【Prison Yard Festival】Obsession

Description

In each Prison Yard Festival, violinist Wang Liang, the Second Associate Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, has hand-picked leading musicians in Asia to perform diverse programmes, each culminating in a masterpiece of the chamber music repertory. For this year’s Festival, Wang Liang and seven string-playing colleagues offer the thrillingly virtuosic Octet by Romanian composer George Enescu. A national hero at home, Enescu influenced the greater musical world not only through his highly distinctive, gypsy-inflected compositions but also by teaching several generations of violinists who dominated the world stage for much of the 20th Century, including Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein and Christian Ferras. In his Octet, each musician becomes a virtuoso soloist at key moments in the piece’s seamless 40 minutes before returning to a blended, unified ensemble. Another feature of the Octet is Enescu’s profound devotion to the music of J.S. Bach, expressed through a furious and challenging fugue in which all eight parts are equal.

Programme

Performed by

Violin: Wang Liang, Gui Li, Chi Li, Le Hoai Nam

Viola: Sun Yu, Born Lau

Cello: Richard Bamping, Zhu Lin

Ysaÿe │Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 2 in A Minor, I. Obsession, Prelude

Violin: Wang Liang

Shostakovich │ Two Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 36a – Elegy & Polka

Violin: Chi Li, Gui Li

Viola: Sun Yu

Cello: Richard Bamping

Piazzolla │ La Meurte del Ángel

Piazzolla │ Oblivion

J.S. Bach │Cantata, BWV 21 - Sinfonia

J.S. Bach │Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009, VI. Gigue

Cello: Richard Bamping

- interval - (20’)

Ysaÿe │Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 3 in D Minor, Ballade

Violin: Wang Liang

Enescu │ Octet for Strings in C major, Op. 7

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes including a 20-minute interval