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33rd Macao International Music Festival

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The 33rd Macao International Music Festival (MIMF), organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be held from 4 to 30 October. This edition of the MIMF, themed ‘The Instrumentalist’, gathers internationally acclaimed musicians and orchestras from around the world and offers 17 programmes in a total of 22 excellent performances, bringing a musical feast of grandeur, bounding spirit and rhythmic melodies and sharing the beauty of music with the general public.
 
Kicking off the Festival is The Magic Flute, a classic in which the flute is the star and thus perfectly suits this year’s theme.  In 2019 we also celebrate the 80th anniversary of The Yellow River Cantata – written by Xian Xinghai, a composer born in 1905 into a Tanka family at Rua da Praia do Manduco – and also the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China as well as the 20th anniversary of Macao’s Handover to Mainland China. In celebration of all these important occasions, the Macao Orchestra will join forces with the China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus to present The Yellow River Cantata with voices of majestic momentum and high spirit, as the grand finale paying tribute to Xian and to that memorable age of national resistance.
 
In addition to the above-mentioned incredible opening and closing performances, this year’s Festival invites the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and celebrated Chinese pianist Yuja Wang to return to Macao, to jointly present two outdoor concerts.
 
As Macao is committed to building itself into a Sino-Portuguese cultural exchange hub, cultural elements of the Portuguese-speaking countries are certainly a must in our musical festival. Portuguese band Os Quatro e Meia shows an eclectic approach to Portuguese music, from pop-rock to fado, trying to impart new sonorities to some of the most beautiful songs of Portugal.
 
The MIMF also strives to provide a stage for local talents to showcase their musical flair. This year Sophia Su, an emerging young violinist of Macao dubbed as “Music Prodigy”, will perform Haydn’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Sejong Soloists, an ensemble from the Republic of Korea, in a performance with no conductor, with each section demonstrating its individuality and thus gripping in its own right.
 
The 33rd Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) Outreach Programme features a total of 14 activities in eight categories, including talks, pre-show talks, post-show talks, meet-the-artists, masterclasses, workshops, community activities and school sessions introducing the charm of music to the public. Various different types of outreach activities will be held during the 33rd MIMF to enhance residents’ interest in music and encourage their participation.
 
This edition of the MIMF counts with the support of the Macao Government Tourism Office, TDM – Teledifusão de Macao, Air Macau, Sands Resorts Macao, and has Cotai Water Jet as the official ferry company. 
 
Tickets for the 33rd MIMF are available at the Macau Ticketing. Reservations can be made by phone or online.  
 
For more information about the programme and offers, please visit the Festival’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/fimm or the respective page on Facebook (“Macao International Music Festival”). 
 
For enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 8399 6699 during office hours. 
24-hour ticketing hotlines: Macao (853) 2855 5555
 |  Hong Kong (852) 2380 5083   |  Mainland China (86) 139 269 1111
Ticketing website:  www.macauticket.com
 
 
4-6
/10/2019
 
Grand Opening 
The Magic Flute
Grand Opera in Two Acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 
 
"A dazzling  live-action cartoon far too adorable to offend."
   Los Angeles Times
 
Tamino flying on the elephant’s back, the Queen of the Night as a giant spider, dancing constellations, butterflies and mechanical monkeys fill the “screen” –  the fascination which this Magic Flute exerts over audiences of all ages seems endless. This critically acclaimed production by Komische Oper Berlin and the British theatre group “1927”, with its blend of film animation and live singing, has been rapturously received by over 500,000 audience members and critics around the globe. 
 
The Magic Flute appears to give rise to more questions and mysteries rather than provide answers. In the end, the immense fantasy of this magical opera defies all logic and reason. Its secret lies in deeper layers of fundamental human experiences for which the fairytale appears simply to be the most adequate form of expression and only music finds the appropriate language. It is with good reason that the “eponymous hero” of the opera is an instrument, or quite simply: music.
 
Conductor: Hendrik Vestmann 
Directors: Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky 
Animator: Paul Barritt
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Vocalconsort Berlin
Production: Komische Oper Berlin and 1927
 
4-6/10/2019 | Friday to Sunday  | 4-5/10 – 20:00  |  6/10 – 15:00 
Macao Cultural Centre – Grand Auditorium
Tickets | MOP 700, 600, 500, 400
Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one interval
Performed in German, with subtitles in Chinese, Portuguese and English
 
 
11
/10/2019
 
Billy Childs Quartet
 
 
"… Childs’ jazz/chamber group has taken the jazz-meets classical format to a new summit."
      DownBeat
 
Jazz pianist/composer Billy Childs remains one of the most diversely prolific and acclaimed artists today. Childs’ original compositions and arrangements have garnered him the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, 16 Grammy nominations and five Grammy awards.
 
Among Childs’ early influences are Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, as well as classical composers including Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky. His performing career was enriched with early-career apprenticeships with legendary jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson and great jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. He then recorded and performed with a number of other influential jazz musicians including Joe Henderson and Wynton Marsalis before landing a record deal. His most recently album Rebirth won the 2018 Grammy awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
 
Childs will gather great musicians for an exhilarating night of jazz: the multi-award saxophonist Shai Golan, bassist Dave Robaire, who was a student of the celebrated bassist John Patitucci, and the young and energetic drummer Christian Euman, who is hailed as one of the “six drummers you should know about”. 
 
