Music

Now into its eighth year, the journey of Music about China continues as Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) search for new tracks down the road….For the 2014 concert, the Orchestra and Yan Huichang are bringing together the unlikely combination of two plucked-string instruments of the world, the zhongruan and the guitar. Liu Xing, Chinese composer of In Remembrance of Yunnan fame known for his audacity, has dug out his formidable piece, Zhongruan Concerto No. 2, first written in 2004, and arranged it for zhongruan and Chinese orchestra. It will be given its world premiere at this concert by his mentee, Singaporean zhongruan artist Tan Su-Min, Clara. The other benchmarking piece for plucked-string instrument, the guitar, will be performed by Clarence Mak, Head of Composition at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He will be showing his consummate skill as a guitarist with his own latest composition, Blue Sky the Heart. Also, the world famous bass, Gong Dongjian, will be reprising his collaboration with the HKCO in singing the legend of Genghis Khan in the eponymous symphonic poem by Tang Jianping. Another highlight of the concert is that Liu and Mak will share their compositional experience over the years. Music About China 2014 will be an exciting conglomeration of plucked-string music and voice, of granular, plucked notes and linear, bowed notes, and of sensibilities East and West. Meet innovativeness head-on!