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Christoph Poppen’s first concert as Music Director of Hong Kong Sinfonietta presenting distinguished French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

For immediate release
9 May 2023

For newly appointed Music Director Christoph Poppen’s first concert at the helm of the orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has invited distinguished French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet to Hong Kong to share his authoritative interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 2. The orchestra will also present the Asian première of leading German composer Matthias Pintscher’s Ex Nihilo, as well as Brahms’ spellbindingly beautiful Symphony No 4 under the baton of Maestro Poppen. Exclusively sponsored by CLP Holdings Limited, the concert will take place at Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall on 20 May (Sat) at 8pm, and is part of the French May Arts Festival.

Having enjoyed a prolific recording and international concert career for over three decades, award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet regularly works with orchestras such as the Cleveland, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth, Vasily Petrenko, Ludovic Morlot, Edward Gardner, Louis Langrée and Andrew Davis, among others. Recording exclusively for Chandos, his CD albums have received numerous accolades from magazines including Gramophone, BBC Music, Choc-Classica and The New York Times.

In addition to his concert with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Bavouzet will also give a highly anticipated recital on 21 May under the HKS Recital Series, the first half of the programme being an enthralling celebration of dance which explores the musical relationship between Debussy and Chopin, and the second half featuring Pierre Boulez’s captivating 12 Notations, as well as Book One from Debussy’s timeless Études.

As the Exclusive Sponsor of the concert on 20 May, CLP Holdings Limited has been supporting Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s concerts in the French May Arts Festival for more than 16 years. With the aim to make classical music more accessible across society and enjoyable, CLP has also sponsored the Student Ticket Scheme of Hong Kong Sinfonietta since 2013. In enabling more than 10,000 students to enjoy orchestral performances through half-priced student tickets, CLP’s initiatives contribute to the development and appreciation of arts to improve the quality of life and encourage creative thinking.

French May Arts Festival

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Great Piano Concertos: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Plays Beethoven

20 May 2023 (Saturday) 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$520, $380, $220

Music Director/Conductor: Christoph Poppen
Piano: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Programme
Matthias Pintscher – Ex Nihilo (2011) (Asian première)
Beethoven – Piano Concerto No 2 in B-flat, Op 19
Brahms – Symphony No 4 in E minor, Op 98

HKS Recital Series:

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Piano Recital

21 May 2023 (Sunday) 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$450, $320, $180

Piano: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Programme
Debussy – Ballade Slave
Chopin – Ballade No 2 in F, Op 38
Debussy – Mazurka in F-sharp minor
Chopin – Mazurka in B minor, Op 30 No 2
Debussy – Valse Romantique
Chopin – Waltz in F minor, Op 70 No 2
Debussy – Danse (Tarentelle Styrienne)
Chopin – Tarantella in A-flat, Op 43
Pierre Boulez – 12 Notations
Debussy – Études, Book 1

Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minder, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group bookings of 4 or more standard tickets
Get a 20% off discount when you purchase full-price tickets to any two of the following programmes:
- Great Piano Concertos: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Plays Beethoven (20 May)
- HKS Recital Series: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Piano Recital (21 May)
- HKS Recital Series: Julian Libeer Piano Recital: J S Bach & Beyond – A Well-Tempered Conversation (14 Jun)
- Great Piano Concertos: Julien Libeer Plays Poulenc (17 Jun)
Suitable for 6 years old or above
Tickets at URBTIX
Tickets online at POPTICKET (no handling fees)

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Christoph Poppen Music Director/Conductor

Conductor, soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue, Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in diverse roles in the international musical world. As Music Director of Hong Kong Sinfonietta from the 2023/2024 season, he works closely with Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie and Associate Conductor Vivian Ip on the artistic development of the orchestra, creating inspiring and innovative programmes which bring music closer to the community. Highlights of his appearances with the orchestra this season include the Hong Kong première of Toshio Hosokawa’s Violin Concerto, the Asian première of William Kentridge’s Oh, To Believe In Another World, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, his brand new Maestro’s Insights concert series, as well as the Farewell Gala of the Marvão International Music Festival in Portugal.

As Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s Principal Guest Conductor between 2015-2023, Poppen has presented to the Hong Kong audience a rich repertoire ranging from Austro-German masterpieces to contemporary works, brought the orchestra on tour to Germany and Portugal, and taken up the position of Co-chair of the Hong Kong International Conducting Competition. During the current season, he continues his close and highly successful collaboration with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra in his role as Principal Conductor, and with the Israel Chamber Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor, while being the Artistic Director of the Marvão International Music Festival. Highlights in the 2022/2023 season included appearing with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música and return visits to the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Athens State Orchestra, as well as the continuation of his recorded cycle of the complete Mozart Masses with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra for the Naxos label.

From 1995-2006, Poppen was Artistic Director of Munich Chamber Orchestra, establishing the ensemble’s new profile in a short period of time. His distinctive programmes, often contrasting classical and contemporary styles with numerous commissioned works, were highly successful. In 2006, he was appointed Music Director of Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrücken and from 2007-2011, he was Music Director of the newly formed Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. He has appeared with orchestras such as Vienna Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Detroit Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Bamberg Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Indianapolis Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He also has a strong presence in Italy, performing regularly with the country’s leading orchestras and at festivals such as the Venice Biennale, as well as giving masterclasses. As an opera conductor, he has enjoyed acclaimed collaborations with Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Opera Köln, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen and the RuhrTriennale.

Founded by Poppen in 2014, the Marvão International Music Festival has grown to become a highly successful and award-winning musical event featuring soloists such as Jörg Widmann, Augustin Hadelich, Javier Perianes and Clara-Jumi Kang. He also founded the International Academy for Music, Arts and Science in Marvão in 2019, and was the Artistic Director of the Classic Revolution Festival in Seoul, South Korea between 2020-2022, for which he curated highly inventive programmes.

As a prize-winning violinist, Poppen co-founded the Cherubini Quartet in 1978. He was appointed Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and later at Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he was President from 1996 to 2000. From 2001 to 2005, he was Artistic Director of the renowned ARD International Music Competition. Since 2003, he has been Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. Since the 2021/2022 academic year, he has been Chair Professor of Violin at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.

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Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Piano

Award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet enjoys a prolific recording and international concert career. He regularly works with orchestras such as the Cleveland, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth, Vasily Petrenko, Ludovic Morlot, Edward Gardner, Louis Langrée and Andrew Davis, among others.

Highlights of the 2022/2023 season included performances with the Sydney Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony orchestras, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo. Bavouzet returned to Seattle Symphony Orchestra for a play-direct programme of Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart, and performed with Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg at the Bischwiller Festival. He continued his relationship with Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy which included a tour of the Baltics. With Takács-Nagy, Bavouzet also performed Mozart concertos with Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra.

In recital, Bavouzet continues his three-year residency at the Wigmore Hall, titled “Autour de Debussy”, which includes solo recitals and a chamber concert with the Orsino Ensemble. They also performed at the Helsinki Seriös chamber music series. Other recitals include two Debussy programmes at the Ferrara Musica festival, Sydney City Recital Hall and Sala São Paulo, to name a few.

Bavouzet has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonie de Paris with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicholas Collon. He has recently appeared with the Camerata RCO, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and toured the UK with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier.

Bavouzet records exclusively for Chandos. His most recent release has been the final instalment in the highly successful complete Haydn Piano Sonatas series, and his album The Beethoven Connection received numerous accolades from magazines including Gramophone, BBC Music, Choc-Classica and The New York Times. Ongoing cycles include the complete Mozart Piano Concertos with the Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy; their fourth volume was nominated for a Gramophone Award in 2020. In September 2020, the complete Beethoven piano concertos were released with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra play-directed by Bavouzet. Other recordings include Bartók’s and Prokofiev’s piano concertos with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda; the latter won the Concerto category of the 2014 Gramophone Awards. Under Yan Pascal Tortelier, he recorded Stravinsky’s complete works for piano and orchestra with Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and Ravel’s piano concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra which won both a Gramophone and BBC magazine award. Bavouzet’s recordings have also garnered Diapason d’Or and Choc de l’Année awards.

Bavouzet has worked closely with Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Kurtág, Maurice Ohana, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Bruno Mantovani and Jörg Widmann, and is also a champion of lesser-known French music, notably that of Gabriel Pierné and Albéric Magnard. He is the International Chair in Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music and an Advisory Board Member of the Pianofest in the Hamptoms. In 2012, he was named Artist of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards, and in 2008 in Beijing, he was awarded the first ever Elite Prize for the Best Concert Series for his complete Beethoven sonata series.

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Co-presenter