Wilson Ng and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra - 49th Hong Kong Arts Festival

Wilson Ng and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra 吳懷世與首爾愛樂樂團

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

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It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Hong Kong Arts Festival on the staging of its 49th annual celebration of the arts, and doing so in splendid fashion despite the daunting challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s Festival features a cheering range of online and in-venue programmes showcasing music, opera, theatre, dance, film and more.

In all, the Festival presents some 300 events, activities and performances under the theme “Separate Together”.

Festival highlights include a dazzling digital selection of operas and concerts from the Czech Republic’s National Theatre Brno and its biennial Janá ek Brno Festival. Equally notable are two piercing productions of British playwright Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of The Plague, one in English, the other in Cantonese. The Cantonese version is produced in Hong Kong, while the English version is a live

online performance starring six actors in six time zones. Illusionist Scott Silven also performs online and live, from rural Scotland. His interactive production, The Journey, is limited to 30 participants per show. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series celebrates its 10th anniversary with 16 productions, including collaborations with artists from the Chinese mainland and the United Kingdom. The Festival opens with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra performing two world premieres and concludes its international slate with the acclaimed Igor Moiseyev Ballet from Moscow.

I find it particularly gratifying to note that the vast majority of events are available free of charge, upon registration, with many of them open to arts lovers from all over the world.

The Arts Festival’s promotion of arts education in schools continues. And PLUS programmes bring together audiences and artists through behindthe-scenes videos, artist dialogues and pre- and post-performance talks.

For all that, and much more, I am grateful to the inspired diligence and dedication of the Hong Kong Arts Festival team. My thanks, too, to the sponsors and donors for their generous support of the arts and culture, particularly in these trying times.

I wish you all an enjoyable and memorable Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Mrs Carrie Lam Chief Executive Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN 49

As we reflect on distance and connection in the 49th Hong Kong Arts Festival, I would like to thank everyone who has made this performance possible, giving us an invaluable opportunity to explore ways of connecting with others.

I am grateful to the HKSAR Government, acting through the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, for its annual subvention; and to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for its staunch and ongoing support. Thanks are also due to our corporate sponsors, charitable foundations and individual donors, who continue to stand by us in these unprecedented circumstances.

Sincere thanks also go to all of the participating artists, whose talent and dedication have gone into today’s performance; and to you, the audience, without whom the show would not be complete.

I hope you will find your own connection to today’s performance and will treasure it as much as I do.

Victor Cha Chairman Hong Kong Arts Festival

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 49

With all my colleagues, I am thrilled to welcome you to this performance in the 49th Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Over the past year, we have shared the isolation resulting from unprecedented circumstances both in Hong Kong and around the world.

“Separate Together” acknowledges what we have all been going through, and is referenced in a number of productions this year. It also alludes to all the separate artists and audiences brought together for performances and events. At the same time, “Separate Together” describes one of the most magical aspects of great art: its capacity to elicit uniquely and deeply personal responses while paradoxically giving us a shared moment of wonder, to be moved, inspired and uplifted. I hope very much that we will experience this together in many performances in the course of the Festival.

Please also look out for ancillary PLUS programmes and events, which are curated to provide additional dimensions to the work presented, and enrich your Festival experience. Enjoy!

Tisa Ho Executive Director Hong Kong Arts Festival

The Hong Kong Arts Festival is made possible with the funding support of

HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL A major international arts festival in of and for Hong Kong

“Creative and representational arts have a common mission.

They bring beauty to the world, courage to mankind, vigour to life, and brilliance to society…

Therein lies the noble significance of the Festival.”

1907 2014 Sir Run Run Shaw, CBE, HKAF Honourary Life President 1907 2014

1973 2 3

The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) is a major international arts festival committed to enriching the cultural life of the city by presenting leading local and international artists in all genres of the performing arts in February and March each year.

Since its launch in 1973, the HKAF has presented top international artists and ensembles across multiple genres—from music, opera, Chinese opera and ballet to break dance and experimental theatre. International guests have included major state operas, established theatres, top orchestras and stars of the day. We also frequently partner with renowned international artists and institutions to produce exceptional new works.

