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The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present an extra qin and se concert by renowned musicians Ding Chengyun and Fu Lina in response to popular demand.
The evening concert on February 28 has been sold out and only limited tickets for February 27 (Friday) at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre are still available.
Featuring an array of ancient tunes, including "The Moon over Guanshan", "A Dialogue between the Fisherman and the Woodcutter", "Wild Geese on the Sandbank", "Harmony between Man and God" and "Returning Home after Resignation", the additional concert will be at 2.30pm on February 28 at the Xiang Hai Xuan Multi-purpose Hall, Nan Lian Garden.
Ding Chengyun is a famous scholar, particularly noted for his virtuosity in playing the qin and the zheng. He has made tremendous breakthroughs in the tuning and study of se in recent years, thus reviving the playing of this ancient instrument in performing Chinese music.
Ding is currently the professor of musicology at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, and a visiting professor at the China Conservatory of Music and Nanhua University of Taiwan. He has given many concerts in China and abroad in the form of qin recitals as well as qin and se duets. His music is noted for its clarity and elegance, and has been critically acclaimed.
Fu Lina, who is Ding's wife and one of the few musicians who can play se, has made long-term efforts in the perpetuation and development of Chinese traditional music, sight-reading and listening and related pedagogical studies, the study of the traditional teaching methods of the gong-che scores in Chinese music, and the study of the performing art of the se, zheng and qin. In 1996, she won the "Class One Award for Outstanding Achievements in Scientific Studies", presented by the Henan Education Commission. Fu is currently the associate professor in composition at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and a visiting associate professor at Nanhua University of Taiwan.
Qin and se were two important musical instruments in ancient China. They were often described as played in a pair and were, by tradition, symbols of harmony. Since the late Tang dynasty, the playing technique of se had gradually lost and it was seldom heard until recent.
"Harmonious Chords - A Chinese Music Concert Featuring the Qin and the Se" is one of the concerts in the "Nan Lian Garden Chinese Music Series". Tickets priced at $200 (free seating) are now available at URBTIX outlets. Senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients may have 50% off (limited quotas for students and CSSA recipients on a first-come, first-served basis). A maximum discount of 20% is offered for group booking and "Nan Lian Garden Chinese Music Series" schemes. Please refer to the programme leaflet for details.
Other attractions in the "Nan Lian Garden Chinese Music Series" include "Nanyin Concert by Tong Kin-woon" (February 22, March 7 and 14), "Green is the Willow - Guqin Recital by Jin Wei" (March 6-7) and "By the Nan Lian Garden - Concert by Chinese Music Virtuosi" (March 21).
Nan Lian Garden is located at 60 Fung Tak Road, Diamond Hill, Kowloon, adjacent to the Chi Lin Nunnery. Enquiries: 2329 8811.
For enquiries about the programme, call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp. Ticketing enquiries and reservations can be made on 2734 9009 and credit card telephone bookings on 2111 5999. Tickets can also be booked online at www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Monday, January 12, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:59
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