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Legendary pianist Paul Badura-Skoda will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, by bringing Mozart's music to Hong Kong.
The Mozart night will be staged at 8pm on Monday, May 8, at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall.
Presented by Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the programme includes "Fantasy in D Minor, K.397", "Nine Variations on a Minuet by Duport in D, K.573", "Adagio in B Minor, K.540", "Sonata in D, K.576", "Fantasy in C Minor, K.475", "Sonata in C Minor, K.457".
Paul Badura-Skoda is one of the most important pianists of our time: a legendary artist who has played in all the world's great concert halls, and for years has been the pianist with the largest number of commercial recordings available in the market.
In 1945 Badura-Skoda entered the Vienna Conservatory and two years later won first prize in the Austrian Music Competition and a scholarship which allowed him to study with Edwin Fischer. These years laid the foundation for Badura-Skoda's artistic future. In 1949 Wilhelm Furtwangler and Herbert von Karajan became aware of Badura-Skoda's outstanding talent and invited him to perform. Practically overnight the young Viennese pianist became a world-famous artist.
Since then Badura-Skoda has been a regular and celebrated guest at the most important music festivals and a soloist with the world's most prestigious orchestras. In addition to Furtwangler and von Karajan, he has collaborated with such renowned conductors as George Szell, Karl Bohm, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Georg Solti, and John Eliot Gardiner.
Performing with equal authority on both period and modern instruments, Badura-Skoda was a pioneer in proposing the use of period pianos in performance. His profound knowledge of instruments from Bach's and Mozart's time up to the present has given him the capacity to extract from modern instruments a quality of sound which never fails to amaze audiences and critics alike.
Concert tickets priced at $300, $200 and $100 are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions will be granted to senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients (limited tickets for students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis). A 10% discount is offered to Friends of LCSD performing venues.
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009; for credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999; for internet bookings, visit www.urbtix.hk; for more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp.
Box seats and lounge packages are available for the performance. Please call 2268 7232 for details.
Paul Badura-Skoda will provide a lecture demonstration on piano (conducted in English) at 8pm on Sunday, May 7 at the Recital Hall, Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $40 are now available at all URBTIX outlets.
Ends/Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:43
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