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We have also collaborated with Hong Kong’s own creative talent to produce work which is now part of the local canon and to showcase emerging local artists. Over the years, the HKAF has commissioned and produced over 200 local productions across genres including theatre, chamber opera, music and contemporary dance—many with successful subsequent performances in Hong Kong and overseas.

2019

As part of our enduring commitment to enriching the cultural life of the city, we organise a diverse range of Festival PLUS activities for the community before and during the Festival to enhance engagement between artists and audiences. These include film screenings, masterclasses, exhibitions,

29 782 000

10 000

meet-the-artist sessions and guided backstage and cultural tours.

Beyond the main Festival, the HKAF also promotes inclusivity and understanding through the arts. Its “No Limits” project, co-presented with The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, strives to create an inclusive space for people with different abilities to share the joy of the arts together.

To nurture the next generation of artists and audiences, the HKAF also invests heavily in yearround arts education for young people. Over the past 29 years, our “Young Friends” scheme has reached over 782,000 local secondary and tertiary school students; members can enjoy showcases, pre-performance talks, open rehearsals, Festival performances and in-school workshops led by international and local artists. Donations to the Student Ticket Scheme also make approximately 10,000 half-price student tickets available each year.

2021

1

Updated January 2021

Visit our programme archive

The HKAF is a non-profit organisation. Its principal income sources are: recurrent funding from the government, box office revenues, and sponsorship and donations made by corporations, individuals and charitable foundations which form a significant portion of total income and also enables the HKAF to receive support from the Government’s matching scheme that matches income generated through private sector sponsorship and donations.

11 Programme 12 Programme Notes Conductor

WILSON NG AND THE SEOUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 23–26.04.2021

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Wilson Ng Pianist

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Dong hyek Lim 30 About the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Online Performance 1 15 Approx 1 hour and 15 minutes

Cover Photograph SPO Tae-Uk Kang

Photography, streaming or recording of any kind is strictly prohibited

Picture stability and quality are subject to home internet speeds and bandwidth, and other external factors

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Programme

PROGRAMME Boris Blacher (1903–1975) Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op 26 26

Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) F

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Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op 20 Allegro Andante Allegro moderato Piano: Dong-hyek Lim

Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) Mathis der Maler Symphony Engelkonzert (Angelic Concert) Grablegung (Entombment) Versuchung des heiligen Antonius (The Temptation of Saint Anthony)

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BORIS BLACHER ORCHESTRAL VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY PAGANINI, OP 26

1903 1975

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Both the first and final works on this Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra programme were written by composers who fell foul of the Nazis. Boris Blacher and Paul Hindemith also shared an outlook that rejected the legacy of Romanticism— though in very distinctive ways.

While an engaging mixture of French-inspired clarity and jazz influences adds flavour to the Blacher piece that opens our concert, Hindemith imported the techniques of early music into a new, modern context in his Mathis der Mahler symphony.

At the centre of the programme is an early work by the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin that is heavily influenced by the turn-of-the-century Romanticism repudiated by our other two composers: Scriabin’s sole piano concerto.

Boris Blacher (1903–1975) was born in the Manchurian coastal city of Yingkou (known in the West at the time as Niuzhuang), where his Baltic German parents lived in a Russian-speaking community. At the age of 19, he moved to Berlin to study architecture and mathematics but switched to music. He made a living arranging popular

Programme Notess

and film music before gaining an academic position. But the Nazis, angered by what they viewed as his “degenerate music” and resistance to their doctrines, sidelined him.

1947

Boris Blacher Born 1903 1 19 19 January 1903 Yingkou, the Great Qing Died 1975 1 30 30 January 1975 West Berlin, West Germany

A

26 Orchestral Variations on a Theme

by Paganini Op 26

Composed

24 1820

1947

1934

As in the case of Paganini’s original Caprice, Blacher’s work is in theme and variation form, which opens with the Paganini theme, in its original version for solo violin.

It would only be after the Second World War that Blacher had his international breakthrough, with Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini which he composed in 1947; it remains his best-known work. Blacher wrote for both the concert hall and the stage (including 13 operas and nine ballets) and was a highly influential teacher. He came to be regarded as a major figure of modern German music in post-war West Berlin. He once stated: “I consider myself to be one of those composers who do not follow a single path but, according to whether it brings me pleasure, sometimes compose in this way and sometimes in that: light or serious, entertaining or experimental.”

Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini is based on a musical idea that has cast its spell over generations of composers: a theme in A minor that occurs as the final caprice in the legendary violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin (published in 1820). Schumann, Liszt and Brahms could not resist it, and Sergei Rachmaninoff created one of his most-beloved scores when he turned it into a quasi-piano concerto with a set of orchestral variations in 1934.

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Acknowledging the Paganini origin of his theme, Blacher has a solo violin state it at the outset, but soon his principle of highly contrasting colours takes effect.

Notice how kaleidoscopic his changing orchestration is as the players proceed with 16 brief variations—including variations in the rhythm. In contrast to the late Romantic passions of Rachmaninoff’s approach, it is like a brilliant scientific analysis of the tune’s DNA, concluding with a fiercely whirling variant that abandons all restraint.

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F

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ALEXANDER SCRIABIN PIANO CONCERTO IN F-SHARP MINOR, OP 20

1872 1915

1893

F

1892

Any mention of “a theme of Paganini” is bound to evoke the aforementioned Rachmaninoff piece. One of Rachmaninoff’s classmates at the Moscow Conservatory was Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), who won second prize for piano performance in the class of 1892 (Rachmaninoff took first prize).

Both figures inherited a ripe late Romanticism that flourished in the years following Tchaikovsky’s death in 1893.

While Rachmaninoff’s later contemporaries labelled him a “conservative” throwback to an out-of-date style, Scriabin pushed Romantic individualism to unprecedented extremes that bordered on the Modernist experiments of the early 20th century. He came to hold a messianic view of his musical mission, so it seems fitting that he was born on Christmas Day (according to the old-style Russian calendar in use at the time). Even Richard Wagner’s claims about the redemptive power of music seem tame when they are compared with Scriabin and his apocalyptic mysticism.

The Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor is an early work and predates Scriabin’s development of an unconventional harmonic

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Programme Notess

language. It exhibits, with ravishing beauty, the profound influence that Chopin exerted on his first compositions, which had been centred on the piano. Like Chopin, the Russian preferred intimate surroundings and had reclusive tendencies.

1896

Alexander Scriabin Born 1872 1 6 6 January 1872 Moscow, Russian Empire 1915

Died 4 14

14 April 1915 Moscow, Russian Empire F 20 Piano Concerto in F sharp minor Op 20

Composed 1896

Written at the age of 24, this is Scriabin’s only piano concerto, and also his first published orchestral piece.

1897

Scriabin composed the concerto at whirlwind speed in the autumn of 1896, finishing the orchestration the following spring; this was the first score he wrote for full orchestra. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov criticised his instrumentation, and some imbalances between the piano and the orchestra call for a sensitive approach. Scriabin played the solo part at the premiere in Moscow in 1897, and the work eventually caught on among his contemporaries.

Rachmaninoff, too, became a champion, both as conductor and as soloist—he later appeared as the pianist in memorial concerts after Scriabin’s death.

Both Rachmaninoff and Scriabin had parallel careers as solo performers, though Scriabin focused more on composition after graduating from the Conservatory. The former became a superstar pianist, but Scriabin had to contend with natural limitations. His hands, for example (corresponding with his short build), were famously small; they were said to stretch barely more than an octave on the keyboard. The solo writing in the piano concerto (Scriabin’s only contribution to the genre) is often nuanced and delicate rather than explosively virtuosic.

Along with the influence of 17

F

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Chopin (particularly in his gently meditative, ornamented lyricism), Scriabin follows the conventional design of three movements. Yet the work is by no means merely derivative: some moments anticipate the future mystic. The first movement, which is relatively short, brings the soloist in very soon after a brief, mood-setting introduction of the main theme by the orchestra (the opening notes played by the horn are its kernel). Especially appealing is the set of theme and variations comprising the slow second movement. Scriabin writes in subdued pastels, muting the strings. He associated particular keys with colours, “seeing” the F-sharp major of this movement as mystically “bright blue”. The finale is the longest movement and begins with the piano in the foreground. Gracefully dancelike impulses propel the music forward until the concerto resounds at the end on a note of affirmation.

