How It Started It was never meant to be as monumental as a colleague celebrating his 60th birthday playing multiple games on the St Andrews Links courses, but I did expect my first-ever attendance at a classical music festival to be somewhat a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Going
I was delighted to discover, in Oscar Wilde's Impressions of America, the following description: "San Francisco is a really beautiful city. China Town, peopled by Chinese labourers, is the most artistic town I have ever come across. The people—strange, melancholy Orientals, whom many people would call
We have read the book as part of our general reading curriculum, and have probably seen the TV series and the movie, so do we need to see a play adapted from Jane Austen’s celebrated novel Pride and Prejudice? And why the Gate Theatre, one of Dublin’s cornerstone
As a student of marketing, I am fascinated by how product pricing influences consumer behaviour, and my love of music led me to a search on iTunes over the weekend which prompted me to make a few interesting observations. I was considering downloading five albums: * New and Kisses On the
For those of you old enough to be around before personal computers became a permanent fixture in everyday life, spam had a different meaning. In 1937, the Hormel Foods Corporation introduced a meat product called “Spam”, which is still available today. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of
June 9th, 2013 Venetian Theatre, Macao Richard Wagner Overture to Tannhäuser Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso Allegro con spirito The Philadelphia Orchestra Conductor: Donald Runnicles A casino is an unlikely venue for an orchestral performance, and it’
When James Rhodes holds court in a soiree billed as “An Unconventional Recital” at the China Club in the Old Bank of China Building in Hong Kong, we are entitled to expect some fun. And we were not disappointed last night. As we seated ourselves in the dining hall cleared
It’s been a busy couple of months for concert-going. I was fortunate enough to visit six different concert halls in five cities to sample performances by some of the world’s finest musicians. During a stop in London on April 24th, I saw Leif Segerstam conduct the Philharmonia
The programme billed him as "The Legend". Russian conductor Gennadi Rozhdesvensky - tongue-twister of a name that gave me lots of trouble as an upstart radio announcer years ago - led the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in an all-Tchaikovsky programme on Saturday March 17, 2012. Joining him in
It seems that in 2011 alone, there were several revivals of the Oscar Wilde evergreen The Importance of Being Earnest. A casual search online uncovered productions by Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theater in Manhattan, the Wingspan Theater Company in Dallas, and Rose Kingston Theatre in the UK.
Two hundred years ago today, Liszt Ferenc, better known to us as Franz Liszt, was born to Marie Anna Lager and Ádám Liszt in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the service of Prince Esterházy, his father played a number of instruments and counted Haydn, Hummel and Beethoven as personal acquaintances.
No sooner had I finished uploading my blog post about a crop of young female pop talent came the news that veteran singer Tony Bennett had broken a record: at the end of September he became the oldest singer to have a number one hit on the Billboard top albums
Classical
October 9th, 2011 Concert Hall,Hong KongCultural Centre Johannes Brahms Tragic Overture, Op. 81 Franz Schubert Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, ‘Unfinished’ Allegro moderato Andante con moto Gustav Mahler 11 Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn ViennaPhilharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach It’s no surprise that the programme for Vienna
Music
The top 5 albums on the BBC Radio 1 chart in the week of August 14 were all by female artists. The top 4 positions were shared by two UKsingers, Adele and Amy Winehouse. This odd phenomenon started at the beginning of August, and prompted The Guardian to declare that
Culture and Countries
There is no escaping the couch even, or perhaps especially, for Oxford don C. S. Lewis in the presence of the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, although he does put up a vigorous fight in defence of Christianity. Freud’s Last Session, a snapshot of an imaginary meeting between the
Classical
July 26th, 2011 Loke Yew Hall, The University of Hong Kong Igor Stravinsky Septet (1952-53) Allegro Passacaglia Gigue Milton Babbitt Composition For Four Instruments (1948) Arnold Schoenberg Suite, Op. 29 (1924-26) Ouverture [Overture] Tanzchritte [Dance Steps] Thema mit Variationen [Theme with variations] Gigue [Gigue] Hong Kong New Music
Culture and Countries
The printed media industry, like the music industry, has been under pressure in recent years. Convenient and timely electronic access to a wide variety of content has all but rendered traditional methods of delivery irrelevant. When you can get breaking news as it happens, as long as you are on
Music
As a professional actor, Daniel Radcliffe gets full marks for boldness. In the span of five years, he has morphed from being an apprentice wizard in the Harry Potter movies, to a horse-obsessed teenager in a psycho-drama stage production of Peter Shaffer’s Equus. His latest attempt at
Classical
A century ago today, the world lost a great conductor, Gustav Mahler. Now ensconced with the Met and Philharmonic in New York, having hailed from an illustrious career in Budapest, Hamburg, and Vienna, mentor to Bruno Walter, he was the focus of nascent mass media and other hangers on who
Culture and Countries
April 29th, 2011 is shaping up to be a momentous day on both sides of the Atlantic. In London, it’s the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. In Cape Canaveral, Florida, the last but one of the space shuttle missions, Endeavour, will take off at 3:47pm
Classical
April 9th, 2011 Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall Rameau Dardanus suite Mozart Così fan tutte: Una donna a quindici anni Le nozze di Figaro: Giunse alfin il momento…Deh vieni non tardar Così fan tutte: Temerari, sortite…Come scoglio Exsultate Jubilate, K165 Beethoven Symphony No. 2 in D, op
Books
I have always had an interest in books, but should have read more than I have. My excuse? That the books that matter are too bulky. The arrival of e-books has totally destroyed this excuse. My iPad now carries Oscar Wilde Complete Works Ultimate Collection (140+ works), Works of
Classical
Davies Symphony Hall San Francisco, California Friday April 1st, 2011 Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Opus 23 Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major, Opus 43 San Francisco Symphony Herbert Blomstedt Conductor Yundi Soloist I had long thought that Tchaikovsky was a pioneer of decadent romanticism.
Classical
Sydney Opera House, Opera Theatre Sydney, Australia Thursday March 24th, 2011 The Barber of Seville Gioachino Rossini Opera Australia Anthony Legge, Conductor Elijah Moshinsky, Director Opera Australia Chorus Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra José Carbó, Baritone: Figaro Dominica Matthews, Mezzo-soprano: Rosina John Longmuir, Tenor: Count Almaviva Jud Arthur, Bass-