The Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd.

The Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd organizes every three years the Hong Kong International Piano Competition. Three Competitions have been held so far, in 2005, 2008 and 2011 and the fourth one will be held in October 2014. The Competition has established itself as a major event in Hong Kong’s musical calendar and is considered now as the top competition in Asia and among the premier competitions in the world.

To ensure continuity between these triennial events, the Society has organized the annual Joy of Music Festival in the intervening years, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 (coinciding with the third competition) and in 2012. The core of these Festivals is music and musical events presented by the past first prize winners and members of the jury of the Hong Kong International Piano Competition as well as by invited world-class musicians.

In this Festival we celebrate Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring 100th anniversary with a brilliant version for two pianos and two cellos (arranged by Giuseppe Andaloro) as well as other compositions featuring the first prize winners of our Competition Ilya Rashkovskyi ( 2005), and Giuseppe Andaloro ( 2011 ) together with the sensational cellists Giovanni Sollima and Monika Leskovar.

Giuseppe Andaloro and Giovanni Sollima will then regale us on a separate evening with a selection of compositions for piano and cello duos spanning several centuries bringing old and new together.

Paintings and ballet are also sources of inspiration in this Festival. Jinsang Lee, the 2008 first prize winner of our Competition, plays a programme of piano compositions inspired by paintings while Ilya Rashkovskyi “dances”, so to speak, his way through a piano recital of well-known ballet music.

The Society has always promoted young and promising musicians, and this Festival is particularly focused on our local pool of talented pianists as well as new-comers from abroad.

A very special evening focuses on our Hong Kong home and showcases the superbly talented students of professor Eleanor Wong of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts: Colleen Lee, Rachel Cheung, Tsang Hin Yat and Li Zhong Xing.

Then the first prize winner of the prestigious 2013 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition held in Belgium, Boris Giltburg, joins us in our Winners’ Series. Last but not least, we welcome back Alvaro Pierri, one of the world masters of guitar, in a solo recital of a specially selected programme of the best that Spanish and Latin American guitar music has to offer.

Like all previous Festivals, the The Joy of Music Festival 2013 will also have an important educational component, primarily in master classes in piano, this time by each of the first prize winners of our Competition so far, and guitar by master guitarist Alvaro Pierri, as well as a specially designed lunchtime series of five presentations on aspects of music by the acclaimed musician, author and teacher Jeremy Siepmann. The piano and guitar classes are free of charge and are open to the public to audition, and are now attracting advanced students from all over Asia and China in particular, thus enhancing Hong Kong’s status as a major musical and cultural centre in Asia. s

The Society hopes that you will join in all these activities and wishes you happy listening!

「美樂聚」簡介

由蕭邦社主辦的「香港國際鋼琴大賽」是一項舉足輕重的本地音樂盛事，除了被視為當今亞洲頂級音樂比賽，亦為國際著名鋼琴大賽之一。首三屆比賽分別於2005、2008及2011年舉行，而第四屆賽事，將於2014年10月展開。

為保持三年一屆盛事的延續性，蕭邦社在每一屆比賽之間，即2006、2007、2009、2010、2011（跟第三屆大賽同年舉行）及2012年，舉辦年度的「美樂聚」演奏及分享會，由「香港國際鋼琴大賽」歷屆比賽冠軍和評判，以及國際知名音樂家演出和主講。

為慶祝史特拉汶斯基《春之祭》譜成100週年，在即將舉行的「美樂聚」，我們將欣賞到「香港國際鋼琴大賽」冠軍得主蘭殊高夫斯基（2005）和安達羅洛（2011），連同傑出大提琴演奏家索利馬和萊什科瓦爾，為我們以雙鋼琴與雙大提琴演奏《春之祭》（由安達羅洛改編），以及其他精彩樂曲。

之後，安達羅洛和索利馬會於另一晚，為我們演奏多首鋼琴與大提琴二重奏，所選曲目橫跨多個世紀，實行新舊共冶一爐，琴音繞樑三日。

繪畫與芭蕾，亦為今屆「美樂聚」靈感所在。2008年「香港國際鋼琴大賽」冠軍得主李振尚會為我們演奏一連串以畫作為創作靈感的鋼琴曲，而蘭殊高夫斯基則會以鋼琴「舞」出著名的芭蕾舞樂。

蕭邦社一直致力提拔具潛質的年輕音樂家，因此「美樂聚」特別把重點放在具才華的本地鋼琴家以及外地新秀身上。

其中一晚的音樂會，將由香港本地鋼琴家擔綱，今次為我們一展音樂才華的，是香港演藝學院黃懿倫教授一班天賦橫溢的學生：李嘉齡、張緯晴、曾憲逸和李仲欣。

在2013年於比利時舉行的「伊利沙伯國際鋼琴大賽」勇奪冠軍的吉爾伯格，亦會參與我們的「冠軍系列」演奏會。

最後，我們熱烈歡迎世界知名的結他大師皮耶里再度歸來，為我們獨奏一連串廣受歡迎的西班牙和拉丁美洲結他精選樂曲。

2013年的「美樂聚」跟過往一樣，包含重要的教育元素，當中的重頭項目為鋼琴大師班。今年的鋼琴大師班將由歷屆的「香港國際鋼琴大賽」得獎者主持，而結他大師班則由皮耶里主講。此外，還有一連五課的午餐音樂講座，由著名音樂家、作家兼導師斯普曼主講。鋼琴及結他大師班均免費開放給公眾參與，勢將吸引大批來自亞洲各國，尤其是中國內地的優秀學生出席，進一步提升香港作為亞洲主要音樂文化中心的地位。
我們期望你前來參與連場的精彩節目，盡情欣賞美妙的音樂！

Dr. Andrew Freris
香港蕭邦社主席