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Renowned piano maestro Maurizio Pollini will make his debut in Hong Kong next month (April) playing an all-Chopin programme for the ¡§Encore Series¡¨ presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
The concert programme features ¡§Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op.45¡¨, ¡§Ballade No.2 in F, Op.38¡¨, ¡§Sonata No.2 in B-flat Minor, Op.35¡¨, ¡§Scherzo No.1 in B Minor, Op.20¡¨, ¡§Four Mazurkas, Op.33¡¨, ¡§Berceuse, Op.57¡¨ and ¡§Polonaise in A-flat, Op.53, ¡¥Heroic¡¦¡¨.
Born in Milan, Italy, in 1942, Pollini studied with Carlo Lonati and Carlo Vidusso. After winning first prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw at age 18, he began an international career of great distinction. His repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary composers including premiˆore works by Manzoni, Nono and Sciarrino. He has performed with the most celebrated orchestras and conductors including Bohm, Celibidache, Karajan, Abbado, Boulez, Chailly, Mehta, Sawallisch and Muti.
Pollini devised and performed his own concert series at the Salzburg Festival, at Carnegie Hall in New York, in Paris for la Citˆm de la Musique, in Tokyo and in the Parco della Musica in Rome. His programmes include both chamber and orchestral performances which mirror his wide musical tastes from Gesualdo and Monteverdi to the contemporary masters. He was the ¡§Artist Etoile¡¨ at the Lucerne Festival in 2004 performing in a recital and concerts with orchestras conducted by Abbado and Boulez.
For his musical accomplishments, Pollini has won global applause and awards, including the Vienna Philharmonic Ehrenring in 1987, the Ernst-von-Siemens Music Prize in Munich in 1996, the ¡§A Life for Music ¡V Artur Rubinstein¡¨ Prize in Venice in 1999 and the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize in Milan in 2000. He has recorded works from the classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire to worldwide critical acclaim. His recordings of the complete works for piano by Schoenberg, and of works by Berg, Webern, Manzoni, Nono, Boulez and Stockhausen are a testament to his great passion for music of the 20th century. His recent recording of the Chopin Nocturnes was received with the greatest enthusiasm by audiences and critics.
¡§Encore Series: Piano Recital by Maurizio Pollini¡¨ will be at 8pm on April 15 (Wednesday) at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced from $200 to $980 will be available from March 10 onwards at URBTIX outlets (each patron can purchase up to a maximum of 10 tickets per transaction on the first booking day from the counter). 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 students and CSSA recipients on a first-come, first-served basis).
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009 (from March 11 onwards); for credit card telephone booking, call 2111 5999; for Internet booking, visit www.urbtix.hk; for more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp.
A pre-concert talk conducted in Mandarin by music educator Professor Li Mingqiang, who won the fourth prize in the 1960 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, will be held at 7.30pm on April 3 (Friday) at AC1, 4/F, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. All interested are welcome to attend. Free admission to the talk will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Ends/Monday, March 2, 2009
Issued at HKT 11:12
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