpsichord, harp and strings and the Asian premiere of American composer Elliot Schwarz’s Chamber Concerto V: Water Music for bassoon solo and chamber orchestra, beautifully played by guest bassoonist from Iceland Kristin Jakobsdottir. Leading up to the performance the orchestra very much enjoyed the opportunity to meet some of the composers in person and discuss their works. There were a variety of different styles of contemporary composition. The work by Malaysian composer Yii Kah Hoe, for example, required the players to perform a number of modern techniques such as multiphonics, glissandi, key-clacking. The RTHK Radio 4 broadcast of this concert can be downloaded by clicking here. The week ended with a recording of Therese Brenet’s Seuls tes yeux demeurerent…. to be released on a European label of Brenet’s music in the coming future. Recording Engineer Igor Kirkwood flew out from Paris for the recording. Here are some photos from both the musicarama concert and the recording sessions:
At the end of October Jean Thorel led the CCOHK in yet another world premiere- this time a multi-media work by Samson Young entitled Electric Requiem: God Save the Queen featuring Law Lan- who looks so much like the Queen! More news on this performance next newsletter…
At the end of October Jean Thorel led the CCOHK in yet another world premiere- this time a multi-media work by Samson Young entitled Electric Requiem: God Save the Queen featuring Law Lan- who looks so much like the Queen! More news on this performance next newsletter... Coming up soon on 29 November we will have the privilege to work with the distinguished fortepianist Geoffrey Lancaster in a rare all-Haydn programme featuring Haydn's Fortepiano Concerto in D. This will take place at The HK Academy for Performing Arts Concert Hall. Shortly afterwards we will give four concerts in early December including a concert to be held at the newly erected Tai Po Waterfront Park Amphitheatre during the East-Asian Games. The orchestra will be joined by guest violinist Takako Nishizaki and rising star pianist Chen Jie. Erhu virtuoso Hsin Hsiao-hung and the CCOHKs principal cellist Artem Konstantinov will also appear as soloists. Do check our website at www.ccohk.com for the all the latest information.
Leanne Nicholls
Founder & Artistic Director
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong
