HKU MUSE 2023/24 Fall Season
We are thrilled to announce the 2023/24 Fall Season, with star-studded programmes covering a vast array of forms and styles.
Join us and be mesmerised by music!
Limitless Limitations: Ligeti 100
｜ALL-LIGETI PROGRAMME｜
Continuum
Musica ricercata
Sonata for Solo Cello
String Quartet No. 2
György Ligeti (1923-2006) was one of the most celebrated avant-garde composers in the latter half of the 20th century. On the occasion of Ligeti's centenary, we present four of his chamber gems: Sonata for Solo Cello (1948/1953) is a Hungarian diptych that combines love-struck lyricism with whimsical virtuosity; Musica ricercata (1951-1953) and String Quartet No. 2 (1968) represent the master's penchant to deny tradition and yet allowing it to be acknowledged through hints and allusions; the miniature tour-de-force Continuum (1968) exploits the dexterity of the harpsichordist and the technical possibilities of the instrument to the fullest. Hong Kong's own harpsichordist Stephen Hung, pianist Rachel Cheung, cellist Pun Chak-yin, and Cong Quartet will join forces in bringing these masterpieces to HKU MUSE audience, with select clips of Ligeti's own words as atmospheric interludes.
Berliner Barock Solisten & Diyang Mei
｜PROGRAMME｜
TELEMANN Concerto in G major for Viola, Strings, and Basso Continuo, TWV 51:G9
J.C.F. BACH Sinfonia in D minor, WFV I/3
J.S. BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 (early version)
ROLLA Concerto for Viola and Strings in E-flat major, Op. 3
GALLO Sonata No. 12 for Strings in G minor, 'La Follia'
PAGANINI Sonata per la grand viola
Eight years after Berliner Barock Solisten graced the Grand Hall stage with the Complete Brandenburg Concertos, our friends return to HKU in October with Diyang Mei, First Principal Viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2022 and the first-ever Chinese member of the orchestra in its 141-year history. This time, the celebrated Baroque ensemble will present a selection of luminous Italian and German works. The programme also features Diyang Mei's performance of three concertos by Telemann, Rolla, and Paganini in one evening.
CATEEN! Hayato Sumino in Recital
【Additional Performance on 13 Oct】Tickets will be on sale starting 25 Aug noon
｜PROGRAMME｜
CHOPIN Grande Valse brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18
SUMINO Big Cat Waltz
CHOPIN Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
SUMINO Recollection
CHOPIN Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
SUMINO New Birth
CHOPIN Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53
- Intermission -
J.S. BACH Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971
GERSHWIN (arr. SUMINO) I Got Rhythm (Oct 13)
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue (Oct 13)
J.S. BACH (arr. SUMINO) Inventions, Nos. 4, 13, 14 (Oct 14)
KAPUSTIN Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40 (Oct 14)
Japanese YouTuber-scientist-composer-pianist Hayato Sumino is a rising musical sensation traversing the classical and digital inspirations. His concert on Oct 14 is sold out and we are thrilled to announce that there will be an additional performance on 13 Oct! Sumino will present dazzling gems by J.S. Bach, Chopin, his original YouTube top hits, and two beloved works by Gershwin.
Of Roots and Ways: A Tribute to Maestro Doming Lam
｜PROGRAMME｜
String Quartet No. 2, Five Settings (2009)
Two Farewell Songs from the Poems of Li Po (1964)
Retrograde for Two Violins (1959)
Breakthrough I for Flute and Cello (1976)
Song of Pure Happiness (1980, rev. 1994)
Adopting the creed "search for roots in tradition, find ways in the avant-garde", composer Doming Lam was a maverick pioneer, and one of the very few among his generation of Chinese musicians to have earned an entry in the authoritative Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. By way of five chamber works from different stages of his creative career, this concert traces the path that the maestro pursued in modernising Chinese music over a span of half of a century.
Invisible Architecture: Between Now and Never
｜PROGRAMME｜
The binational contemporary jazz group Invisible Architecture reunites for the first time since their winning of the Golden Melody Awards in 2022, bringing to HKU MUSE a debut performance of their album Between Now and Never. Comprised of Hong Kong native guitarist Alan Kwan, American drummer Matt Young, and keyboardist Jordan Gheen, the group will be joined by bassist Mike Luzecky. Together they will take the audience on an exploration between imagination and the imaginable, with a virtuosic, live interpretation of their genre-melding works that fuse electronica with modern jazz vocabulary. The programme also features a short sharing by the group, revealing intimate details of the creative processes and inspirations behind the album, which was produced digitally at the height of the pandemic.
Of Love and Beloved: Christoph Prégardien & Roger Vignoles
｜PROGRAMME｜
BEETHOVEN An die ferne Geliebte
SCHUBERT Rellstab-Lieder from Schwanengesang
SCHUMANN Dichterliebe
Requited love, or the absence of it, remains a dominant muse for composers. Come and hear a performance by celebrated tenor Christoph Prégardien, accompanied by Roger Vignoles, of three song cycles of love, loss, and yearning. Beethoven expresses regret and acceptance in his song cycle An die ferne Geliebte. Schubert laments rejected love in the yearning melodies of his Rellstab-Lieder from Schwanengesang. And in Dichterliebe, Schumann depicts a story of love and betrayal set to Heinrich Heine's poems.
｜PROGRAMME｜
WEINBERG String Quartet No. 5, Op. 27
SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
TCHAIKOVSKY String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11
MENDELSSOHN Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20, Mvt. 1 (with Cong Quartet)
The music of Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996) is among some of the greatest hidden treasures of the 20th century. A close friend of Dmitri Shostakovich's, Weinberg owned a prolific and powerful repertoire, including 17 string quartets and 22 symphonies. Quatuor Danel, founded in 1991, has worked closely with family members of both composers and is widely known for intimate and insightful renditions of their music. In the Quartet's Hong Kong Debut, they will bring us three remarkable works by Shostakovich, Weinberg, and Tchaikovsky. The evening's finale, the first movement of Mendelssohn's Octet, will be presented with Hong Kong’s own Cong Quartet, who has been closely mentored by the Danel in Europe over the years.
｜PROGRAMME｜
HANDEL Selections from Messiah, HWV 56
First introduced in 2017, the Messiah Sing-Along has now become the winter music tradition of the HKU community. The 2023 edition features an outstanding lineup of Hong Kong's homegrown choristers, soloists, and musicians, under the baton of Vivian Ip. The ensemble will bring you a truly sonorous co-singing experience of Handel’s timeless masterpiece. Join us and let the singing reverberates with hope, gratitude, and holiday cheer.