The Chopin
The
Chopin Society of Hong Kong, first registered under the Societies
Ordinance in 1995 and now incorporated since 2006 as a non-profit
making company, is a well-established institution in Hong Kong,
dedicated to the promotion of classical musical activities, including
the organization of public recitals and concerts, master classes and a
major international piano competition, which has helped to augment
further the reputation of Hong Kong as a major cultural centre in Asia.
The
Society believes that classical music is neither an elitist nor a
minority interest in Hong Kong. The success of the Society’s
activities is based precisely on the notion that Hong Kong audiences
deserve nothing but the highest quality that the international music
scene can offer. In return, the audiences reward these activities with
their loyalty and growing size of attendances. The combination of
world-class artists centering their activities in Hong Kong and working
closely with the wonderful pool of talent available in the territory,
achieves the twin aims of fostering the musical arts at home while
drawing on the best that the world can offer.
The Honorary President of the Society is Mr. Vladimir Ashkenazy.
In
1999 the Society launched an annual series of recitals, The Winners
Series, which brings to Hong Kong the first prizewinners of major
international music competitions. The Society believes that Hong Kong,
a city of winners itself, should have the opportunity to experience the
performance of these young and promising artists at an early stage in
their careers. Important bodies, such as CLP Holdings, Bank of America
and BNP Paribas, as well as individuals, such as Teresa Li -Lai, have
sponsored the Series.
In 2001 the Society
launched a new series: the Masters Series. These events bring to Hong
Kong master teachers to perform in recitals and to run workshops/master
classes for music students in Hong Kong, and whenever possible, from
the PRC and from other countries in Asia. The series so far has
featured masterclasses in piano, cello, guitar, string quartet and
conducting, all open to students and teachers completely free of
charge. The Masters Series has been mostly sponsored by the Kadoorie
Family Fund.
In September 2005, in October 2008
and in October 2011, the Society ran its biggest event to date: The
Hong Kong International Piano Competition, a triennial event, the next
one of which will take place between the 10th and the 27th Oct. 2014.
The Hong Kong International Piano Competition has been sponsored by,
among others, the Kadoorie Family Fund, the Government of Hong Kong
(through its Leisure and Cultural Services Department), CLP Holdings,
Teresa Li-Lai, Tom Lee Music, the Tom Lee Music Foundation, Cathay
Pacific (in 2005) and Tom Tang (in 2008 and 2011).
In
the years between Competitions and in the period within each
Competition, the Society presents the Joy of Music Festival, which ran
in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 with the next one scheduled to
run between the 14th and 20th October 2013. The Festival brings
together the artists from the two Series mentioned above: The Winners
Series and The Masters Series (including the first prize winners and
members of the Jury of the HK Int. Piano Competition as well as invited
world- class musicians), to perform, to give masterclasses and run
workshops.
In 2008 the Chopin Society launched
its own recording label, the Alpha Omega Sound, which is releasing a
varied and unusual series of archival CDs, re-mastered at the famous
Abbey Road Studios, as well as recordings made specifically for its
label. Adding one more record label to the plethora which already
exists in a crowded field needs some explanations. Ours are very
simple:
- We start with an exclusive and exciting set of recordings, some truly unique, which we will be releasing in a steady stream
over the years to come. This is not a “one-off†label.
- We
have the agreement of a number of internationally known artists who
are, and will be, recording for us. We are determined that purely
commercial considerations will not limit the repertoire and recordings
which we will be presenting, thus ensuring that our audience will hear
unusual, rarely recorded and exciting combinations of composers and of
instruments.
We encourage our artists to record what they would
like to record rather than impose programmes on them, thus ensuring
originality and artistic integrity.
- All
our original recordings are done by top recording engineers in top
studios and then all these recordings are re -mastered at the famous
Abbey Road Studios in London, where we have established a close and
long-standing relationship. To ensure the best sonic quality right
across the spectrum of our productions, our CDs are pressed by Sony
DADC in Austria. We plan to release carefully selected titles from our
catalogue on vinyl LPs also specially mastered at the Abbey Road
Studios.
- Last but not least,
this is a recording label registered and trade-marked in Hong Kong,
emphasizing the Society’s commitment to its home base and home
audience.
The Society is particularly proud of its exclusive series
of archival recordings from the superb, and totally unknown, collection
of SODRE, the state TV and radio organization of Uruguay.
These are live recordings from the 1950s and 1960s carefully re-mastered at the Abbey Road Studios, introduced by the
honorary president of our Society, maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, and
featuring never-before-released recordings of J. Heifetz, D. Oistrakh,
L. Kogan, M. Elman, A. Segovia, C. Arrau, W. Gieseking, F. Gulda, L.
Kraus, and M. Anderson.
Already released:
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Already released: From the SODRE COLLECTION: |
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The Sampler |
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JASCHA HEIFETZ ( violin)
Brooks Smith ( piano) |
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DAVID OISTRAKH (violin)
Vladimir Yampolsky (piano) |
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LEONID KOGAN (violin)
Andrei Mytnik ( piano) |
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MISCHA ELMAN (violin)
Joseph Seiger (piano)
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Specifically recorded for its label: |
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Alvaro Pierri (guitar). Guitar Sonatas, Vol. 1, works by Paganini, Ponce, Torroba and Ginastera. |
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With
the present CD, Alvaro Pierri, one of the best guitarists in the world,
is embarking on a long term project with The Alpha Omega Sound, to
record a comprehensive series of sonatas specifically composed for
guitar and spanning the 19 th to the 21st centuries. This Cd was
recorded as well as mastered at the Abbey Road Studios in London. |
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Ilya Rashkovskiy (piano). Fantasias for Piano. Works by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt and Scriabin. |
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Ilya won the first prize in the first Hong Kong International Piano Competition organized by the Society in 2005.
This is a studio recording made in Hong Kong and remastered at the Abbey Road Studios. |
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Rachel Cheung (piano). Compositions by Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, Liszt and Poulenc. |
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Rachel
is an exceptionally talented young pianist from Hong Kong. Having
studied piano under Eleanor Wong in Hong Kong, she is now continuing
her studies with Peter Frankl at Yale University. A first prize-winner
of several competitions, she is a frequently sponsored artist by the
Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd. This is a studio recording made in
Hong Kong and remastered at the Abbey Road Studios. |
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Jinsang Lee (piano) . Hiller-Mendelssohn-Chopin: Making Music among Friends. |
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This
is a double CD containing piano music by these three composers, played
on Steinway period and contemporary pianos. Jinsang won the first prize
in the second Hong Kong International Piano Competition organized by
the Society in 2008. This is a studio recording made in Hong Kong and
re-mastered at the Abbey Road Studios. |
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The
Society has also issued a CLP Holdings sponsored double CD, later to be
released under the Society’s own label, featuring Li Mingqiang, one
of the leading piano teachers and music advisors in Hong Kong who was,
at the time of these recordings, one of the major pianists in the PRC. |
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We hope that music lovers in Hong Kong will continue to support the Society’s future activities.
Dr Andrew Freris |
Chairman, |
The Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd. |
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