Great Piano Concertos: Alexandre Tharaud Plays Ravel

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Conductor: Roberto Forés Veses
Piano: Alexandre Tharaud

Having enjoyed an illustrious international career spanning 25 years and counting, French pianist Alexandre Tharaud has established himself as a true icon of the French piano school, and is widely acclaimed for his virtuosic flair and sensitive pianism. In his long-awaited return to Hong Kong, he will join hands with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and conductor Roberto Fores Veses to present his authoritative interpretation of Ravel’s radiant, jazz-inspired Piano Concerto in G.

The programme will also feature the Asian première of award-winning English composer Christian Mason’s mesmerising An Ocean of Years – commissioned by the Berlin Konzerthaus and written as the third and final part of his orchestral cycle Time and Eternity – as well as Shostakovich’s First Symphony written in teenage years, which propelled him to international recognition and bore all the hallmarks of his unmistakable voice and vision.

Programme

Christian Mason
An Ocean of Years (2020-2022) (Asian première)

Ravel
Piano Concerto in G

Shostakovich
Symphony No 1 in F minor, Op 10

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 47 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.