Voices of Hope and Togetherness

EVENT DESCRIPTION

A celebration of our shared humanity and the power of harmony

Music unites—and in an era when the future of humanity might depend upon our ability to talk and listen to each other, the Hong Kong Arts Festival presents an evening-long celebration of dialogue, of our shared humanity, and the power of harmony. The award-winning Esmé Quartet, the Hong Kong Arts Festival Chorus, the Hong Kong Children’s Choir and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra unite under conductor Wilson Ng for a joyous evening of music with a single, vital, message: that it’s good to talk.

John Adams’ Nixon in China is a vibrant affirmation of the power of dialogue between East and West. Absolute Jest is a different kind of conversation: the Esmé Quartet talks to the full HK Phil in this brilliant musical commentary on the scherzos of Beethoven’s string quartets—moments when music’s greatest idealist stopped arguing, and simply laughed out loud.

But for Unsuk Chin, the truth is more glorious than even Beethoven imagined, with the Hong Kong premiere of Le Chant des Enfants des Étoiles. “The title refers to the idea that ‘humans are stardust’,” she says of this magnificent choral work that is filled with intense beauty. As the HKAF brings musicians from Hong Kong and around the world together in the same space, this should be a truly inspiring climax to an evening of music at its most joyful—and most urgent.

Part of Hong Kong Arts Festival 2023.