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Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, "Mozart Night" concerts by the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra will be staged in September, with Dr Yip Wai-hong as music director and Maurizio Moretti as guest conductor, as well as Jimmy Chiang as principal guest conductor and piano soloist.
The all-Mozart programme includes "Divertimento for Strings in B-flat, K137", "Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K488" and "Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K550".
Founded by Dr Yip Wai-hong, the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra is a highly organised orchestra aiming at promoting music among the general public, especially the young generation in Hong Kong. In order to achieve its goal, the orchestra has given several hundred performances over the course of more than 30 years in the Hong Kong City Hall, regional town halls and civic centres. A number of internationally famous conductors and soloists have been invited to perform with the orchestra. By using the idioms of popular music and organising concert talks, the orchestra has successfully introduced serious music and Chinese orchestral music to the public, and at the same time has brought about an awareness of the indigenous culture of the people.
Guest conductor Maurizio Moretti is one of the best interpreters of the renowned Italian school of pianoforte. He studied under Ida Allegretto at the Conservatory of Cagliari and then studied for five years with Aldo Ciccolini, who praised him for having "an extraordinary rhythmical vitality, a special inborn musical treatment of sound and a great technical capacity which characterise his pianism". Moretti studied and toured for three years with director Peter Maag, recognised worldwide as a premier interpreter of Mozart's music, and together they played all major Mozart piano concertos in front of several demanding European audiences. Moretti is also a teacher: he is currently a full professor of pianoforte at the Conservatorio di Musica in Cagliari, where he also teaches piano masterclasses. In addition, he is an invited guest professor at the renowned Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy and Festival in Japan and has taught masterclasses around the world.
Since winning the First Prize of the renowned International Competition for Young Conductors Lovro von Matacic in Croatia in 2007, Jimmy Chiang's conducting career has found tremendous international attention. 2012 saw him present a convincing interpretation in the Spanish premiere of Elliott Carter's "Cello Concerto" with the Orquesta Sinfónica Castilla y León in Valladolid, Spain. Chiang has also received critical acclaim for his "Mozart Gala" with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hansestadt Lübeck in Germany. Chiang has been the assistant music director for Wagner's "Ring" cycle at Theater Lübeck and he was appointed as the Principal Conductor at Theater Freiburg in Germany. He has also appeared as the guest conductor at the Komischen Oper Berlin, Theater Heidelberg and Scholsstheater Schönbrunn in Vienna.
The Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra "Mozart Night" concerts will be staged at 8pm on September 21 (Saturday) at the Auditorium of Sha Tin Town Hall and at 3pm on September 22 (Sunday) at the Auditorium of Yuen Long Theatre. Tickets with prices ranging from $100 and $160 are now available at all URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by telephone credit card booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis). For the package discount, please refer to the programme leaflet for details.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries, call 2734 9009. For telephone credit card bookings, call 2111 5999. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. For more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_326.html.
Ends/Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:10
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