Performances are on 12 and 14 December.
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman, will present concerts at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall and Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou this December. Hong Kong and Guangzhou audiences will have the opportunity to experience performances featuring the acclaimed pianist Stephen Hough.
“Whatever Stephen Hough plays, he either distils its essence or finds something strikingly new to say about it,” praises The Independent. His complete recordings of Saint-Saëns’ piano concertos won the Gramophone “Gold Disc” Award. Hough will perform Saint-Saëns' virtuosic Egyptian Concerto, a work the composer referred to as “a kind of voyage in the East.” The concert will open with Fazıl Say’s Grand Bazaar, a vibrant piece that weaves together diverse cultural influences. Under Lio Kuokman's direction, this musical journey will culminate in a performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a monumental masterpiece inspired by the composer’s passionate infatuation with an actress and the complex nature of obsession.
Following the Hong Kong performance, Hough and the orchestra will travel to Guangzhou for a weekend concert. The first half of the programme will mirror the Hong Kong concert, featuring Fazıl Say’s Grand Bazaar and Saint-Saëns’ Egyptian Concerto. The evening will conclude with Lio Kuokman leading the orchestra in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a vividly orchestrated work inspired by the enchanting tales of A Thousand and One Nights. This concert is supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
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