Great Violin Concertos: Sayaka Shoji Plays Shostakovich

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Since winning First Prize at the Paganini Competition in 1999 at the age of 16, Sayaka Shoji has made a name for herself as one of today’s foremost violinists acclaimed for her remarkable depth of interpretation and infectious performances. Having collaborated closely with eminent conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Mariss Jansons and Yuri Temirkanov, and orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, she returns to Hong Kong to open Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s 2024/2025 season under the baton of Music Director Christoph Poppen, playing Shostakovich’s extraordinary Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor, bookended by the world première of Hong Kong composer Alice Yeung’s Wings’ Matra, and Elgar’s iconic and beloved Enigma Variations.

Programme

Alice Yeung
Wings’ Matra (world première)
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Shostakovich
Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor, Op 99

Elgar
Enigma Variations, Op 36

Music Director/Conductor: Christoph Poppen
Violin: Sayaka Shoji
Composer: Alice Yeung

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 46 countries/regions around the world and providing an invaluable platform for young conductors to establish their careers.