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PAUL HINDEMITH MATHIS DER MALER SYMPHONY

1895 1963

1938 1935

1938

1929

The hugely prolific Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) was one of the most frequently performed contemporary composers during his lifetime. His success continued in spite of the Nazis’ attempts to derail his career, but, in 1938, he emigrated from his native Germany and became an exile. In 1935, Hindemith completed his opera Mathis der Maler (“Matthias the Painter”), for which he also wrote the libretto. But the premiere, because Hindemith had fallen out of favour with the Nazis, could not take place in Germany; the first performance was delayed until 1938 and occurred instead in Switzerland.

Hindemith riled the Nazis for several reasons. He satirised sacrosanct icons like Richard Wagner, incorporated jazzinspired ideas, and had collaborated with the Marxist playwright Bertolt Brecht. Then there were the shock tactics of his youthful works influenced by Expressionism. His 1929 opera Neues vom Tage (News of the Day), for example, depicted a soprano singing in the bathtub, apparently nude.

Written in a style that imaginatively recycles forms and techniques from the Baroque

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Programme Notess

era, the later Mathis der Maler conveyed a message that was similarly repulsive to Nazi ideology. Its topic is the role of the artist during a time of social upheaval. Hindemith advocates for responsibility to one’s own identity over ideology. Although he wasn’t Jewish, the Nazis eventually banned his music and labelled him a “degenerate” artist. Boris Blacher was among those who himself got into trouble for defending Hindemith.

Paul Hindemith 1895

Born 11 16

Curiously, the Mathis der Maler symphony does not present excerpts from the opera but actually preceded its composition. The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, a hugely important figure based in Berlin at this time, planned to conduct the opera’s premiere and asked Hindemith to prepare a kind of symphonic summation of the work-in-progress that could be performed in the concert hall.

16 November 1895 Hanau, German Empire 1963

Died 12 28

28 December 1963 Frankfurt, West Germany

1934

Mathis der Maler Symphony

Composed 1934

1470 –1528 Each movement of the Symphony is based on the painter Grünewald’s vivid and sometimes grotesque Isenheim Altarpiece paintings.

This altarpiece comes with two sets of wings and displays three configurations as the wings open and close, which reveal scenes of annunciation, crucifixion, resurrection and more.

1920

1512–1516

Hindemith completed the symphony in 1934—he later integrated the music into the opera score—and its premiere in March of that year by the Berlin Philharmonic under Furtwängler was greeted by the public with great enthusiasm, to the ire in particular of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who publicly denounced the composer.

The inspiration for both the symphony and opera was Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470– 1528), a leading painter of the German Renaissance, who had been rediscovered in the 1920s.

His most-celebrated work is the Isenheim Altarpiece (1512–16) 23

One configuration of the Isenheim Altarpiece with outer and inner wings closed, showing the scene of crucifixion

(now displayed in a museum in Colmar, France). Hindemith’s scenario reimagines Grünewald’s involvement during the Peasants’ War, an uprising against the power of the privileged few that was doomed to failure.

Each of the symphony’s three movements mirrors a section of the Isenheim Altarpiece, which is designed as a triptych. The opening is titled Engelkonzert (“Angelic Concert”) and corresponds to a Nativity scene; the music doubles as the opera’s Prelude. In the introduction, Hindemith incorporates a famous song from medieval Germany (“Three angels were singing”), played by the trombones. The composer’s zest for counterpoint—one of the Baroque techniques he revived—brings colourful energy to the Allegro. The ensuing slow movement—Grablegung (“Entombment”)—is a haunting

Programme notes by Thomas May Thomas May is a freelance writer, critic, educator, and translator whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Gramophone and Musical America. He regularly contributes to the programmes of the Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard School, and his books include Decoding Wagner and The John Adams Reader.

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elegy whose equivalent Isenheim panel illustrates the burial of Jesus and, by implication, the death of Grünewald himself.

The tragic march yields to a sequence of moving woodwind solos and then builds to a bleak climax. In the final and lengthiest movement, Versuchung des heiligen Antonius (“Temptation of Saint Anthony”), Hindemith depicts the artist’s identification with the hermit as he is attacked by demonic figures (another section of the altarpiece).

This powerfully energetic music climaxes in a vision of redemption as an ancient Gregorian chant emerges from the orchestral fury.

