Ilya Rashkovskiy, 1st Prizewinner of the 2005 Hong Kong International Piano Competition performed Schubert and Chopin in the solo segment of his recital (10 October 2012). |
Tuesday 22 January 2013
SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE JOY OF MUSIC FESTIVAL 2012
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 3RD HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2011
The Prize-giving Ceremony and Gala Concert on 31 October 2011 featured a recital by the three 1st prizewinners. Here they are performing the Waltz and Romance for 6 hands by Rachmaninov. |
Russian juror Tigran Alikhanov played Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. |
The Hungarian-born Peter Frankl was a revelation in Liszt's Second Piano Concerto. |
The ageless Gary Graffman only performs works for the left hand these days. On this evening, he put the polish on Ravel's Left Hand Piano Concerto. |
WINNERS OF THE 3RD HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2011
On 30 October 2011, the Italian pianist Giuseppe Andaloro was crowned 1st Prizewinner of the 3rd Hong Kong International Piano Competition. |
Giuseppe Andaloro, triumphant after his performance of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. |
2nd Prize went to Sato Keina (Japan), who played Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in the finals. |
Age was not a factor for the prodigious 14-year-old Min Hao Tsai (Taiwan), who was awarded the 3rd Prize, having impressed in Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. |
Soo Jung Ann (Korea) won the 4th prize, rewarded for her performance of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto in the finals. |
The 6th Prize was awarded to Han Chen (Taiwan) who studies in the Juilliard School. He performed Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto in the finals. |
Introducing THE ALPHA OMEGA SOUND Label
Besides promoting classical concerts through The Joy of Music Festival and organising the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Chopin Society of Hong Kong has its own exclusive record label, Alpha Omega Sound. To date, it has produced no less than seven CD recordings, featuring the 1st prizewinners of the piano competition and great musicians from Hong Kong and Uruguay. Also on this label are rare historical recordings from the archives of SODRE, the official radio and television broadcasting service of Montevideo, Uruguay.
RACHEL CHEUNG Piano Recital
Rachel Cheung is one of the brightest young pianists to have emerged from Hong Kong. At the age of 12, she won the 1st Prize at the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in 2004. In addition, she garnered 5th prize at the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition.This is her début CD, and the programme includes Mozart's Sonata K.309, Schubert's Drei Klavierstücke D.946, Chopin's Mazurkas Op.24 and Ballade No.4, Liszt's Au bord d'un source and Poulenc's Trois Pieces.
ILYA RASHKOVSKIY Fantasies for Piano
The Russian Ilya Rashkovskiy won the 1st Prize at the 1st Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2005. He has since gone on to win 4th Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition 2007 (Brussels) and 1st Prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. His stupendous technique is on show in this, his début CD recording with performances of fantasies by Mozart (K.475), Chopin (Op.49), Scriabin (Op.28) and Liszt's Dante Sonata.
JINSANG LEE Making Music Among Friends
The Korean Jinsang Lee was awarded the 1st Prize at the 2nd Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2008. In 2010, he also won the 1st Prize and Audience Prize at the Geza Anda International Piano Competition (Zurich). This double CD recording is a follow-up on a recital he gave in October 2009, where he performed the music of three friends, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Ferdinand Hiller, on four historically different Steinway grand pianos. The works performed are as follows:
HILLER Sonata in E minor, Three Caprices Op.14
MENDELSSOHN Songs Without Words (Selection)
CHOPIN Variations Brillantes Op.12, Nocturnes Op.15 and Mazurkas Op.59
The works on the first CD are played on historical pianos from 1836, 1877 and 1883, while the same works are heard on a modern Steinway D on the second CD.
ALVARO PIERRI Sonatas for Guitar Vol.1
Alvaro Pierri is one of the greatest guitarists alive today. Born in Uruguay, he presently resides and teaches in Vienna. This recording is the first of an ambitious series of recordings showcasing the length and breadth of the solo guitar sonata repertoire. The composers featured in Volume 1 are Nicolo Paganini, Manuel Ponce, Federico Torroba and Alberto Ginastera.
All the CDs were recorded in Hong Kong by Leo Fung Wai Kwok, and re-mastered by Andrew Walter at Abbey Road Studios, London.
All the CDs are available via online retailers including Presto Classical and MDT. They may also be purchased at all concert events organised by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong.
Historical Recordings from the SODRE Archive on THE ALPHA OMEGA SOUND Label
Also on the Alpha Omega Sound label are a series of historical recordings remastered from the archives of SODRE (Servicio Oficial de Difusion Radiotelevision y Espectaculos), the official radio and television service of Montevideo, Uruguay, now issued on CD for the very first time. The first 3 CDs have been launched, including recitals by David Oistrakh, Jascha Heifetz and a sampler disc of highlights from the SODRE historical collection.
