| Music Director/Conductor | Yip Wing-sie |
| Piano | Saleem Ashkar |
Programme
| Daniel Lo Ting-cheung | Efflorescence – Quasi-Concerto for Orchestra (world première) |
| Beethoven | Piano Concerto No 5 in E-flat, Op 73, “Emperor” |
| Schumann | Symphony No 1 in B-flat, Op 38, “Spring” |
Saleem Ashkar (Piano)
･ Made his New York Carnegie Hall début at the age of 22
･ Regularly performs with leading conductors and orchestras such as Mehta, Barenboim, Muti, Eschenbach, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony,
Chicago Symphony, Concertgebouw and Staatskapelle Berlin
･ Has toured extensively with Riccardo Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, including appearances at the Proms and Lucerne Festivals
･ His DECCA recordings include concertos by Mendelssohn with Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Chailly) and Beethoven with NDR Symphony (Bolton)
“His playing blends warmth and clarity, intensity and freshness that simply grabs you: Pure Beethoven-joy.”
Die Welt
“He captures just the right balance of clarity, swiftness of attack, poetry and élan: every note shines with sun-reflecting clarity as the finales whirl along.”
BBC Music Magazine
On Ashkar’s performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto:
“Saleem Abboud Ashkar played with muscularity, subtlety and grace in an excellent performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto.”
Capital Times
“Ashkar traversed between the lyrical and flowing to the powerful with fluency, capturing the ever-changing moods.”
Waikato Times
“His precise articulation, control of dynamics and quicksilver runs the length of the keyboard and long delicate trills won spontaneous thunderous applause.”
Otago Daily Times