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2019 2020

WILSON NG Conductor

BBC

© Jino Park

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Conductor – Wilson Ng

Internationally sought-after conductor Wilson Ng is making waves around the world as a trailblazer in a new generation of classical music. Lauded for his technique and musical imagination, he is currently associate conductor with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, appointed at the age of 28. He has swept coveted prizes at globally renowned competitions, such as the Mahler Competition in Bamberg, the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition in Frankfurt, and the Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris.

Wilson is also the artistic director of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra Hong Kong.

Following his performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 1 at his subscription concert debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), Wilson was praised by Yonhap News, which commented that it was “as if he had become Shostakovich himself”. He was immediately engaged by the SPO to conduct at subsequent high-profile events, including the Seoul Arts Center Orchestra Festival’s opening concerts in 2019 and 2020. Wilson led the SPO’s first live-streamed online concerts and executed a series of groundbreaking virtual reality experience recordings during the COVID-19 pandemic. His widespread success in the nation has led him to conduct other major Korean orchestras.

Wilson has worked with many leading European orchestras, including the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. His Junge Deutsche Philharmonie debut performance at the Alte Oper Frankfurt New Year’s concert, with Scriabin’s Poème de l’extase on the programme, was critically acclaimed by the Frankfurter Rundschau, which labelled his concert in a headline as “The Pinnacle of Ecstasy”.

Wilson began his musical journey at the age of 11, learning the flute, which led him to Paris and Lausanne. He performed as a guest solo flautist with the Lyon National Opera Ballet at the HKAF before specialising in conducting, and advanced his conducting studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Wilson was handpicked for the conducting academies at the Pacific Music Festival and Aspen Music Festival, where he was awarded the James Conlon Conductor Prize.

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1996

NHK

2001

EMI

EMI

DONG-HYEK LIM

CHOC

Pianist

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2001

2005

15 2007

© SangWook Lee

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Pianist – Dong-hyek Lim

13 1984

1998

Acclaimed by audiences, critics and fellow musicians, Dong-hyek Lim is regarded as one of the finest pianists of his generation.

He first came to prominence in 1996 when, at the age of 12, he won second prize at the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow.

Lim’s performances at the Small and Great Halls of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Salle Pleyel and Salle Cortot in Paris, the Łazienki Palace in Warsaw, the Konzerthaus in Berlin and with Martha Argerich at the Philharmonic Hall in Beppu, have won great acclaim. He has performed with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic under conductors Charles Dutoit, Myung-whun Chung and Yuri Temirkanov.

In 2001, Lim became the youngest pianist ever to sign a recording contract with EMI Classics and received the Diapason d’Or award in France for his debut album. His second recording on EMI was awarded a coveted CHOC rating by Le Monde de la musique. Lim achieved great success with his third album, playing The Goldberg Variations by J. S. Bach.

His fourth album, Chopin 24 preludes, released by Warner, was acclaimed by Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine.

In 2001, he became the youngest ever winner of the Premier Grand Prix at the Marguerite LongJacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris. In 2005, Lim took part in the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition and took third prize, tied with his elder brother Dong-min Lim. In 2007, Lim shared fourth prize with Sergei Sobolev in the 13th International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Born in Seoul in 1984, Lim began his musical training at the age of seven and moved to the Moscow Central Music School aged ten. He graduated in 1998 and continued his studies at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Professor Lev Naumov. Lim also studied in Germany with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover and in the US with Emanuel Ax at the Juilliard School. He is now based in Berlin.

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SEOUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

SPO Tae-Uk Kang

2005

2020

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) became an independent organisation in 2005. Under the leadership of music director Myungwhun Chung, the orchestra has widened its repertoire and has taken its performances to the next level. World-renowned Finnish conductor, Osmo Vänskä has taken up the baton as the orchestra’s second music director from 2020.

2010

2011 2012 2014

2015

2018

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11 2019

10

Apart from traditional concert hall venues, the SPO performs a wide range of public concerts such as Neighbourhood Concerts, the Riverside Concert and the Korean National Liberation Day Concert. It also runs programmes for all ages from concerts for kids and “Inside Orchestra” events to preconcert lectures for adults and through these programmes the SPO strives to balance artistic and social values.

