Musicus Society Unveils Lineup For Musicus Fest 2024

Musicus Society will present a series of seven great programs over six weekends in November and December. From 3 November to 7 December 2024, Musicus Fest will welcome eminent artists from Poland, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. This year's festival will be a showcase of outstanding artistry and musicianship from local and international performers. The festival is also brought overseas, to France, with two concerts presented by the Salle Gaveau, the celebrated Paris concert hall.

Artistic Director Trey Lee says, "Cultural exchange and world-class music-making are at the heart of our festival. In addition to performing with the critically acclaimed Sinfonia Varsovia from Poland, I am very much looking forward to leading Musicus Soloists Hong Kong in their Paris debut. These collaborations with high-caliber artists are a testament to how our festival serves as a meeting point on the international music scene, deepening cultural exchange through our captivating programs."

The Society is honored to welcome the aforementioned Sinfonia Varsovia to the Festival Finale on 1 December. The world-renowned orchestra counts the late composer Krzysztof Penderecki in its lineage of music directors. Under the baton of OPUS KLASSIK Award-winning conductor Alexander Liebreich, the orchestra will perform sweeping masterpieces by Dvořák and Lutosławski, with Trey Lee performing the solo part in Dvořák's enthralling Cello Concerto.

Musicus Soloists Hong Kong (MSHK) is the Society's homegrown string ensemble, comprising international prizewinners on promising career paths around the world. MSHK's concert at the Salle Gaveau in Paris on 16 November will highlight French composers and include the exciting world premiere of Umbra, a double concerto specially commissioned from composer Seung-Won Oh, with funding from the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. This mesmerizing new piece features Trey Lee (cello) and Nadia Ratsimandresy (Ondes Martenot) as soloists. MSHK will then perform the same program in Hong Kong on 23 November, giving the Asian premiere of Umbra.

Pianist and winner of the 2022 Young Artist Audition Zach Cheong Hoi-leong will perform a solo recital in the Next Generation Virtuosi concert on 30 November. The emerging virtuoso has selected some of his favorite pieces to demonstrate his talent and polished skills.

The re-run of Marco Polo's Musical Encounter of East and West will take place on 3 November. The family-friendly performance will feature stellar local musicians and elements of Italian commedia dell'arte to introduce Chinese and Western musical instruments. It is written and performed by Ursula Volkmann and Maddalena Recino, who are joined on stage by an ensemble led by Marc Ngan and musicians including Colleen Lee, Mavis Lam and Aaron Chan.

The Jockey Club Musicus Heritage Stories Concerts will be presented in University Hall of the University of Hong Kong, a declared historical monument, on 7 December. Details to be announced.

Ticketing and Sponsorship Information

Tickets for concerts at Hong Kong City Hall and Hong Kong Cultural Centre are available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). More information is available at https://www.musicussociety.org/en/Musicus-Fest/Concert.html.

Financially supported by the Art Development Matching Grants Scheme of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Musicus Society gratefully acknowledges its major sponsors Bank of China (Hong Kong) and The Tung Foundation, its donors and partners for Musicus Fest 2024. The Musicus Soloists Hong Kong concerts in Paris are supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels. The Jockey Club Musicus Heritage Stories program is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Family Concert: Marco Polo's Musical Encounter of East and West

03.11.2024 (SUN)
7:30pm
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
$340, $240, $140

Traditional tune: Torrents of the River
Frosini: Carnival of Venice
Kreisler: Liebesfreud
Paganini: Carnival of Venice (selected variations)
The Sherman Brothers: "I Wan'na Be Like You"
Gottschalk: Carnival of Venice
Traditional tunes: Chinese Ensemble Medley
Willis Wong arr.: Marco Polo Returns to Carnival (for large ensemble)

Musicus Soloists Hong Kong - Cello and Ondes Martenot

23.11.2024 (SAT)
8:00pm
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
$380, $280, $180

Rameau: Concert en sextuor No. 5
Seung-Won Oh: Umbra, Double Concerto for Cello, Ondes Martenot and String Orchestra (Asian premiere)
Vivaldi: Concerto for 4 Violins in B minor, RV 580, Op. 3 No. 10
Milhaud: String Octet (String Quartets No.14 and 15), Op. 291
Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (arranged for string orchestra)

Musicus Soloists Hong Kong: Umbra - Première mondiale

16.11.2024 (SAT)
8:30pm
L'Amphithéâtre, Salle Gaveau
35,00 €

Rameau: Concert en sextuor No. 5
Seung-Won Oh: Umbra: Double Concerto for Cello, Ondes Martenot and String Orchestra (World Premiere)
Vivaldi: Concerto for 4 Violins in B minor, RV 580, Op. 3 No. 10
Willis Wong: Sampling Tea for violin, viola and pipa (French Premiere)
Milhaud: String Octet (String Quartets Nos. 14 and 15), Op. 291
Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (arranged for string orchestra)

Musique de chambre entre Paris et Hong Kong

17.11.2024 (SUN)
8:30pm
Le Salon Chantal, Salle Gaveau
35,00 €

Puccini: Crisantemi String Quartet, SC 65
Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor, M. 67
Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor

Next Generation Virtuosi

30.11.2024 (SAT)
8:00pm
Theatre, Hong Kong City Hall
$180, $120

J.S. Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, KV 310
Chopin: Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-flat, Op. 22
Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42
Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words), Op. 67, No. 1, Andante in E-flat, MWV U 180
Schubert/Liszt: tr. 12 Lieder, S.558, No. 4: Erlkönig (Erlking), D. 328
Schubert/Liszt: tr. Geistliche Lieder, S. 562, No. 1: Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen (Litany for the Feast of All Souls), D. 343
Ravel: La valse, M. 72

Festival Finale: Trey Lee and Sinfonia Varsovia

01.12.2024 (SUN)
8:00pm
Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
$580, $460, $300, $200

Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
Lutosławski: Mala suita (Little Suite)
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70

Jockey Club Musicus Heritage Stories
07.12.2024 (SAT)
University Hall, The University of Hong Kong
Ticket price to be announced.

Program to be announced.

Trey Lee (Hong Kong): Artistic Director / Cello
Alexander Liebreich (Germany): Conductor
Sinfonia Varsovia (Poland): Orchestra
Musicus Soloists Hong Kong (Hong Kong): String Ensemble
Nadia Ratsimandresy (France): Ondes Martenot
Seung-won Oh (The Netherlands/South Korea): Composer
Zach Cheong (Hong Kong): Piano
Colleen Lee (Hong Kong): Piano
Ursula Volkmann (Germany): Co-director, Scriptwriter and Actress
Maddalena Recino (Italy): Co-director, Scriptwriter and Actress
Marc Ngan (Hong Kong): Assistant Director and Actor
Aaron Chan (Hong Kong): Violin

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