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Taking place in November as part of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's "Music Delight" series, "Piano Battle" involves two internationally acclaimed pianists competing against each other in concert. The audience will vote for the winner.
The brainchild of German pianists Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis, "Piano Battle" sees the duo going head-to-head on stage, charming and enchanting the audience with a variety of classical pieces. The show is divided into six rounds, each featuring a certain musical style. The two artists, with distinctly different performance techniques, will even improvise according to audience requests. After each round, members of the audience are invited to vote on the pianists' performances.
Paul Cibis has been invited to international festivals in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, South Africa, the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand and has appeared on broadcasting media around the world including the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Television Hong Kong, China Central Television Station, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, 3Sat, Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg and Hessischer Rundfunk. Cibis has released a number of albums, including a collection of French melodies in collaboration with German mezzo-soprano Barbara Senator. His latest album features a collection of solo pieces written by Taiwanese composer Huang Kainan. Cibis has taught at Trinity College of Music in London and has given masterclasses in Germany, the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.
A soloist and chamber musician, Andreas Kern has extensive performance experience in Europe, Canada, South Africa, the Mainland, Hong Kong, Japan and India. Keen to present classical music in unconventional ways, Kern has developed concert projects and formats that use unorthodox venues, or which involve musicians collaborating with artists from other fields, such as theatre and dance. These performances have endeared him to a wider and younger audience. He also created the critically acclaimed "Arte Lounge" for the French-German TV channel Arte. As a co-host, he has performed with musicians including Mischa Maisky, Renaud Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Sarah Chang, Vadim Repin, Nils Mönkemeyer, Elīna Garanča and Jörg Widmann. Kern was also the architect of the Piano City Berlin Festival 2010, which featured more than 100 piano performances in Berlin during one weekend.
"Piano Battle" will be staged at 8pm on November 13 (Friday) at the Auditorium of Sha Tin Town Hall and November 14 (Saturday) at the Auditorium of Tuen Mun Town Hall. Ticket prices ranging from $120 to $200 for Sha Tin Town Hall and $120 to $160 for Tuen Mun Town Hall are now available at URBTIX. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis). Please refer to programme leaflet or visit our website for package or group booking discount schemes.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321, or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_890.html. For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Monday, August 31, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:30
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