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Roger Woodward, designated as "National Treasure" by the Australian National Trust, will perform in a concert here in June with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and conductor Kian Pin Hiu.
The concert will offer to classical music lovers a memorable evening with programmes including Haydn's Symphony No. 92 in G, "Oxford", Bach's Piano Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op.19.
Described as "a genius" by the London Guardian, Roger Woodward is one of Australia's most famous musicians, a national celebrity with a stunning international career. He has performed worldwide to great acclaim with all the major conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel and Sir Charles Mackerras. His solo engagements include performances with the New York, Los Angeles and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and all the major London orchestras. Many of the world's leading contemporary composers have written works especially for him such as Barraque, Takemitsu and Xenakis. Roger Woodward has been honoured with numerous distinctions including the Polish Order of Merit for outstanding services to Human Rights and the Companion of the Order of Australia.
The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong is renowned for its innovative approach to classical music programming and for its fine musicianship. The orchestra is comprised of an international group of professional musicians resident in Hong Kong who specialise in the performance of works for small orchestra. Currently in its third successful season, the CCOHK has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Danish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri, Japanese bandoneon player Ryota Komatsu, outstanding Chinese pianist Kong Xiangdong, Czech harp virtuoso Katerina Englichova, Hong Kong tenor Warren Mok, pop stars Olivia Newton John and Jackie Cheung, and Rainer Honeck, concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Other recent events include a sold-out "Baroque By Candlelight" concert and an all-Irish show featuring Richard Harvey on whistles, panpipes and mandolin.
Kian Pin Hiu , a Dutch conductor of Chinese descent, brings to the concert platform his vast experience as a conductor and as a member of one of the world's greatest orchestras. From 1960 to1985 he served as first violinist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam where he worked with all the outstanding conductors and international soloists of our time such as Raphael Kubelik, Sir John Barbirolli, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Arthur Rubinstein and Leonard Bernstein. Since 1985 Kian Pin Hiu has been the resident conductor of the Flevolands Symphony Orchestra in Lelystad. He has also been the guest conductor of the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the Gelders Orchestra, the Gaudi Ensemble and the Beijing Central Philharmonic Orchestra. In September 1999 he led the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in its highly successful debut concert.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the concert will be staged at 8pm on June 28 (Friday) at Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $180, $120 and $80 are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions will be granted to senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (Discount tickets for students and CSSA recipients available on a first-come-first-served basis).
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservation, please call 2734 9009; for credit card telephone booking, please call 2111 5999. To search more information on internet, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp.
End/Tuesday, May 28, 2002
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