DAVID OISTRAKH, Violin with
VLADIMIR YAMPOLSKY, Piano
Recorded on 9 April 1954
LECLAIR Sonata No.3 in D minor
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D minor
CHAUSSON Poeme
This recital is unusual as it contains the only known recording of Oistrakh performing the Sibelius concerto with piano accompaniment. A rarity that deserves to be heard.
JASCHA HEIFETZ, Violin with
BROOKS SMITH, Piano
Recorded on 12 May 1955
BEETHOVEN Sonata in A major, Op.47 "Kreutzer"
DEBUSSY Sonata in G minor
DVORAK-KREISLER Slavonic Dance Op.72 No.7
L.BOULANGER Cortege
R.STRAUSS- HEIFETZ An Eisamer Quelle Op.9 No.2
WIENIAWSKI Capriccio-Valse Op.7
RAVEL Tzigane
This well-filled sampler provides the listener with an idea of the musical riches in store. Besides Oistrakh and Heifetz, on this disc are excerpts from performances by Claudio Arrau, Friedrich Gulda, Walter Gieseking, Lili Kraus, Leonid Kogan, Mischa Elman, Andres Segovia and Marian Anderson. The full recital CDs will be issued serially and in due course.
All the CDs have been re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios and include an introduction by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Patron of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong.
The CDs may be purchased from various online retailers and at concerts and events presented by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong.
Review of DAVID OSTRAKH Recital CD on ALPHA OMEGA SOUND
Below is a short review of the David Oistrakh recital CD recording (from the SODRE Archive) on the Alpha Omega Sound label, published in The Straits Times (Singapore) on 10 January 2013.
THE SODRE
COLLECTION
DAVID
OISTRAKH, Violin
with
VLADIMIR YAMPOLSKY, Piano
Alpha
Omega Sound / ****1/2
This extremely rare “live” recording from 9
April 1954
was unearthed in the archives of SODRE, the official radio and television
broadcasting service of Montevideo , Uruguay . It represents the
Soviet-era Russian violinist David Oistrakh (1908-1974) at the height of his
powers while on tour to the West. His programme was unusually eclectic despite
offering no Russian music within. It opens with Jean-Marie Leclair’s Third Sonata, in the four-movement sonata da chiesa form that was popular
during the Baroque era. Nowadays, it is rarely heard outside of the period
instrument circle, but Oistrakh’s politically incorrect and vibrato-rich
account makes no excuses for the music, which is charming and unpretentious.
The gem of this hour-long recital is a complete
performance of the Sibelius Violin
Concerto with the original piano accompaniment. This version is seldom ever
recorded, although regularly played at conservatory and student recitals.
Oistrakh performs it as if accompanied by an orchestra, with no punches pulled
or half measures taken. It is a searing account, tender in the slow movement
while the furious finale lives on a knife-edge throughout. The disc is
completed by Belgian Ernest Chausson’s rhapsodic Poeme, also accompanied by pianist Vladimir Yampolsky. This
invaluable addition to the Oistrakh discography may be purchased from various
on-line retailers via the Internet.
Monday 21 January 2013
A Few Words with DR ANABELLA LEVIN-FRERIS, Honorary Secretary of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong (Part I)
Dr Andrew Freris and Dr Anabella Levin-Freris, at the conclusion of the 1st Hong Kong International Piano Competition in September 2005. |
DR ANABELLA LEVIN-FRERIS is the face of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong International Piano Competition. Indefatigable is one description that aptly sums up the activity she involves herself in running the Competition and The Joy of Music Festivals. A qualified renal physician, she also serves as the Honorary Consul of Uruguay for HK and Macau, besides being the devoted wife and ever-present companion to her husband Dr Andrew Freris, who is the voice of the Society. Below is a short interview about the Chopin Society and its activities.
When and how did the Chopin Society of Hong Kong come about? And why Chopin?
My
husband Andrew and I have always enjoyed experiencing music and been fascinated
by the different “personalities” a piece of music can adopt depending on the
environment in which it is produced, the approach taken by its interpreters,
and the state of mind when one listens to it.
A
sort of mathematical formula once occurred to me:
Music + interpretation + environment +
audience
= a unique and non–reproducible
experience.
If
one adds to this the different nuances introduced, whether the music is
produced (“live”) or reproduced (recorded), the range of wonders that await us takes
on magical dimensions.
