HK Phil Presents Leonard Slatkin and Eton College Chapel Choir

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) will present a programme featuring internationally-acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin and the renowned Eton College Chapel Choir. On 5 & 6 April in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, Slatkin, who is recognised for his intuitive interpretations of iconic American works, will be joined by the choristers of Eton College Chapel Choir in a performance of Leonard Bernstein's colourful Chichester Psalms.

Founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, Eton College is one of the most famous schools in the world, and has been referred to as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen". The chapel choir, made up of boys from the school, sings for services in the College Chapel as their main duty. They also perform regularly in the UK and aboard. In this programme, the choir will sing Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms commissioned by the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex for the 1965 Chichester Festival.

Opening the concert is The Infernal Machine, a rousing overture by the contemporary America composer Christopher Rouse, who declares that it "was my intention to compose a brief orchestral showpiece inspired by the vision of a great self-sufficient machine eternally in motion for no particular purpose". This is followed by one of the most popular of all 20th-century classical works - Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. This evocative American work, written in 1936, has appeared in movies including Platoon and The Elephant Man.

The programme will close with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, composed in the summer of 1888. Obsessed with the concept of fate, the symphony opens in a sombre mood with an idea which, according to Tchaikovsky, represents the "complete resignation before Fate". Some have suggested that the Fifth Symphony has a hidden agenda which is believed to convey his final coming to terms with his homosexuality.

Classics: Leonard Slatkin | Eton College Chapel Choir will be held on 5 & 6 April 2019 (Fri & Sat), 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets price: HK$680, $480, $380, $280 are now available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

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