Hong Kong Sinfonietta presents two concerts in July with
Renowned violinist Benjamin Schmid
“His golden tone, immaculate intonation, faultless technique…truly things of wonder.” The Strad
10 July: Great Violin Concertos: Benjamin Schmid Plays Beethoven
Benjamin Schmid is one of today’s most important violinists. Compared to Fritz Kreisler by many critics, the Austrian violinist first astounded the musical world in 1992 when he racked up the First Prize, Beethoven Prize, Mozart Prize and Audience Prize in the prestigious Carl Flesch Competition. Today, Schmid continues to mesmerize audiences around the world with his breathtakingly beautiful tone and highly personal style.
On 10 July, Benjamin Schmid will join the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in one of Beethoven’s most compelling pieces – Violin Concerto in D, under the baton of conductor Ariel Zuckermann. The evening’s programme also includes Rossini’s William Tell Overture and Shostakovich Symphony No 9.
Great Violin Concertos: Benjamin Schmid Plays Beethoven
10 July 2010 (Sat) 8:00pm at HK City Hall Concert Hall
Tickets: $280, $200, $120
8 July: Benjamin Schmid Violin Recital
Catch Benjamin Schmid and pianist Dejan Lazic in recital performing some of the best violin sonatas! The recital programme includes Mozart’s Violin Sonata in F, Beethoven Violin Sonata No 7 in C Minor, Bridge Violin Sonata (1904) and Porgy and Bess Suite.
Benjamin Schmid Violin Recital
8 July 2010 (Thu) 8:00pm at HK City Hall Concert Hall
Tickets: $260, $180, $120
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Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Great Violin Concertos:
Benjamin Schmid Plays Beethoven
Conductor: Ariel Zuckermann
Violin: Benjamin Schmid
10 July 2010 (Sat) 8:00pm
HK City Hall Concert Hall
Tickets: $280, $200, $120
Programme
Rossini William Tell Overture
Beethoven Violin Concerto in D, Op 61
Shostakovich Symphony No 9 in E-flat, Op 70
Benjamin Schmid Violin Recital
Violin: Benjamin Schmid
Piano: Dejan Lazic
8 July 2010 (Thu) 8:00pm
HK City Hall Concert Hall
Tickets: $260, $180, $120
Programme
Mozart Violin Sonata in F, K376
Beethoven Violin Sonata No 7 in C minor, Op 30 No 2
Frank Bridge Violin Sonata (1904)
Gershwin/Heifetz Porgy and Bess Suite
Benjamin Schmid Violin
Probably one of the most versatile of today’s violinists, Benjamin Schmid’s particular strength lies in his exceptionally wide repertoire and very personal style. Heralded as “a violin classic” (The Strad) and “one of the most valuable of today’s golden-age-violinists” (The New York Sun), Schmid is also a sought-after jazz violinist who worked together with the late Stéphane Grappelli.
Born in Vienna in 1968, Benjamin Schmid studied in Salzburg, Vienna and at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. He won a number of international awards, amongst them the Carl Flesch Competition where he won the Mozart Prize, the Beethoven Prize and the Audience Prize.
After performing the Korngold concerto with Vienna Philharmonic and Seiji Ozawa in three concerts at the Musikverein in June 2007, he was immediately invited back to perform. The same occurred in May 2009, having stepped in at very short notice for two performances of Szymanowsky’s First Violin Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
At the very core of Schmid’s career are works by Austrian composers – Berg, Goldmark, Korngold, Kreisler, Mozart, Muthspiel, Schönberg and Webern. Each year Schmid allocates a proportion of his time to playing chamber music, with musicians such as clarinettist Sabine Meyer and cellist Clemens Hagen, amongst others. Together with pianist Ariane Haering he concentrates on works by Mozart, which they have also recorded together. Schmid has built up an impressive discography consisting of more than 20 CDs.
Schmid has performed with leading orchestras including the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra (with David Zinman), Vienna Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Lucerne Symphony, as well as Zurich and Bern Chamber Orchestras, Malaysian Philharmonic and the Houston and Baltimore Symphonies. He was Artist-in-Residence at the Rheinische Philharmonie State Orchestra in 2008/2009.
Schmid is also a frequent guest at many important European festivals. In particular, he has been highly present at the Salzburg Festival for more than 20 years. His first appearance in 1986 with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Sir Yehudi Menuhin was followed by a large number of orchestral concerts, recitals, chamber music and jazz recitals – most recently in recital with Hélène Grimaud and Clemens Hagen.
