May has been an amazing month for the CCOHK. Our long-anticipated concert with Dame Emma Kirkby took place on 6 May. The evening ended with a string of wonderful encores by Dame Emma. I can still remember the impact that Dido’s Lament had on me when I heard it for the first time at the age of 15. To hear it sung by the Queen of Baroque live on stage was an incredibly moving experience. Here are some photos taken of the concert:
The broadcast of the concert by RTHK Radio 4 went out on 29 May. You can listen back to it online by clicking here. To read Dame Emma Kirkby’s interview in the SCMP click here. To read a review of the concert in WenWeiPo click here.
The masterclass given by Dame Emma Kirkby was also an incredible experience for both participants and all who were there observing. The room was full to the brim! I was delighted to see almost all of Hong Kong’s top singing teachers there who would also join me in saying that it was an amazing learning experience for all concerned. The participants sang works by Purcell, Handel, Gluck and Bach. Thus the focus was mostly on Baroque and classical arias. Here are some photos of the masterclass:
Friends of the British Council made it possible to hold the masterclass as well as a special evening and up close interview with Dame Emma Kirkby at the Helena May. Members of the CCOHK performed the music of Purcell and Lully throughout the evening and principal cellist Artem Konstantinov gave a stunning solo performance of Bach’s Suite No. 3.
Tracking back, if you missed our Singapore Star concert in April, you can listen to the delayed broadcast online by clicking here. You can also listen back to Jun-hong’s interview with Nancy Loo at this link.
During the month of June we will be focusing on the performance of a wide range of Italian music from Baroque to contemporary. It will be our great privilege to perform with internationally acclaimed Italian cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima and Italian violinist Andrea Zanchetta in two unique programmes on 11 June and 19 June respectively. Sollima’s concert will begin at 7:30pm as there will also be a special Chinese-Italian wine-pairing dinner to be held directly after the concert across the road from the City Hall Concert Hall at the Shanghai Garden, 1/F Hutchison House. Sollima will be in attendance at the dinner and there will even be wines from his home town of Sicily! To get some idea of Sollima’s individuality and originality as both a composer and cellist, do take a look at the youtube excerpts listed out in this ENewsletter under Artist Scoop. Also don’t miss the opportunity to hear the extraordinary sound of Paganini’s original gut strings. Violinist Andrea Zanchetta has devoted his career mostly to the performance of Italian virtuoso music of the 18h and 19th centuries. On 19 June he will play on identical copies of the originals made by the expert Italian gut string maker Mimmo Peruffo. The sound will please the purists but challenge those who know only the modern concept of the Paganini sound.
On a general note, I am please to announce that excerpts of some of our concerts have now been uploaded to youtube. The official link is: www.youtube.com/ccohk - do take a look!
Best wishes,
Leanne Nicholls
Founder & Artistic Director
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong
Dear Friends,
