Cellomania: Alban Gerhardt Plays Julian Anderson

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Co-commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Julian Anderson’s Litanies wins 2023 Grawemeyer Award

Hailed as “one of the most inquisitive, versatile and, above all, best cello virtuosos of our time” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), German cellist Alban Gerhardt has enjoyed an unparalleled career in the past three decades, impressing critics and audiences worldwide with his exceptional musicianship and technique. In his début with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Music Director Designate Christoph Poppen, he will present the Asian première of Litanies, a cello concerto written especially for him by leading British composer Julian Anderson, who was announced as the recipient of the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for this work. Anderson has received commissions from the Berlin Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic, and won prestigious awards such as the British Composer Award and Gramophone Award in his stellar career. The programme also includes Mendelssohn’s evocative Calm Sea & Prosperous Voyage, as well as Brahms’ luminous Symphony No 2 in D.

Music Director Designate: Christoph Poppen
Cello: Alban Gerhardt

 

Programme

Mendelssohn
Calm Sea & Prosperous Voyage, Op 27

Julian Anderson
Litanies (2018-2019) (Asian première)
Concerto for Cello & Orchestra
Commissioned by Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra & Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne

Brahms
Symphony No 2 in D, Op 73

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

One of Hong Kong’s flagship orchestras, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has brought music closer to the community, and achieved significant local and international recognition for its passionate performances and innovative programming. Since 1999, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has collaborated with an illustrious array of international musicians and groups, including in recent years Ilya Gringolts, Martin Helmchen, Sergei Nakariakov, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Krzysztof Penderecki, Mariinsky Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

The orchestra is a regular guest at international arts festivals and has toured 41 cities around the world. As an avid believer of keeping music alive and contemporary, Hong Kong Sinfonietta commissions and performs new works every year and ventures into new initiatives, recently receiving wide acclaim for its Back On Stage concert film series, as well as the Tiny Galaxy Concerts online series featuring performances recorded at a fascinating hostel in Hong Kong. In 2021, the orchestra co-curated the “Life is Art” film festival with MOViE MOViE, while continuing to break down barriers between music and audience with free chamber concerts held regularly at Hong Kong City Hall.