On the occasion of the French May Arts Festival 2024, Hong Kong Sinfonietta will welcome three remarkable French musicians among the best of their generation for six concerts in April and May: oboist Gabriel Pidoux, cellist Aurélien Pascal and pianist David Kadouch. All three artists have already performed with Hong Kong Sinfonietta in Hong Kong, and each of them will perform a concerto with the orchestra and a recital.

Gabriel Pidoux by Jean-Baptiste Millot

Born in 1997 in Paris, France, Gabriel Pidoux played the violin until the age of 7, then decided to switch to the oboe, breaking away from the family tradition of string instruments. He won several French and international awards, including the prestigious “Révélation soliste instrumental” award at the French Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2020.

Pidoux has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, the RTV Slovenia Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Prague Symphony, as well as with ensembles such as Gli Incogniti, La Fenice, or Le Cercle de l’Harmonie.

He recently made his début with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine and at the Marvão International Music Festival in Portugal.

Gabriel Pidoux at Marvão International Music Festival 2023 with Hong Kong Sinfonietta

After his successful Hong Kong début with Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2022 and subsequent collaboration at the Marvão International Music Festival in 2023, Pidoux is returning to the city. He will present Richard Strauss’ sublime Oboe Concerto with Hong Kong Sinfonietta on 27 April under the baton of Ariel Zuckermann. The programme will also include Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No 7 and Ligeti’s Concert Românesc.

He will also bring a spectacular recital on 24 April, turning the Fringe Dairy at The Fringe Club into Le Bœuf sur le toit, a glamorous cabaret bar iconic to Paris’ avant-garde art scene during the Années folles, playing sparkling works by Poulenc, Durey, Auric and Tailleferre with Hong Kong star pianist Colleen Lee and Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s musicians.

Aurélien Pascal by Béa Cruveiller

Born in 1994 in Paris, France, into a family of musicians, Aurélien Pascal studied at the Paris Conservatoire and furthered his studies at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

He won prizes and awards from prestigious international competitions, including the Second Prize at the 2013 International Paulo Competition, the Grand Prize Audience Award and the Best Performance of the Toch concerto at the 2014 Emanuel Feuermann Competition, as well as Fourth Prize at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition as the youngest finalist. In 2023, he was awarded “Révélation soliste instrumental” at the French Victoires de la Musique Classique.

Pascal has collaborated with renowned orchestras across the world, such as the Orchestre de Paris, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Hangzhou Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphonic, Taipei National Symphonic, Hiroshima Symphonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Cyprus Symphonic, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Zurich Chamber, Luxembourg Chamber, Nuremberg Symphonic, Kammerakademie Postdam and Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphonic.

Pascal at a recording session of the Tiny Galaxy Concerts @ Wontonmeen concert series, 2021

Pascal is familiar to the Hong Kong audience due to his participation in Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s new ventures during COVID, such as the concert film series Back On Stage III: DESTINY, Vive la Musique!, and All-Star Tiny Galaxy @ Wontonmeen, as well as the online concert series Tiny Galaxy Concerts @ Wontonmeen. Pascal underwent a 14-day hotel quarantine in the city before the performances and filming.

This time, he will join hands with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and conductor Chuang Tung-chieh on 11 May and present Prokofiev’s devilishly virtuosic and enthralling Sinfonia Concertante, originally dedicated to the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich.

He will also bring to the Fringe Club an enchanting and virtuosic recital on 9 May alongside Colleen Lee, performing a folk-inspired programme with the works of Schumann, Ravel, de Falla and more.

David Kadouch by Marco Borggreve

Born in 1985 in Nice, France, David Kadouch began his international career at an early age when, at 13, virtuoso Itzhak Perlman invited him to play under his baton at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He then studied at the Paris Conservatoire where he received the First Prize with Honours.

Kadouch quickly became one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation, winning multiple prizes and awards, and becoming a regular guest of some of the most important orchestras, recital series and international festivals. In 2008, Itzhak Perlman invited him again to perform the Schumann Piano Quintet at Carnegie Hall.

In 2010, Kadouch was awarded “Révélation soliste instrumental” at the French Victoires de la Musique and, in 2011, he won “Young Artist of the Year” at the International Classical Music Awards.

David Kadouch at Festival International de Piano de la Roque-d’Anthéron 2023 with Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Since then, Kadouch has performed with many renowned orchestras such as BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Paris, Hamburger Symphoniker, Munich Symphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Insula Orchestra, Concerto Budapest, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Brussels Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic and Sinfonia Varsovia.

Collaborating with Hong Kong Sinfonietta once again, Kadouch will perform Mozart’s sparkling Piano Concerto No 24 on 25 May, in a fascinating programme under the baton of Olari Elts which will also include works by Shostakovich, Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür. He will also present a delightful recital programme of Chopin, Liszt, Poulenc, Szymanowski and more in a recital on 22 May.

More details about the concerts can be found here:

Gabriel Pidoux

24 April (Wed) – Fringe Dairy, The Fringe Club  – 7:30pm – Good Music at the Fringe – Gabriel Pidoux – Paris Au temps Du Boeuf Sur Le Toit – Tickets here.

27 April (Sat) – Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall – 8pm – Hong Kong Sinfonietta and French May Arts Festival – Great Oboe Concertos: Gabriel Pidoux Plays Richard Strauss – Tickets here.

Aurélien Pascal

9 May (Thu) – Fringe Dairy, The Fringe Club  – 7:30pm – Good Music at the Fringe – Aurélien Pascal – Cello Treats – Tickets here.

11 May (Sat) – Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall – 8pm – Hong Kong Sinfonietta & French May Arts Festival – Cellomania: Aurélien Pascal plays Prokofiev – Tickets here.

David Kadouch

22 May (Wed) – Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall – 8pm – Hong Kong Sinfonietta & French May Arts Festival – HKS Recital Series: David Kadouch Piano Recital – Tickets here.

25 May (Sat) – Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall – 8pm – Hong Kong Sinfonietta & French May Arts Festival – Great Piano – Concertos: David Kadouch Plays Mozart –  Tickets here.