Artistic Director and Principal Conductor: Yan Huichang
Zhao Taisheng, Sanxian
Mao Qinghua and Ren Zhaoliang, Vocals
Programme highlights
Arr. Zhang Shiye: “The Grand Victory” Wind and Percussion Folk Music from Shanxi
Zhao Jiping: Follow the Pagoda Tree to Trace the Roots of Our Ancestors
Chan Ming-chi: Jing • Qi • Shen
Sui Lijun/ Lyrics by Shang Cunbao: “Song of the Black Earth” for Sanxian, Narrative Singing and Orchestra
Cheng Dazhao: The Yellow River Capriccio
Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra is the only professional, full-sized Chinese Orchestra in Hong Kong, featuring 85 accomplished musicians. Hailed as “a leader in Chinese ethnic music” and “a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong”, the Orchestra has performed in many countries and regions in Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Since Maestro Yan Huichang assumed the role of its Principal Conductor, the Orchestra has won numerous awards and has been proactively promoting the interaction, exploration and fusion with Western music circles.
In this concert, under Yan Huichang’s baton, the HKCO collaborates with a number of outstanding performers to demonstrate the tenderness of the South and the rigor of the North by playing traditional folk music and major contemporary works. Chan Ming-chi’s pieceJing • Qi • Shen, in particular, is based on the cyclic recurrence of life in the universe, expressing, through the rhythmic juxtaposing of yin and yang , in tandem with the “real” and the “virtual”, the gentle yet rigid beauty of the East Asian arts and culture, as well as the steadfast “vital essence” and striving spirit of the Chinese.
For Cheng Dazhao’s The Yellow River Capriccio, the public is invited to play Chinese hand-drums with the orchestra and experience the emotion and passion of the music under the conductor’s guidance. An opportunity not to be missed!
Duration: approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, including one interval
Festival Outreach Programme:
Pre-Show Talks