2021.02.27
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香港中樂團一直致力宣揚中樂傳統，並銳意創新，除了於國際音樂界的表現備受肯定外，更着力推動新作品的誕生，至今委約或委編超過2400首曲目。自2007年起，香港藝術節與中樂團共同創辦「樂旅中國」系列，首演多首大中華地區及海外作曲家的創作，弘揚華夏文化，傳承中樂精髓。2021年「樂旅中國」系列踏入第十五年，更成為本屆香港藝術節開幕演出。
本地作曲家陳明志首度以麻雀、粵劇鑼鼓融入中樂全新創作《打雀英雄傳》之《又見東風》，以特色樂器演活麻雀桌上的眾生相。金馬獎得主高世章作品《藍音》，將廣東「南音」與美國「藍調」巧妙結合，保有中國民樂的大俗大雅，亦有百姓生活的通俗、真切氣息。趙季平歷時十年創作，於2008年由香港中樂團與馬友友首演之《莊周夢》大提琴協奏曲，則以中樂與大提琴開展對話。作品曾於美國紐約卡內基音樂廳、北京國家大劇院等頂尖表演場地演出，今次載譽歸來，可讓觀眾再次思考當中深刻的莊周哲學。
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Music About China
Presented by: Hong Kong Arts Festival
Produced by: Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Platform: HERMES Live
Synopsis: The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has always been committed to promoting the Chinese music while breaking new ground for the genre. Its high quality performance has been recognized in the international music arena. It has also been a driving force behind the creation of new works, with a commissioned repertoire of over 2,400 works, new compositions and arrangements included. The ‘Music about China’ series, jointly launched by the HKCO and the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2007, has premiered a considerable number of works by composers from Greater China and beyond, thus promoting Chinese culture and perpetuating the heritage of Chinese music. As the series enters its 15th year, it has been designated as the opening programme of the Hong Kong Arts Festival 2021.
The upcoming concert features a spectrum of highly imaginative music, such as Chan Ming-chi’s new original composition, It’s the East Wind Again from Tale of the Mahjong Heroes. By using alternative musical instruments, Chan captures vividly the many reactions of the players in the game. Blue Notes by Golden Horse Award winner Leon Ko is an ingenious hybrid of the Cantonese nanyin and American blues. It carries the folksy yet graceful sounds of Chinese traditional music as well as the worldly-wise sensibilities of the life of common folks. The cello concerto Zhuang Zhou’s Dream, a tour de force that took Zhao Jiping ten years to complete and premiered in 2008 by the HKCO and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, is a philosophical dialogue between a cello and a Chinese ensemble. It has been taken on tour to top performing venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. In this Hong Kong revival, it should inspire the audience to explore once again the wisdom of Zhuang Zhou.
Scheme/ Festival: The 49th Hong Kong Arts Festival
Art Form: Music
Conductor: Yan Huichang
Composer of Flowing Water: Chan Pui Fang
Composer of Blue Notes: Leon Ko
Composer of It’s the East Wind Again from Tale of the Mahjong Heroes: Chan Ming-chi
Composer of Zhuang Zhou’s Dream: Zhao Jiping
Composer of A Va Mountain: Guo Wenjing
Shakuhachi: Sun Yongzhi
Handpan: Luk Kin Bun
Percussion: Chau Chin-tung
Cello: Richard Bamping