In 2010, the orchestra embarked on its first overseas tour to nine

cities in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia. This was followed by the orchestra’s European festival tour in 2011 which included the worldfamous Edinburgh International Festival. In 2012, the orchestra won standing ovations and wide acclaim for its North American tour. In 2014, the SPO toured to four cities in Europe, performing at the BBC Proms in London, where the orchestra received rave reviews from critics and audiences. In addition, the SPO has established itself as a major Asian orchestra through performances by invitation at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing and Suntory Hall in Tokyo in 2015. In November 2018, the SPO toured to Paris and Lucerne. In October 2019, the SPO successfully completed its Russian tour.

The SPO also became the first Asian orchestra to sign an exclusive worldwide contract with the Deutsche Grammophon label for two annual CD releases over a five-year period. Some of the SPO’s renowned recordings include masterworks by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mahler.

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra Performers

Conductor

Wilson Ng

First Violins

Wayne Lin Ju yeong Moon Sung yong Ueom Yeon kyung Joo Wojciech Maciej Dziembowski Roo mee Du Hye lim Song Hye yeon Kim Mi na Yoo Hyun soo Ko Yeon ju Joo Hae sung Choe Second Violins

Piano

Dong hyek Lim

Cellos

Yeon sun Joo Hyun jung Ban Eun mi Cha Min kyung Kim Woon sun Choi So yun Kim

Michal Emanovsky Yoon Choi Sergey Lee Byeong hun Kim Ye seol Choi Trumpets

Double Basses

Young soo Lee Choong seok Lee Mi na Han Seung ho Chang Flutes

Duek woo Kim Ji hye Chung Ji won Kim Go eun Choi Mi youn Kim Yong hwa Kim Mi kyung Kim Cha kyung Eom In hak Kim Hye mi Lee

Gloria Jee eun Park Yun hwa Song Seon ah Jang Che ol Hui Jo

Violas

Clarinets

Yun ji Kang Joseph Yo sub Lim Hyung eun Lee Ji hae Hong Sun young Kim Dale Kim Sun geun Kim Min kyung Sung

Horns

Timpani

Scott Verduin Percussion

Edward Choi Mun hong Kim Mi youne Kim

Jeffrey David Holbrook Niels E. Heidø Hyang min Baek Trombones

Jason Matthew Crimi Young nam Noh Hyun seok Hong Tuba

Je yeon Park

Oboes

Mi sung Lee Youn joo Lee Gyung gyun Ryu

Sang woo Lim Chang hee Lee Eun won Chung Bassoons

Jung sun Kwak Myoung gyu Jang Jong sun Choi

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Hong Kong Arts Festival would like to thank the following for their generous support:

Patron’s Club Members Platinum Member

Gold Member

Kerry Holdings Limited

The Jardine Matheson Group

Silver Member The Swire Group Charitable Trust

Bronze Members Great Eagle Group Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited

In kind Supporters Initial Fashion

The Garden Company Limited

Student Ticket Scheme Tin Ka Ping Foundation Zhilan Foundation

PLATINUM DONORS HK$140,000

AND ABOVE

GOLD DONORS

2 Anonymous 2 Burger Collection

HK$12,000 – HK$29,999

Dr Chung See Yuen Peter and Nancy Thompson Mr William To

DIAMOND DONORS HK$70,000 – HK$139,999

SILVER DONORS

Rusy and Purviz Shroff Charitable Foundation

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Anonymous

Mr Iain Bruce Yvonne Cheng

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Shiu Lam Dr Mak Lai Wo Ms Wong Pie Yue Cleresa BRONZE DONORS HK$3,000 – HK$5,999

6 Anonymous 6 Ms Anna CY Chan

Ms Chan Wan Tung Mr D Chang Ms Christine Lam Ms Savita Leung Mrs A M Peyer Ms Janice Ritchie Mr Alex So Mrs Teresa Pong Tam Dr Mrs Tsao Yen Chow and Dr Sabrina Tsao

Digital Arts Education Scheme GOLD DONORS DIAMOND DONORS

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5 Anonymous 5 Mr Mrs David S L Lin Dr Michael Mak Dr Ronald Paul Ng

Mrs A M Peyer Leland Helen Sun Mr Wong Yick Kam Ms Isabel Yiu BRONZE DONORS HK$3,000 – HK$5,999

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Mr Lau Yeung Chak SILVER DONOR HK$6,000 – HK$11,999

