Cellomania: Michiaki Ueno Plays Lalo

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Winner of the prestigious Geneva International Music Competition in 2021, Japanese rising star Michiaki Ueno is one of the most exciting young cellists to watch today, hailed as “a supremely confident, mature artist for whom technical mastery is in the service of musicianship” (Bachtrack).

In his Hong Kong début, he will perform Lalo’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, as the orchestra welcomes back Venezuelan conductor Rodolfo Barráez, winner of the 2nd Hong Kong International Conducting Competition in 2023, for his highly anticipated official début. Currently Assistant Conductor of Los Angeles Philharmonic and Associate Conductor of Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Barráez will also conduct Tchaikovsky’s thrilling Symphony No 4, as well as Rimsky-Korsakov’s sparkling Capriccio Espagnol in an evening of fireworks and enchantment.

Conductor: Rodolfo Barráez
Cello: Michiaki Ueno

Programme

Rimsky-Korsakov
Capriccio Espagnol, Op 34

Lalo
Cello Concerto in D minor

Tchaikovsky
Symphony No 4 in F minor, Op 36

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. The orchestra 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, The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta is a regular guest at international arts festivals and has toured 46 cities around the world. As an avid believer of keeping music alive and contemporary, the orchestra commissions and performs new works every year and ventures into new initiatives, recently receiving wide acclaim for its Back On Stage concert film series and becoming the first local orchestra to appear in cinemas. Following the success of the first edition in 2018, the orchestra organised the 2nd Hong Kong International Conducting Competition in 2023, attracting applications from 45 countries/regions around the world and providing an invaluable platform for young conductors to establish their careers.