Having
had the enormous privilege of living in places as diverse as Uruguay, USA, England,
Greece and Hong Kong, and repeatedly visiting many different countries, one
feels humbled when faced with the culture each place has to offer. At the same
time, one also feels eager to contribute, to create opportunities for each
culture to be better known. The interaction of these cultures therefore
introduces astronomical and cosmic variations to our formula.
Chopin in 1849 |
Some 17 years ago, we bought our home in London , which happened to be a residence where Frédéric Chopin
himself performed on the 23 June 1848 . Without entering into any kind of superstitious ideas, the knowledge
of Chopin having played in “own home” gave the ownership of that abode a certain
special aura. That also gave us the impetus to create an organisation - the
Society - which could lead to the development, enhancement and realisation of
our musical formula.
That
was the year 1995. The stage was the world and we were anchored in Hong Kong . Artists, anybody who can contribute to enhance the experience of
music either by creating it, performing it or teaching it, the audience, literally
everybody interested in music could contribute to our Society. The name was
obviously and simply a homage to this great composer who played in our home in London in 1848. Nothing to do with us, but definitely
inspiring and … it makes a nice story, doesn’t it?
The world seems like a smaller place these days. You were born in Uruguay and your husband from Greece , and you both met in London . And now you are making waves with the
Society and its cultural events in Hong Kong . Is
this globalisation at its most glorious?
I
welcome globalisation with open arms. It is a fascinating, scaring, and
humbling experience, but one that allows you to step higher up to see further.
I look at it as an opportunity to benefit from the output of human beings from
all over the world, as a magical potion to help us to join forces and conquer
our universe. Of course globalisarion has its negative aspects, but that just
reinforces its validity as a true wisdom enhancer.
Vladimir Ashkenazy practising the piano at the Peninsula Hotel. |
Tell us about the Hong
Kong International
Piano Competition, which thanks to the active involvement of Vladimir Ashkenazy (above) since its conception, has rapidly become one of the most important piano
competitions in the Far
East . How did the
Society get the ever-busy world renowned pianist-conductor on board?
When
we started running the Society, there were two things Andrew and I had very
clear in mind: one was we were starting the Society in Hong Kong , a place which has always put great emphasis in education and cultural
development. So the Society had to contribute and create, alongside the
existing organisations which had similar goals and preoccupations.
The
second thing we had in mind was that we had to learn from the interpreters,
creators and teachers in Hong
Kong and help in
establishing links with the interpreters, creators and teachers from the rest
of the world. As with any other activity taking place in the world, there is much
to be learnt from each other. One of our preoccupations was to establish links
with artists operating at the highest possible level, and that was why we
contacted Vladimir Ashkenazy. He trusted the motives that inspired us, and agreed
to be the Honorary President of the Society and the Chairman of the Jury of the
Hong Kong International Piano Competition.
We
consider it a stroke of good fortune that an artist of the calibre of Vladimir Ashkenazy
had accepted our invitations. The fact that he has now become a very good
friend and is entirely committed to work for the benefit of Hong Kong is another stroke of good fortune.
To be continued...
A Few Words with DR ANABELLA LEVIN-FRERIS, Honorary Secretary of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong (Part II)
Here we continue our interview...
Could you briefly relate to us the Herculian tasks of running a competition?
Hong Kong is a place where YOU CAN. Of course, this does not come easily but
somehow, efforts are, in general, rewarded. This is an enormous incentive when
you set your sights to try to achieve something big. Having lived in places
which I refer to as “You Cannot” places, it is a great relief to be part of a
society which trusts that efforts are rewarded, and one is able to push forward
to achieve whatever goals one sets to achieve. Once you believe in something,
just grab that belief very tightly and run. You will be amazed to realise how
much you are able to stand and to push. Sometimes you cannot get it, but you
feel you want to try, and you feel prouder to have tried.
A star-studded piano competition jury. See how many names you can identify. |
Could you briefly relate to us the Herculian tasks of running a competition?
Running
a competition is indeed a very demanding job which is made easier when we can
count on an exceptional panel of Jury members (above), and by having strong commitment
to make Hong Kong a centre of excellence in the musical world. We have one of
the best competitions in the world despite having a run of just three editions.
The 4th Hong Kong International Piano Competition will take place in
October 2014. The trust deposited in us by the sponsors is a source of strength
for us, given that running a competition is a very expensive proposition.
It
is true that many times one feels that pushing the Competition through is simply
the result of sheer force of will nurtured by the belief in what we are
pursuing, and what we are trying to achieve. It is a great performance by
everybody involved.