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Anonymous Ms Grace Chiang Mr S C Tong Ling

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Royal Pacific Hotel

Gloucester Luk Kwok Hong Kong

Sha Tin Town Hall

Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association

Sheung Wan Civic Centre

Hong Kong Arts Centre

Shun Hing Electronic Trading Co., Ltd. Southgate Design

Hong Kong Baptist University Department of Music Cultural Literacy Programme

Speedy Promotion Limited Taiwan Sotheby's International Realty

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre Hong Kong City Hall The Artland Co Ltd Hong Kong Cultural Centre The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Hong Kong Tourism Board

Department of Cultural and Religious Studies Department of Music

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FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Illuminations Telling Images of Xiqu on Porcelain

A New Adventures and Illuminations Production Matthew Bourne's Dance Film Cinderella Behind the scenes

Charles Richard Hamelin Concerts Conquering Performance Anxiety in Piano Competition

Illuminations A New Adventures and Illuminations Production Matthew Bourne's Dance Film Romeo & Juliet

China National Peking Opera Company A Perfect Matrimony

Jockey Club Local Creative Talent Series Journey to the West Rewind / Women Like Us

Women Like Us On the Arduous Path to Happiness

The New Normal of Journey to the West Rewind

Behind the scenes

Illuminations A New Adventures and Illuminations Production Matthew Bourne's Dance Film Swan Lake

Donmar Warehouse Blindness

Elim Chan and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Jockey Club Local Creative Talent Series Yat-sen tentative title Work in Progress Preview Creative team sharing on Musical Yat-sen

Behind the scenes

Illuminations A New Adventures and Illuminations Production Matthew Bourne's Dance Film The Red Shoes

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Music About China

National Theatre Brno Jen fa Behind the scenes

Hong Kong Sinfonietta Adrien La Marca

In the Footsteps of Leoš Janá ek Into the Czech Lands

Arnold Schoenberg Choir Curating the Programme

Igor Moiseyev State Academic Ensemble of Popular Dance Igor Moiseyev Ballet Special

National Theatre Brno The Cunning Little Vixen Behind the scenes

The European Choral Tradition of the Late Romantic Period

Cantonese Opera Noah’s Ark Behind the scenes

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Without Intermission – 50 Years of Artistic Life of Elena Shcherbakova

National Theatre Brno The Diary of One Who Disappeared Inspired by Beethoven Hong Kong Sinfonietta Eroica

Performing Janá ek

Music Dance

Janá ek's Unrequited Love

Pavel Haas Quartet

Janá ek and Martin : Intimacy and Obsessions in String Quartets Finding Your Own Janá ek

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series Finding Meaning in an Uncertain World

Theatre Opera/Chinese Opera

Mokita The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series Mokita / Voice Out

Artist Sharing Behind the scenes Documentary Screening Talks

Piano Recital by Jan Bartoš Revealing Janá ek and His Piano Works

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series Put Out the Flame / Hermetic Diode

Please visit the HKAF website for latest programme information

www.hk.artsfestival.org

Scott Silven’s The Journey Meet the Artist

Online Exhibition

The Plague Cantonese version The Witnesses of The Plague

The Chop Pathetic Fallacy The Plague English version

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series Dance On and Off Dancers at Home

Voice Out Mokita in An Uncertain World

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series Elephant in the Room / Dirty

Seeing your own plague in Albert Camus’s The Plague

Wiener Symphoniker’s Concerts Guided Talk

Wilson Ng and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Yip’s Children’s Choir Children’s Opera Alice in Wonderland

35

Tel Fax Email

2824 3555 2824 3798 2824 3722 afgen hkaf.org 2824 2430

2 12 1205 Room 1205, 12th Floor, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Programme Enquiry

PATRON

The Hon Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, GBM GBS

HONORARY LIFE PRESIDENT

Sir Run Run Shaw, CBE (1907-2014)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chairman

Mr Victor Cha

Vice Chairman

Prof Lo King-man, MBE, JP, SBS

Honorary Treasurer

Mr William Li

Members

Mr Edward Cheng, GBS JP Ms Margaret Cheng Mrs Yu-san Leong Prof Gabriel Leung, GBS JP Mr Sebastian Shiu-wai Man Dr Dennis T L Sun, BBS JP Ms Miriam Yao Mr Sunny Yeung

