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Roby Lakatos and his ensemble from Hungary will present a concert with renowned Chinese violinist Chuanyun Li as the guest performer at the Auditorium of Sha Tin Town Hall at 8pm on December 7 (Sunday). The concert should not be missed by music lovers.
Lakatos, a gypsy violinist known as the ¡§devil¡¦s fiddler¡¨, is a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility. He is equally comfortable performing classical music, improvisational jazz and Hungarian folk idiom. Lakatos mixes classical music with Hungarian-gypsy vitality, which reflects the deep traditions rooted in the cultural heritage of the gypsy people.
Lakatos was born in the legendary family of gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, the ¡§king of gypsy violinists¡¨. His musicianship evolved within his family and at the Bˆmla Bartˆuk Conservatory of Budapest. He made his public debut at the age of nine as the first violin in a gypsy band. He and his ensemble have delighted audiences at ¡§Les Atˆmliers de la grande Ille¡¨ in Brussels in collaboration with Vadim Repin and Stˆmphane Grappelli between 1986 and 1996. His playing was greatly admired by Sir Yehudi Menuhin who always made a point of visiting the club in Brussels to see his performances. Lakatos also performed with the London Symphony Orchestra in the orchestra¡¦s ¡§Genius of the Violin¡¨ festival alongside Maxim Vengerov, with great acclaim. He is also a composer and arranger and has performed in the great halls and festivals in Europe, Asia and America.
Chuanyun Li, one of the foremost Chinese violinists, studied under Professor Yaoji Lin, Dorothy DeLay, Itzhak Perlman, Hyo Kang and Kurt Sassmannshaus. Li has won many international prizes and performed with numerous renowned orchestras and conductors on the Mainland and in Japan, the United States, Spain and New Zealand, to great acclaim. Violinist Ruggiero Ricci has said that Li had all the skills and ability required of ¡§a great violinist¡¨. Li was the violin soloist on the original soundtrack of Chen Kaige¡¦s movie ¡§Together¡¨ in 2002. He was one of the musicians featured in a Radio Television Hong Kong documentary series on outstanding young Chinese musicians in 2004.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the concert ¡§Lakatos and his ensemble¡¨ is one of the attractions of the ¡§Cheers! Series¡¨. Tickets priced at $100, $200 and $300 are now available at URBTIX outlets. Senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients are entitled to 50% off (limited quotas for CSSA recipients on a first-come, first-served basis). Special booking discounts are available; please check the programme leaflet for details.
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009; for credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999; for Internet bookings, visit www.urbtix.hk; for more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp.
Other ¡§Cheers! Series¡¨ programmes include: ¡§Tino/ Am/ used¡¨ by Class 7A Drama Group, ¡§The Snowman and Bear¡¨ by City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, ¡§Steam Away¡¨ by Duggan Dance Company, ¡§My Circus Will¡¨ by Ming Ri Institute for Arts Education, ¡§A Very Happy Merry Christmas Concert¡¨ by Hong Kong Oratorio Society, ¡§Go! Go! Go! Mr. Y!!!¡¨ by Jumbo Kids Theatre, ¡§The Nutcracker¡¨ by The Hong Kong Ballet, ¡§International WOW Magic Show on Earth¡¨ by Magic Tech and ¡§The World of Wondrous Acrobatics¡¨ by Tianjin Acrobatic Troupe of China. Please check the programme leaflet for details.
Ends/Thursday, November 6, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:51
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