Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Premiere Performances Collaborate To Bring Miloš Karadaglić and Akiko Suwanai To Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) and Premiere Performances of Hong Kong (Premiere Performances) announce today an unprecedented collaboration to bring International Artists Miloš Karadaglić (guitar) and Akiko Suwanai (violin) to Hong Kong amidst the pandemic. Miloš and Akiko will both be arriving in Hong Kong in December 2020 and will go through the 14-day quarantine procedure. They will each be playing a concerto with the HK Phil in January 2021, as well as participating in Premiere Performances' Beare's Premiere Music Festival in the same month. Such arrangement is unique, as it is unusual for an artist to perform with different presenters in the same city within the same period of time. The HK Phil and Premiere Performances join hands to lift such restraints to encourage internationally renowned artists to come to Hong Kong despite the quarantine arrangements.

"Concert presenters are supporting one another through this difficult time for the industry," said Andrea Fessler, Founder and Executive Director of Premiere Performances "Although performance venues have now reopened in Hong Kong, the 14-day quarantine makes it extremely difficult for overseas artists to travel to Hong Kong for only one performance. We hope by scheduling a concerto performance and a chamber music / recital performance in the same week, International Artists could be encouraged to perform in Hong Kong. Of course, we sincerely invite audience members to attend both presenters' performances, to enjoy completely different live music experiences."

"I have always been fond of meaningful collaborations between arts and cultural organisations," said Benedikt Fohr, Chief Executive of the HK Phil, "We, the HK Phil and Premiere Performances, have put in a lot of enthusiasm to bring the best artists to our audiences. And for the first time, through this joint-presentation of Miloš and Akiko, we are very pleased to be able to offer even more excellent music in Hong Kong. We want to encourage our audiences to try different perspectives - chamber music lovers can listen to their favorite soloists in the big symphonic repertoire, while fans of orchestral music can experience the same artists in outstanding chamber music performances. This is certainly an exclusive cross-genre experience for the Hong Kong community."

Miloš Karadaglić will be performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and Piazzolla's Libertango with the HK Phil on 8 & 9 January 2021, and opening the Beare's Premiere Music Festival on 13 January 2021 with a recital programme entitled "Beyond the Rainbow". Akiko Suwanai will be playing chamber music at the Beare's Premiere Music Festival on 18 & 21 January 2021 (including the famous Dvořak Quintet), and will then perform Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto with the HK Phil on 22 & 23 January 2021.

Miloš Karadaglić was originally scheduled to perform "The Voice of the Guitar" recital for Premiere Performances on 17 May 2020. This recital has now been rescheduled to 29 November 2021 due to the pandemic. Together with the performance with the HK Phil on 8 & 9 January 2021 and the additional Beare's Premiere Music Festival Opening recital on 13 January 2021, Miloš will be playing three programmes in total for the Hong Kong community in 2021.

The abovementioned concerts will strictly observe anti-epidemic advices from the authorities. Concert hall capacity will be adjusted with reference to the latest advice by the venues. Masks are mandatory for audience and staff members. All overseas artists will be tested and quarantined according to Hong Kong government guidelines. COVID-19 testing will also be arranged for all involved HK Phil musicians and backstage staff. Appropriate social distancing for all musicians onstage as well as plastic shields set for wind players will be organised as in each and every HK Phil's performances.

Ticket sales for all concerts of the HK Phil and Premiere Performances will open on 4 December 2020, Friday. A discount will be offered to patrons who purchase tickets through URBTIX to concerts of the HK Phil and Premiere Performances at the same time.

The HK Phil's 2020/21 season presents close to 30 fantastic programmes featuring international and local guest artists. Commissioned works by Hong Kong composers will be premiered. Interesting crossover programmes showcase collaborations with different music genre and arts forms such as jazz, film music, ballet and live illustration. In the season, Jaap van Zweden will lead the orchestra to tour to 10 cities in Europe in May 2021, with debuts in Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the German cities of Cologne and Dresden. The HK Phil will also be making its debut at the prestigious Royal Concertgebouw's Mahler Festival 2021, the first Asian orchestra to perform at this monumental event which is held every 25 years in Amsterdam. Full details can be found on hkphil.org.

The annual Beare's Premiere Music Festival (formerly the Hong Kong Chamber International Chamber Music Festival) presented by Premiere Performances will be held on 13-21 January 2021, and will include four chamber music performances at Hong Kong City Hall, one family concert at Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre and numerous free education and outreach activities. The 2021 Festival will include eight overseas artists including Artist Director Jimmy Cho-Liang Lin (Taiwan), baritone Benjamin Appl (Germany), violist Masumi Per Rostad (US), pianist Shai Wosner (US), cellist Li-Wei Qin (China / Singapore), violinist Stephanie Joeng (US) along with guitarist Miloš Karadaglić (Montenegro) and violinist Akiko Suwanai (Japan). Full details can be found on www.pphk.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.