Programme Highlights
[ Subject to change ]
     Backwards Bop 
     Rebirth
     Stay
 
Billy Childs – Piano
Shai Golan – Saxophone
Dave Robaire – Bass
Christian Euman – Drums
 
11/10/2019 | Friday | 20:00
Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium
Tickets | MOP 400, 300, 200, 150 
Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, no interval
 
 
13
/10/2019 
 
When the East Meets the West in Music
Macao Chinese Orchestra
 
 
Love stories between the East and the West
 
Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Chinese Orchestra Liu Sha will join hands with distinguished Chinese pianist Sun Yingdi to present Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, the popular work where jazz meets classical music. Pipa virtuoso Dong Xiaolin will share a legendary love story through the pipa concerto Song for the Heaven and Land. Acclaimed tenor Xue Haoyin will perform the best-known aria Nessun Dorma from the renowned Italian opera Turandot and the Chinese song Pursuit. Furthermore, the Macao Orchestra commissioned Wang Chenwei to compose Postcard of Macao, which will be premiered in this year’s Festival.
 
Come join this grand feast served with a perfect blend of music from the East and West.
 
13/10/2019  |  Sunday  |  20:00
Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium
Tickets |  MOP 250, 200, 150
Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, including one interval
 
 
27
/10/2019 
 
Peter Broderick
 
 
"… Broderick is a restless, prodigious musical talent… "
      The Telegraph
 
Peter Broderick is an American-born multi-instrumentalist and singer, now based in Ireland. Aside from collaborations with M. Ward, Laura Gibson, Dolorean, Efterklang, Nils Frahm, Greg Haines, David Allred and many more, Broderick has recorded several acclaimed albums of solo material, ranging from sparse classical compositions or homemade folk music to piano and voice recordings – constantly experimenting with different musical genres and making his name as an increasingly essential artist in today’s musical panorama.
 
Along with some of the most prestigious venues across the world, Broderick has also performed in festivals like Roskilde Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Misty Fest, CTM Festival, Green Man, Supersonic Festival and OFF Festival. In 2017, Broderick was invited to compose music for the animation short film Two Balloons. This film has circulated in film festivals around the world and racked up countless awards and accolades including Best Original Music Score at the New Renaissance Film Festival in Amsterdam.
 
Programme Highlights
[ Subject to change ]
 
• The Reconnection
• Below It
• Up Niek Mountain
 
Post-show Talk after the performance
 
27/10/2019|Sunday|20:00
Taipa Houses Amphitheatre
Tickets |  MOP 200
Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, no interval
 
 
22&23
/10/2019 
 
The Vienna Philharmonic
 
 

"[Andrés Orozco-Estrada] is energetic and passionate, but also possesses genuine lyrical sensibilities and is exceptionally attuned to full orchestral textures."

    Triblive

[Yuja Wang’s] combination of technical ease, colouristic range and sheer power has always been remarkable…"
    Financial Times
 
There is perhaps no other musical ensemble more closely associated with the history and tradition of European classical music than The Vienna Philharmonic. In the past 176 years, the orchestra has experienced and influenced the course of musical history around the world. Even to this day, prominent soloists and conductors refer to the unique “Viennese Sound” as the outstanding quality that sets it apart from other orchestras.
 
Under the baton of the most sought-after Columbian-Austrian Andrés Orozco-Estrada, who has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, The Vienna Philharmonic will perform Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony and the most virtuosic Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with megastar pianist Yuja Wang. Her technical prowess, keen musical insight and emotional depth have firmly established her place among the world’s leading artists.
 
The Beijing-born pianist is celebrated for her charismatic artistry and captivating stagepresence, and she is featured as an Artist-in-Residence at three of the world’s premiere venues: New York’s Carnegie Hall with a season-long “Perspectives” series, the Wiener Konzerthauswith a “Portrait” series, and also at the Luxembourg Philharmonie. 
 
Wang was born into a musical family in Beijing. After childhood piano studies in China, she received advanced training in Canada and at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music under Gary Graffman. Her international breakthrough came in 2007 when she replaced Martha Argerich as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Two years later, she signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has since established her place among the world’s leading artists, with a succession of critically acclaimed performances and recordings.
Wang was named Musical America’s Artist of the Year in 2017.
 
Programme
     S. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30
     A. Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, op. 95, B. 178 (“From the New World”)
 
Conductor – Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Piano – Yuja Wang
The Vienna Philharmonic
 
21&22/10/2019 | Monday, Tuesday  |  20:00
University of Macau – Library Plaza
Tickets | MOP 600
Duration: Approximately  1 hour and 40 minutes, no interval
 

27
/10/2019 
 
Serenade of Strings
Sejong Soloists and Sophia Su
 
 
 
"The International Sejong Soloists… is a polished ensemble that produces beautiful sounds and projects high spirits…"
       Los Angeles Times
 
"The 15-member International Sejong Soloists form a top-notch conductor-less string orchestra. "
     The Washington Post
 
Sejong Soloists has a deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of musical talent. In its second concert, the string orchestra will share the stage with Macao’s violin prodigy Sophia Su and perform Haydn’s Violin Concerto No. 1. It will perform the breathtaking Serenade for String Orchestra by Tchaikovsky, a work which was alluded to his idol Mozart, as well as a modern work by Korean composer Sukhi Kang premiered in 2006.
 
Sophia Su is the youngest winner of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Prize at the Macao Young Musicians Competition at the age of six in 2008. In 2012, she won the First Prize in the Yundi Macao Young Musicians Competition and in 2016, she was awarded the Third Prize at the International LOUIS SPOHR Competition for Young Violinists in Germany. She performed in Bravo Macao! at the Macao International Music Festival in 2015, and is currently studying at The Juilliard School with Cho-Liang Lin and Masao Kawasaki.
 
Programme
     J. Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. Vlla:1
     Sukhi Kang: Four Seasons of PyeongChang
     P. I. Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, op.48
 
 
 
Sejong Soloists 
Sophia Su, Violin
 
27/10 | sunday | 20:00
Macao Cultural Centre Small Auditorium
Tickets |  MOP 250, 200
Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, including one interval
 

 

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