For immediate release
5 October 2020

Following the reopening of performance venues, Hong Kong Sinfonietta will present two uplifting programmes – “Beethoven the Immortal 1 & 2” * – in celebration of the 250^th anniversary of the musical giant’s birth.

On 24 and 31 Oct, two different programmes will be put on at Hong Kong City Hall and Yuen Long theatre respectively, showcasing the strong homegrown talents of the city. Under the baton of conductor Perry So, the orchestra will perform some of Beethoven’s best classics including Symphony No 6 “Pastorale” and No 7 (featured in the hit Japanese TV drama Nodame Cantabile), as well as Piano Concerto No 3 and 5, joined by pianist Colleen Lee.

The concert “Beethoven the Immortal 1” on 24 Oct will also feature the world première of composer Daniel Lo Ting-cheung’s Autumn Rhythm II – an engaging and rhythmically vibrant work inspired by a Jackson Pollock painting of the same name.

* Changes of artists and programmes due to the pandemic:

• “Great Piano Concertos: Denis Kozhukhin Plays Rachmaninov” (24 Oct) is changed to “Beethoven the Immortal 1”, with pianist Colleen Lee replacing Denis Kozhukhin as soloist
• “Beethoven the Immortal” (31 Oct) will be conducted by Perry So instead of Jason Lai

Disease Prevention Measures

• Audience members will need to go through temperature checks upon entering the performance venue. Those with fever symptoms will be denied entry and should seek immediate medical advice.
• Audience members must wear their own masks inside the performance venue.
• To comply with the reduced capacity and social distancing regulations of the performance venue, special seating arrangements are in place. Please sit in your assigned seats.

Ticket refund announcements will be made on the orchestra’s website and Facebook page in case of concert cancellation due to venue closure.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Beethoven the Immortal 1

24 October 2020 (Saturday) 8pm

HK City Hall Concert Hall
$420, $280, $160 (Tickets at URBTIX)

Conductor/Presenter: Perry So
Piano: Colleen Lee

Programme
Daniel Lo Ting-cheung: Autumn Rhythm II (world première)
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37
Beethoven: Symphony No 7 in A, Op 92

Beethoven the Immortal 2

31 October 2020 (Saturday) 3pm

Yuen Long Theatre Auditorium
$300, $220, $140 (Tickets at URBTIX)

Conductor/Presenter: Perry So
Piano: Colleen Lee

Programme
Beethoven: Coriolan Overture, Op 62
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5 in E-flat, Op 73, “Emperor”
Beethoven: Symphony No 6 in F, Op 68, “Pastorale”

• Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minder, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
• 20% discount for purchasing standard tickets to both concerts on 24 and 31 Oct
• 10% discount for group booking of 4 or more standard tickets

***********************************************************************************************

Perry So                                                                                                         Conductor / Presenter

Perry So was born in Hong Kong in 1982 and has become a presence in concerts halls around the world since winning the First and Special Prizes at the Fifth International Prokofiev Conducting Competition in St Petersburg, Russia in 2008. Orchestras he has worked with include the Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras, the symphony orchestras of Houston, Detroit, New Jersey, Israel and Shanghai, and the London, China and Seoul Philharmonics, and the Residentie Orkest in The Hague. He made his North American operatic début at Yale Opera in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, performed Verdi’s Requiem in Cape Town, and enjoys a long association with the Royal Danish Theatre and the Royal Danish Orchestra both on the concert stage and in the pit. In the coming season, he will return to the San Francisco Symphony for his début on the subscription series.

So has held posts as Assistant, then Associate Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Conducting Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Artistic Collaborator of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Spain, and is a member of the conducting faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. He has been a frequent guest at Walt Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and in 2013 toured the Balkan Peninsula at the helm of the Zagreb Philharmonic in the first series of cultural exchanges established after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

So’s work in the recording studio encompasses a broad sampling of twentieth-century British, French and Russian music with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and his album of Barber and Korngold’s Violin Concertos with soloist Alexander Gilman and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra was awarded the Diapason d’Or in January 2012.

***********************************************************************************************

Colleen Lee                                                                                                              Piano / HKS Artist Associate 2010-2011

Since winning the 6^th Prize at the 15^th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, Colleen Lee has performed extensively throughout Asia, Europe and North America in solo recitals and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Galacia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Hong Kong Philharmonic, among others. Lee was the Artist Associate of Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2010/2011, and has toured with the orchestra in South America, Italy and Taiwan.

