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[28th Orchestral Season]
Press Release (2 pages)
June 24, 2005
Soundscapes of China with richly diverse sights,
scenes and emotions HKCO presents "Chinese Flute Virtuosi in Concert"
From August 5-6, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) is holding a selection of the best-known dizi and xiao pieces concert, Chinese Flute Virtuosi in Concert at 8pm, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
In China, the stirring, lilting, scenic sounds of the dizi have been a subject of poetry and prose down the ages. The instrument has become part of the literati tradition, and a fabric of everyday life for the Chinese. The rich vocabulary to describe the notes coming from the bamboo flute is a testimony to its importance in Chinese literature. But a thousand words may not be as effective as listening to the sound of dizi playing itself. This concert series may be your passport to an ethereal world long enjoyed by the Chinese scholars, so don't miss out!
The occasion is graced by four maestri in dizi music. Their virtuosity would tell you why for thousands of years, the intellectuals and men of letters fell so deeply in love with it. Li Zhen, who hails from Mongolia, will be performing Memories of the Grassland, The Skylark and The Unhappy Newly Wed. His notes are broad, expansive sounds of the Mongolian grassland and deserts. Yu Xunfa, who is an active performer in Shanghai and an exponent of the Northern and Southern Schools, will be performing Converging. In it, he will demonstrate some of the latest techniques in performance. Zhang Weiliang from Beijing will be performing his own composition, Weeping for the Flowers, a piece based on a Suzhou tanci entitled Lin Daiyu Burying Flowers, and work by Maestro Feng Zicun, Congratulations. Sun Yongzhi, who was from Xian and now the Section Leader (Wind) and Dizi Principal of the Orchestra, will be playing the picturesque Spring in the Date Garden and Windy Days. The occasion will be a showcase of the modern and the traditional, and the various techniques by virtuosi from different parts of China.
The different moods are captured vividly in the instrument's expressions. The occasion will be a showcase of the modern and the traditional, and the various techniques by virtuosi from different parts of China. So make it a date, and get ready to be transposed to an idyllic land of sounds!
Tickets for Chinese Flute Virtuosi in Concert are now available at all URBTIX Outlets at $180, 150, 120 and 100. Half-price tickets are offered for senior citizens, people with disabilities and full-time students. Please refer to the programme leaflet for more details on discount schemes. Enquiries: 3185 1600; Booking Hotline: 2734 9009. Enjoy 20% discount on ticket purchase of "Chinese Flute Virtuosi in Concert" with ticket of "Xiao ¡V the Instrument that Tells of Journey in Life" starting from 20 June. Internet Booking: www.urbtix.hk; HKCO website: www.hkco.org
¢w End ¢w
Press Enquiry¡G Ms.Vivian Ip (Public Relation & Publicity Executive)
Tel ¡G3185 1601 / 9553 2244 Fax¡G2815 5615
E-mail¡Gvivianip@hkco.org HKCO Website¡Gwww.hkco.org
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Artists Biography
Yan Huichang Conductor
National Class One Conductor. As a conductor who has worked with all professional Chinese orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, Yan has won the acclaim of the music circles in China and abroad for his artistic and conducting talents. Under his baton, and in collaboration with the famous composer Zhao Jiping, the Symphony Orchestra section of the China National Symphony Orchestra made the soundtrack recordings for such award-winning films as Raise the Red Lantern, Ballad of the Yellow River, and Five Girls and a Rope. Yan was awarded the "Cultural Medallion (Music)" by the National Arts Council of Singapore in September 2001. Since 2004, he has been a Visiting Professor in many music conservatories. Yan was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) by the Chief Executive of HKSAR in 2004 in recognition of his remarkable achievements in Chinese music as well as his efforts in promoting Chinese music.
Li Zhen Dizi
Li Zhen's virtuosic performance is the result of 40 years of garnering from folk and ethnic music of China. His dizi music therefore incorporates the features of Mongolian music, the cantabile qualities of its vocal art form as well as the original style of his mentor, Liu Senzhi. He is currently a National Calss One Performer receiving the honoured Special Allowance from the State.
Yu Xunfa Dizi
Yu Xunfa invented the koudi in 1971, and his performance of Zhu Jian'er's composition, Symphonie Nr. 4 for bamboo flute and 22 strings, won the International Music Composition Prize ¡¥Queen Marie Jose' of Switzerland in the autumn of 1990. It was the first ever, in the history of the Swiss competition, to be won by a Chinese.
Zhang Weiliang Dizi
Among Zhang Weiliang's mentors were such famous virtuosi as Feng Zicun, Liu Guanle, Zhao Songting, Wang Tiechui etc.. He won many major awards with his solo performance of Spring in Taihu Lake, Going Up-river during the Qingming Festival, Southern Tunes etc.. Zhang also played solo in the soundtrack recording of such Chinese films and television series as Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, and The Founding of the People's Republic.
Sun Yongzhi Dizi
Sun Yongzhi graduated from the Xian Conservatory of Music with distinction in 1982 where he was trained by Yuan Xiuhe and dizi maestro Zhao Songting. He was appointed Dizi Principal of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1997, and is currently the Section Leader (Wind). Sun also teaches dizi at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
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