HK Phil Presents an Ocean-Themed Programme Including Debussy's La Mer, Mendelssohn's The Hebrides Overture And Toshio Hosokawa's Circulating Ocean

Jun Märkl is known for his refined and idiomatic explorations of the French impressionists. In this concert, he marks the centenary of the death of one of France's most famous composers, Claude Debussy, with a performance of his famous evocation of the sea in all its moods, La Mer. Märkl will also lead the HK Phil in the Hong Kong premiere of Circulating Ocean, a richly colourful score by Japanese contemporary composer Toshio Hosokawa. The programme also includes Mendelssohn's The Hebrides Overture which portrays the violent seas off the west coast of Scotland, and the Spanish composer Manuel De Falla's highly atmospheric piano concerto, Nights in the Gardens of Spain, performed by Argentinean pianist Ingrid Fliter. (A change from the advertised programme made at the request of the soloist.)

Winner of the Gilmore Artist Award in 2006, Ingrid Filter, whose playing has been described as showing "poetic lyricism and electrifying, nimble virtuosity" and "attaining an incredible iridescent energy", gives a rare Hong Kong performance of Falla's famous work which was composed during the period in which Falla was living and working in the French capital. This lush symphonic impression of the great gardens of his native Spain is full of the vibrant colours and strutting rhythms of Spain.

The concert opener, Toshio Hosokawa's Circulating Ocean, premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2005. The composer has been writing works on the theme of ocean, which is for him the birthplace of life. The water evaporates and becomes clouds, the rain then pours down back into the ocean and turns to storm, the ocean rages. In time the storm abates, the ocean regains a deep silence. The water once again becoming fog ascends from the ocean to the sky. This image became the basis of the music.

Mendelssohn's The Hebrides Overture recounts a nerve-wracking trip the composer made in a small boat on the rough and violent seas off the west coast of Scotland. From its very first note, the bleakness of the Hebridean seascape is vividly portrayed.

Last but not least, Jun Märkl will direct the journey through Claude Debussy's evocative portrayal of the sea in all its moods. In La Mer, the composer found inspiration both in literature and in painting, including the famous image of Mount Fuji by the Japanese painter Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa.

Tickets priced: HK$480, $380, $280, $180 are now available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit www.hkphil.org.

Jun Märkl, conductor [full biography]: Jun Märkl has long been known as a highly respected interpreter of the core Germanic repertoire and more recently for his refined and idiomatic explorations of the French impressionists. His long-standing relationships at the state operas of Vienna, Berlin, Munich and Semperoper Dresden have in recent years been complemented by his Music Directorships of the Orchestre National de Lyon (2005-11) and MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig (to 2012). He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Basque National Orchestra for 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons and Principal Conductor of Pacific Music Festival (Japan) for 2015. He guests with the world's leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic and Tonhalle Orchester Zürich.

Ingrid Fliter, piano [full biography]: Argentinean pianist Ingrid Fliter sprang to international attention when she was awarded the 2006 Gilmore Artist Award. She is one of only a handful of pianists to have received this honour, which is presented to an exceptional pianist who, regardless of age or nationality, possesses profound musicianship and charisma and who sustains a career as a major international concert artist. Fliter now divides her time between Europe and the US, where she works with orchestras such as the Cincinnati Symphony, Cleveland, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota, National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St Louis Symphony and Toronto Symphony.

Toshio Hosokawa, composer [full biography]: Toshio Hosokawa was born in Hiroshima in 1955. His compositions include orchestral works, solo concertos, chamber music and film music alongside works for traditional Japanese instruments. Influences from both Western music - from Schubert to Webern - and traditional Japanese music can be recognised in his compositions. Hosokawa considers the compositional process to be instinctively associated with the concepts of Zen Buddhism and its symbolic interpretation of nature.

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