An informal pose by the three 1st Prizewinners of the Hong Kong International Piano Competition: (From left) Giuseppe Andaloro (2011), Ilya Rashkovskiy (2005) and Jinsang Lee (2008). |
There have been three
competitions so far, bringing to the fore wonderful pianistic talents such as
Ilya Rashkovskiy, Jinsang Lee and Giuseppe Andaloro. They are also being
promoted in the annual The Joy of Music Festival held each October in Hong Kong . How do you see their careers developing
post-competition?
The
career of a performing artist is definitely not an easy one. There are so many
new artists continuously arriving into the performing arena. To be able to say
who will succeed in this very competitive world is extremely difficult. Many
times, it is not only a matter of being specially gifted (essential for an
artist) but also a matter of being well taught and having the opportunities to
be invited to perform around the world. There are many pressures exerted on
these budding artists to which, justly or unjustly, many will succumb.
Winning
a competition gives the artists a card of credibility, a card that is being
signed (and backed up) by a group of exceptional musicians (the members of the
Jury), and this is of great help to the artists who hope to perform in front of
audiences around the world. Of course, it is the approval of the audiences
which is, in the long term, going to determine whether an artist is going to
survive or not as a performer.
The Joy of Music Festival essentially sees three separate lines of
musical activities – the Winners Series of piano recitals, the Highly
Recommended Series of concerts, and the Master Teacher Series of masterclasses
– coalesced into one event-packed week. How lucky Hong Kong is to have such
dedication to music and culture!
Organising
a music festival creates the opportunity for several artists to be in Hong Kong at the same time. They not only give solo performances, but also perform
together, in different combinations of chamber music. Many of the artists get
to know each other during the Festival and they develop friendships that can
greatly help them in what is essentially a very lonely profession. It would be
very difficult and expensive to achieve that if we were to invite artists
separately at different times of the year. A festival also creates a different
atmosphere, a different attraction for the audiences.
A friendly breakfast meeting held at Tom Lee (Megabox) with Gary Graffman and Malaysian child prodigy pianist Tengku Irfan in attendance. |
You also have those Breakfast Meetings with illustrious guest speakers
and much intellectual discourse. This has evolved to become the series of talks
about music by the eminent writer and broadcaster Jeremy Siepmann. How do you
intend to develop this thread further?
We
have invited Jeremy Siepmann (below) to be a regular fixture in The Joy of Music
Festivals. He is an artist with a vast knowledge of music in the broadest sense
of the word. His enormous experience is in communicating the essence of music
to make its component parts comprehensible, and then reconstructing these parts
so that the wider picture of music becomes greater than the sum of its parts. When
listening to music under his guidance, one feels something “clicking together”,
which otherwise would have been missed altogether. Make no mistake, he does not
teach you to like or dislike a piece of music or the way it is performed.
Instead he helps you to understand, to sharpen your senses, to be more aware, when
you listen to a piece of music being performed. One does not need to know music
to enjoy a performance or listening to a recording, but one can definitely
learn to listen to music differently, with new ears.
When Jeremy Siepmann speaks, people listen. |
One would imagine that sponsorship plays a massive part in order for
the Competition, Festival and other activities to take place. How does the
Society undertake and manage its fundraising?
We
depend completely on our sponsors to present our activities. As I said before,
the trust deposited on the Chopin Society of Hong Kong to present events of a
very high cultural and educational value, have contributed to making Hong Kong
a centre of artistic excellence in Asia and the world.
You are busy with work as the honorary consul of Uruguay in Hong Kong and Macao , while Andrew travels the world as investment
advisor for BNP Paribas Wealth Management. How do the both of you find time for
the Society and everything else?
Hong Kong presents to the world three top pianists from Korea, Russian and Italy. |
What does the future hold for the Chopin Society of Hong Kong ?
We
hope the Chopin Society of Hong Kong will be a source of pride for the citizens
of Hong Kong and a source of friendship, inspiration and help for
all artists no matter where they come from.
A Few Words with VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Patron of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong
PATRON OF
THE CHOPIN SOCIETY OF HONG
KONG
Room 646 at Hong
Kong ’s Peninsula Hotel
is also called the Music Room. It is a luxuriously decorated suite with its own
Yamaha grand piano, and that was where this interview (in October 2008) with
VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, President of the jury at the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, was
conducted. The maestro was practising the piano part of works for violin and
piano by Rachmaninov for a forthcoming recording, and was most gracious for
this intrusion of his time and space.
You do not make a regular habit of judging
piano competitions, do you?
Frankly, I am
not interested in competitions. Besides, time is precious. I have however made
a few exceptions. About 25 years ago, André Previn asked me to judge in a
one-day competition. He is my very good friend, and it was difficult to say no.