PROGRAMME COMMITTEE Chairman

Prof Lo King-man, MBE, JP, SBS

Members

Prof Giorgio Biancorosso Prof David Gwilt, MBE Mr Peter C L Lo Mr Fredric Mao, BBS The Hon Mr Justice Ribeiro Mr Joseph Seelig * Mr Wing-pong Tam, SBS JP Ms Jue Yao, JP

*

FINANCE COMMITTEE Chairman

Mr William Li

Members

Ms Margaret Cheng Mr Nelson Leong

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

* 36

Honorary Programme Advisor

Chairman

Mrs Yu-san Leong

Vice Chairman

Ms Jane Yong

Members

Mrs Betty Yuen Cheng Mr Paulo Kin-yee Pong Mrs Helen Lin Sun Mr Andrew Yao

ADVISORS

The Hon Ronald Arculli, GBM CVO GBS OBE JP Mr Martin Barrow, GBS CBE JP Dr John C C Chan, GBS CBE LVO JP Dr Darwin Chen, SBS ISO Mr Angus H Forsyth The Hon Charles Y K Lee, GBM GBS OBE JP Mrs Mona Leong, SBS BBS MBE JP Dr The Hon Sir David K P Li, GBM GBS OBE JP

HONORARY SOLICITOR

Ms Gabriela Kennedy, Mayer Brown

AUDITOR

PricewaterhouseCoopers

STAFF **

Executive Director Assistant to Executive Director

** * * *

* * *

* *

Assistant Programme Managers Programme Coordinator Arts Administrator Trainee Logistics Manager

Grace Lang** So Kwok-wan Samantha Szeto* Linda Yip Tracy Tam* Loui Yuen* Stephanie Kuo* Elvis King*

*

ADMINISTRATION Programme Manager (Administration) Programme Officer (Administration)

Shirley So Spaky Ching*

* *

TECHNICAL Production Manager Assistant Production Manager

Shirley Leung* Benny Mok*

*

PUBLICATIONS Editor English Editor Assistant Editors

James Liu* Oliver Farry* Rain Cheng*

*

OUTREACH Senior Outreach Manager Deputy Outreach Manager Assistant Outreach Manager Outreach Officers

* Oliver Farry* * ** * * * *

MARKETING Marketing Director Associate Marketing Director Marketing Managers Deputy Marketing Manager Assistant Marketing Manager Digital Marketing Specialist Marketing Officer Arts Administrator Trainee

** ** * * * * * *

* ** *

*

TICKETING Marketing Manager (Ticketing) Ticketing Officers DEVELOPMENT Development Director Development Managers

Kenneth Lee** Joe Tang* Carman Lam* Tracy Cheung* Kelvin Li*

Eppie Leung Stephanie Chan*

Assistant Development Manager Arts Administrator Trainee

** * *

ACCOUNTS Head of Finance Accounting Manager Accounting Officer

Teresa Kwong** Connie To* Peter So*

HR & ADMINISTRATION Office Manager Receptionist/Junior Secretary General Assistant

Judy Tam* Virginia Li Bonia Wong

NO LIMITS Project Administrator Project Coordinator Programme and Outreach Manager Assistant Programme and Outreach Manager Marketing Manager Assistant Marketing Manager Outreach Coordinator Assistant Technical and Production Manager Senior Accounting Officer

Fiona Chung* Helen Luk* Lam Kam-kwan* Ainslee Chan* Germaine Lui* Tiffany Wong* Wilson Fung* Jacob Chan* Janice Pang*

* * * * Contract Staff No Limits Steering Committee Members

Michael Lee*

Katy Cheng** Dennis Wu** Dennis Chan* Alexia Chow Michelle Yeung* Joel Kwok* Ben Chan* Erica Lau* Stephanie Cheung*

* *

* * * * *

Janet Yau* Susanna Yu* Joseph Wong*

Melody Lai*

Flora Yu** Anna Cheung* Lorna Tam Conny Souw* Lois Ng*

*

*

* **

PROGRAMME Programme Director Associate Programme Director Programme Managers

Tisa Ho** Connie Ho

2021

3

Chung Cheuk-yau*

Mak Tsz Kam*

In alphabetical order Updated March 2021

37

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