[1]. Moonlit (Re-arranged from Moonlight over the spring River)(World premiere)
[2]. Spring of Tianshan
[3]. Jeux d’eau
[4]. Reminiscences by the Wei River
[5]. Etude (on a Chinese Theme), Op.25, No.3
[6]. Dress of Clouds,Face of Flowers
[7]. Moon Shadow (World premiere)
[8]. The Moon Rises High
[9]. Sonata for Piano The Banquet (Hong Kong premiere)
[10]. Not a Quiet Night (World premiere)

[1]. Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
[2]. Ligeti: Sonata for Viola Solo
[3]. Bach (Arr. Kodály): Chromatic Fantasy for Viola Solo
[4]. Shostakovich: Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
[5]. Piazzolla: Le Grand Tango

[1]. Brahms: Variations on a Theme byHadyn Op. 56b
Hungarian Dances for Piano Duets, WoO 1, Nos. 1,4 – 7
[2]. Bartok: Sonata for Two Pianos And Percussion

[1]. Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b, arranged for piano trio by Alexander Goedicke
[2]. Pärt: Mozart: Adagio for violin, cello and piano
[3]. Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90, “Dumky”

A concert entitled “Sticks and Strings” by the Hong Kong String Quartet and percussionist Li Biao will be staged in May. The concert is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department as part of its “City Hall Virtuosi Series”.

The programme will include works by Rosauro, Shostakovich and Reifeneder. There are also works arranged by Li Biao, the Hong Kong premiere of Guo Wenjing’s “Rite” as well as Piazzolla’s “La Muerte del Angel”, “Libertango” and “Escualo”. The members of the Hong Kong String Quartet performing at the concert will be Wong Sze-hang (first violin), Cheng Li (second violin), Ni Lan (viola) and Anna Kwan (cello).

The Hong Kong String Quartet was founded by Wong Sze-hang in 1993. All members of the Quartet are musicians from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. The Quartet has served as the resident quartet of Radio Television Hong Kong’s Radio 4 and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The Quartet has also collaborated with various local and overseas musicians, and has performed extensively in Hong Kong, including at major music festivals. High critical acclaim has been won in Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macau. Apart from Hong Kong, the Quartet will also perform at the National Centre of the Performing Arts in Beijing later this year.

Li Biao has won world acclaim as an exceptional solo percussionist in the contemporary era by virtue of his extraordinary musicality and stylistic uniqueness. Li has given numerous solo recitals at various music festivals and worked with renowned orchestras and chamber ensembles including the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, the China National Symphony Orchestra and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked with leading conductors such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Christoph Eschenbach, Lawrence Foster and Jonathan Nott. As a soloist, Li has performed in more than 70 countries or cities. He is a regular percussion concerto performer at “Pay Attention to Classical Music”, an influential European classical music programme, and has recorded percussion albums with labels such as EMI and Teldec.

The programme will feature Schubert’s “Piano Trio No.1 in B-flat, D.898” and Dvořák’s “Piano Trio No.4 in E Minor, Op.90, ‘Dumky'”.

Sophia Yang went to New York to pursue her music studies at the Manhattan School of Music, majoring in piano performance and receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the City University of New York in 1997 and is currently a faculty member of Hong Kong Baptist University’s music department.

In 2009, Yang appeared as a soloist at concerts with Taiwan’s Evergreen Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. In the same year, she was also invited to perform two Mendelssohn piano trios in a concert to commemorate the composer’s bicentennial at Hong Kong Kwang-Hwa Information and Culture Center.

Born in Taiwan, Chang Pei-chieh graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with a Master’s degree in Cello Performance and took masterclasses with many of the world’s leading cellists including Anssi Karttunen, Yoyo Ma, Jian Wang, Suren Bagratuni and Lynn Harrell.

Chang was granted a full scholarship in 2002 to represent Taiwan and participate in a chamber music programme entitled “2002 Young Voices from Taiwan” at New York’s Lincoln Centre. She has collaborated with the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami, the United States, as well as the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra and the Taipei Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. She has been the Principal Cello of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta since 2008.

The first Hong Kong native to receive a Doctorate in Violin Performance, Gilbert Sak studied in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Sak has held principal positions in a number of orchestras in the United States. His participation in international music festivals and concert tours has taken him to countries including China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

As a teacher, Sak has taught violin, viola, string pedagogy, performance studies and chamber music at Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He has frequently been invited by the LCSD to give lectures and pre-concert talks. In 2009, he was appointed as Hong Kong Consultant in Strings by the Trinity Guildhall of London.

Local pianists Stephen Wong and Amy Sze will perform renowned works by Mozart, Bolcom, Chopin, Copland, Chaminade, Rachmaninov and Bennett with delicate interpretations to audiences.

Programme includes Schumann’s Piano Quartet, Op. 47 and Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 25.

Brahms

Scherzo in C Minor for Violin and Piano (from F-A-E Sonata)

Schubert

Sonatina in D for Violin and Piano, D. 384

Debussy

L’isle joyeuse, L. 106

Delius

Violin Sonata No. 2

Albéniz (arr. Jennings & Little)

Leyenda (from Suite Española, Op. 47)

Franck

Sonata in A for Violin and Piano, Op. 162