In 1995, I managed two or three days at the Finals of the Chopin International
Piano Competition. Warsaw and Poland
are very close to my heart. It is a very cultured country – the land
of Chopin , Szymanowski and
Mickiewicz – and that was where I made my first trip abroad. That was easy, we
all agreed that no first prize would be awarded that year.
If so, how did you end up becoming the
chief judge of this piano competition in Hong Kong ?
What about Hong
Kong ? It is a very peculiar but true story. Sometime during the
1980s, I was performing Brahms’s Piano
Concerto No.1 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic when I was introduced to Drs
Andrew and Anabella Freris. They had just moved to Hong Kong ,
and were very friendly to me. They invited me to be the Patron of the Chopin
Society of Hong Kong. I was impressed by the way they were promoting music, and
enhancing cultural life in Hong Kong . They also asked me
if they have an international piano competition in Hong Kong
and whether I would agree to the President of the jury. I said “Yes”, and then
thought that event would not ever happen. But so 20 years later, they had
organised the first Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2005! I had
made a promise, and so kept my promise. To do otherwise would have been
dishonest.
The Maestro demonstrates Rachmaninov's early piano writing and accompaniment for his rarely performed violin pieces. |
What do you think of this year’s
competition so far?
They are fewer
pianists this year, but the playing is of a higher level. There are four
Orientals among the five finalists. Lots of attention is paid to classical
music in Korea ,
China and Japan
today, which accounts for this interesting Oriental presence. Spiritual
inspiration is high in these exciting young people, and it does not matter
where they come from. By judging in Hong Kong , I feel
that I am contributing something to the future of music, and to support the
efforts of young musicians in Asia .
Did you formulate the rules, regulation and
repertoire of this competition?
The rules and
regulation were done in consultation with Professor Li Mingqiang (piano
pedagogue based in Hong Kong ) and Dr Andrew Freris. It
was a collective decision as I did not want to act like some Prime Minister!
The required
repertoire is extremely important. There is a lot to choose from the prescribed
list of set works. Pieces like J.S.Bach’s Partitas
and Goldberg Variations, late sonatas
by Beethoven, Schubert and Prokofiev are the building stones of our culture,
and are the most demanding in the area of musical communication. There is no
second-rate music in this repertoire, which may be easier to interpret and
understand. We the judges want to know all the aspects of a young person’s
musicianship, and whether he understands great music. We do not expect them to
be master performers, hut hope to judge their potential in tackling important
repertoire.
What about the inclusion as compulsory set
pieces shorter works by Sibelius and Albeniz?
About the
Sibelius Impromptu and Albeniz Triana (from Iberia ),
works from the North and the South, we wanted to see whether each performer
could infuse something special into what is not regularly performed. Isn’t Triana such a miraculous pieces of
music? Such character and imagination, and what a gift of harmonies. This music
was not just composed – it just came out on its own. We just heard twelve
performances of Triana, and I could
hear this twelve times a day for a whole month, and not tire of it!
The Hong Kong jury
is one of the most prestigious assembled in the history of all piano
competitions. Tell us more.
Our jury is
formed by people who are committed musicians, all of whom know so much about
music.This includes experienced performers like Gary Graffman, Peter Frankl,
Pascal Rogé and Cristina Ortiz, who know what it is like being on stage. There
are also people who do not perform, like Jeremy Siepmann who is unbelievably
experienced on all matters in music. I also hope to include conductors and
music critics in future competitions.
The Ashkenazys have an impromptu conference. |
Your wife is an interesting addition to the
jury. Does she have much experience judging?
We had several
cancellations among the judges. Geoffrey Norris, Vladimir Krainev, Gennady
Rozhdestvensky, Viktoria Postnikova, Maria Joao Pires and Paul Badura-Skoda
could not come for various reasons. So Dr Anabella Freris invited my wife
Thorunn (Dody to her close friends) to be a judge as well, and she agreed. In
February 2009, we would have been married for 48 years! We care very similar in
views and tastes, and there are no disagreements. She has an unbelievable
memory and can not only remember everything that I play at home, but can also
play every note without mistake. She is an honest critic who never flatters.
Once after having given a fantastic concert, she told me, “That was good…” and
then went on to show me how I could further improve! I could not have a better
judge.
What do you look for in a winner at this
competition?
To reiterate, we
are judging potential, both musically and artistically. Winning First Prize does
not necessarily mean one is ready for a career. If the winners are too young,
they have to be careful not to be exploited. In each winner there is a gift,
and if he or she works hard to develop this gift, there is a chance of making a
good career in music.
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