HK Phil Explores The Issue Of Global Warming And Celebrates Composer Michael Nyman's 75th Birthday

According to data from NASA, 2018 recorded the fourth highest global average surface temperature. It is expected that 2019 will be the second warmest year on record. In the first two programmes of this year's Swire Classic Insights, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) cordially invites you to share our concerns about Global Warming through music on 1 March (Fri) and 2 March (Sat) in the Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong.

In celebration of the 75th birthday of Michael Nyman, the HK Phil dedicates the last programme of this year's Swire Classic Insights to a man who is one of Britain's most innovative and celebrated composers. The concert will be held on 24 March (Sun) in the Academic Community Hall, Hong Kong Baptist University.

Registration for tickets is required. Ticket registration for the first two concerts begins on 15 February 2019 (10AM), while for the last concert begins on 6 March 2019 (10AM).

(1) Global Warming I (1 March 2019, Friday, 8pm)

In the first two concerts of this year's Swire Classic Insights series, Professor Matthew Evans, Dean of Science at HKU, will reveal the alarming situation concerning global warming and our planet's fragile state. Supporting him will be two programmes of climate-influenced music, evoking the sun, the ice shelf, deserts, polar regions and the creatures whose very existence is threatened by climate change.

(2) Global Warming II (2 March 2019, Saturday, 8pm)

(3) Michael Nyman 75th Birthday - Beyond The Piano (24 March 2019, Sunday, 3pm)

One of Britain's most innovative and celebrated composers, Michael Nyman has had a long collaboration with filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and is probably best-known for his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano.

Co-presented with the Hong Kong International Film Festival, this programme features a selection of Nyman's compositions. Apart from the opener In Re Don Giovanni which is a deconstruction of Mozart's Don Giovanni, all the other compositions are either taken directly from, or derived from, his most famous soundtracks.

On the Fiddle for solo violin and string orchestra comprises three movements, each of which is derived from his scores for the Peter Greenaway films The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) and Prospero's Books (1991).

The final work, Where the Bee Dances, is also derived from Prospero's Books. This saxophone concerto features Simon Haram, a member of the Michael Nyman Band.

All three concerts are free admission. Seats are limited and are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. For more details, please visit: hkphil.org.

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