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Acclaimed piano virtuoso Evgeny Kissin will come to Hong Kong again next month (March) to play masterpieces of Prokofiev and Chopin. It will be Kissin's first visit to Hong Kong since 2006.
The programme in the recital features Prokofiev's three pieces from "Romeo and Juliet", "Sonata No 8 in B-flat, Op 84", Chopin's "Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat, Op 61", three Mazurkas and eight Etudes.
Kissin was born in Moscow and made his stage debut when he was 12, playing Chopin's piano concertos with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra which was broadcast around the world. Kissin has emerged as a sought-after piano virtuoso and has played with leading orchestras and conductors. He performed at the Grammy Awards in 1992 and was the first musician to give a solo recital at the BBC Promenade Concert in 1997 as well as the first concerto soloist invited to play in the Promenade opening concert in 2000. He embarked on recording projects in the 2007-2008 season playing all five Beethoven concertos with the London Symphony and Sir Colin Davis, Prokofiev's concertos Nos 2 and 3 with Vladimir Ashkenazy and The Philharmonia Orchestra, Brahms piano concertos with James Levine and the Boston Symphony, and Mozart concertos Nos 20 and 27 with the Kremerata Baltica.
Kissin's remarkable talent has brought him many awards and honours, including the youngest "Instrumentalist of the Year" by "Musical America" in 1995, the youngest winner of the prestigious "Triumph Award" in 1997 for his outstanding contribution to Russia's culture, winner of one of Russia's highest musical honours, the "Shostakovich Award", in 2003. He has also made many acclaimed recordings and won record awards ranging from "Edison Klassik", "the Diapason d'Or", "the Grand Prix" of La Nouvelle Academie du Disque to a Grammy Award.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, "Encore Series: Piano Recital by Evgeny Kissin" will be staged at 8pm on March 29 (Sunday) at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced from $200 to $620 will be available from February 18 onwards at URBTIX outlets (each patron can purchase up to a maximum of 10 tickets per transaction on the first booking day from counter). Senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients are entitled to 50% off (limited quotas for students and CSSA recipients on a first-come, first-served basis).
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009 (from February 19 onwards); for credit card telephone booking, call 2111 5999; for Internet booking, visit www.urbtix.hk ; for more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp .
A pre-concert talk conducted by pianist and music educator Chan Siu Fun in Cantonese will be held at 7.30pm on March 20 (Friday) at AC1, 4/F, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Interested parties are welcome to join. Free admission to the talk will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Ends/Monday, February 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 11:20
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