Highlights of the 2009/10 season include the world première of a new double concerto by Muthspiel with the Tonkünstler Orchestra under the baton of Andrés Orozco-Estrada and a tour through Australia with Melbourne Symphony.
Ariel Zuckermann Conductor
Israel-born Ariel Zuckermann is one of the most sought-after conductors of the younger generation.
Zuckermann studied orchestral conducting with the legendary Jorma Panula at the Royal Music Academy of Stockholm. In May 2004 he graduated from Munich’s Musikhochschule as conducting student of Bruno Weil and was appointed shortly after as Music Director of the well-established Georgian Chamber Orchestra.
From the beginning of his conducting career Zuckermann has established himself as a promising, course-setting artistic personality and, in 2003/2004, was appointed Assistant Conductor to Iván Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra. In close cooperation with Iván Fischer he acquired a large repertoire and conducted many performances to high critical acclaim.
In November 2007 Ariel Zuckermann made his successful début with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at Berlin’s Philharmonie. Further conducting engagements include concerts and recordings with Bavarian State Orchestra, Basel and Lucerne Symphonies, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Radio Orchestra Seoul, Belgrade Philharmonic, Bremen Philharmonic, Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Zürich Chamber Orchestra and with Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi on tour in Spain.
In addition to his concerts with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, highlights of the 2009/2010 season include his débuts with WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne and Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Lodz. He will also return to Bremen Philharmonic, Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra and lead a new production of Donizetti’s Viva La Mamma in Munich.
Ariel Zuckermann began his musical career as a flautist. A student of Paul Meisen and András Adorján, he also took masterclasses with Alain Marion and Aurèle Nicolet. Winner of a number of renowned international competitions, he played under conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti in distinguished orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic and Bavarian State Orchestra.
Dejan Lazic Piano
Pianist Dejan Lazi? was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and grew up in Salzburg where he studied at the Mozarteum. He has quickly established a reputation worldwide as “a brilliant pianist and a gifted musician full of ideas and able to project them persuasively” (The Gramophone). The New York Times hailed his performance as “full of poetic, shapely phrasing and vivid dynamic effects that made this music sound fresh, spontaneous and impassioned”. After a highly successful Edinburgh Festival recital, The Scotsman wrote recently: "Dejan Lazi? shines like a new star."
As recitalist and soloist with orchestra, Dejan Lazi? has appeared at major venues in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia, and has been invited to numerous international festivals.
In spring 2008, he gave his orchestral débuts at New York’s Lincoln Center with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer and at London’s Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Kirill Petrenko. During the 2007/2008 season, he also performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy and with the Bamberger Symphoniker under Jonathan Nott to great acclaim. He has also appeared with the Atlanta, Seattle, Indianapolis and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestras, Residentie Orkest, Seoul and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras and the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. He was Artist-in-Residence with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra in 2008/2009, and enjoys a growing following in Asia.
Highlights of the 2009/2010 season include a tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, engagements with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, MDR Leipzig, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Pacific Symphony and his début with NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Alongside his solo career Dejan Lazi? is also a passionate chamber musician. He works regularly with artists such as Benjamin Schmid, Gordan Nikoli? and Richard Tognetti and is a regular guest at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad and many others. Recitals in 2009/2010 lead him to Istanbul, Munich and the Heidelberg Spring, just to mention a few.
Dejan Lazi? records exclusively for Channel Classics. The first volume of his Liaisons series with works by Scarlatti and Bartók was released in 2007; the second with a Schumann and Brahms programme followed in early 2009. His recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko in 2009 was awarded “Best Piano Concerto Recording, 20th and 21st centuries” by Echo Klassik Preis and “Orchestral Disc of the Month” by Classic FM.
Dejan Lazi? is also a composer. His works include various piano compositions, chamber music and orchestral works (including String Quartet Op 9, written for Mstislav Rostropovich's 70th birthday gala). In the 2007/2008 season he premiered his piano cycle Kinderszenen – Hommage à Schumann, Op 15 at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. His arrangement of Brahms’ Violin Concerto for piano and orchestra saw its world première with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Robert Spano in October 2009, and the recording was greeted with great acclaim from critics.
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Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group booking of 4 or more adult tickets
Get a 20% discount when you purchase full-price tickets to both concerts on 8 & 10 July 2010
Ticketing Enquiries & Reservations：2734 9009
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Hong Kong Sinfonietta is the Venue Partner of the Hong Kong City Hall
Hong Kong Sinfonietta is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region
Hong Kong Sinfonietta reserves the right to change the programme and artists
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