She has also been a featured artist at several international music festivals including the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki and Gdansk in Poland, Assisi International Piano Festival in Italy, Meissen Pianoforte Festival in Germany, International Keyboard Festival in New York, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Musicus Fest in Espoo, Finland. Her performance of the “Magic Piano and Chopin Shorts” animation series at the 42^nd Hong Kong Arts Festival had garnered rave reviews. She was invited to perform twice in the “Beethoven Piano Sonatas Marathon” in Vienna and Hong Kong. She appeared as soloist with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble in the 2018 Shanghai New Music Week. 2019 marked her début with London Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle.

As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Lee frequently appears in chamber music concerts and has also collaborated with world famous instrumentalists including violinists Ning Feng and Kang Dong-suk, cellists Trey Lee, Daniel Müller-Schott and Alexander Kniazev, and the Shanghai Quartet. She is also a member of the RTHK Chamber Soloists which was formed in 2018.

Born in Hong Kong, Lee started her piano lesson at the age of four. Subsequently, she was trained at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) under Eleanor Wong and at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover with Arie Vardi. Prizes she has won include First Prize at the 3rd Seiler International Piano Competition in Kitzingen, Germany, the 2003 Dorothy Mackenzie Artist Recognition Award, Third Place and Critic and Audience Prizes at the 15^th International Competition for Piano and Orchestra in Cantú, Italy, as well as prizes at the 1^st Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Pro Musicis International Award, Gina Bachauer International Artist Competition, Sendai International Music Competition, and the 16^th Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

Her discography includes an all Chopin album recorded on the Pleyel Piano released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, and a complete Scarlatti Sonatas album by Naxos. She was also featured on the Hong Kong Sinfonietta DECCA album This is Classical Music 3.

In recognition of her outstanding achievements in music and in the promotion of arts and culture, she has been awarded the Certificate of Commendation by the Secretary of Home Affairs, Commendation for Community Service by the Hong Kong Government, and Young Artist Award by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Lee is currently the Honorary-Artist-in-Residence of The Education University of Hong Kong, and is on the piano faculty of HKAPA and Hong Kong Baptist University.

***********************************************************************************************

Daniel Lo Ting-cheung                                                                                                                     Composer

Daniel Ting-cheung Lo completed his PhD (Composition) at the University of York in the UK in 2017, under the supervision of William Brooks, fully supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund. Previously, he studied Composition with Chan Hing-yan at the University of Hong Kong where he graduated with first class honours, and then earned an MPhil (Music Composition).

Lo has won various prizes in international contests including 1^st Prizes at the 7^th Musica e Arte Composition Contest (Rome, 2011) and the 3^rd Migratory Journeys International Music Composition Competition (Chicago, 2010/2011). His compositions have been performed worldwide by renowned musicians including players from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bang-on-a-Can, Orchestra of Our Time, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostravská Banda, Piccolo Orchestra, Ensemble Suono Giallo, Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie, Quatuor Diotima, Orkest de Ereprijs, Utrechts Blazers Ensemble, Sofia Soloists, Juice Vocal Ensemble, Song Company, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Hong Kong New Music Ensemble.

The last several years saw the premières of Lo’s Home City Dream City for orchestra and field recordings (2014) and Efflorescence – Quasi-Concerto for Orchestra (2016), both commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Interested in seeking ways to integrate music with the literature of Hong Kong, some recent works inspired by contemporary local writers include two pieces written for Hong Kong Odyssey, commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival 2017; a choral work Mary’s Chalk Circle for narration, unaccompanied choir and video, presented by Hong Kong Voices in June 2017; and a chamber opera A Woman Such as Myself (based on Xi Xi’s short story A Girl Like Me), premiered in Czech Republic at New Opera Days Ostrava in June 2018. In November 2019, a staged cantata composed by Lo (based on Yesi’s short story The Banquet at elBulli) was presented by Hong Kong Voices. His newest chamber opera Two Ladies, commissioned by Hong Kong Arts Festival, was again based on Xi Xi’s short stories.

Download Images:

Colleen Lee

Colleen Lee

Perry So ©Ian Christmann