Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present two classical music lecture series from May to July, hosted by seasoned music practitioner Jimmy Shiu. Through appreciating the “24 Caprices” for solo violin by early Romantic period musician and Italian violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, alongside a selection of Romantic piano concertos, the lectures will explore the pursuit of virtuosity among musicians and the musical ingenuity embedded in these works.
The first series, “Paganini 24 Caprices”, comprises four lectures. In addition to an overview of Paganini’s life and musical style, the series will delve into his virtuosic masterpiece, “24 Caprices” – a work revered as a cornerstone of the violin repertoire and regarded as a precursor to 19th-century Romanticism. Each lecture will examine the technical demands of individual caprices, with violinist Wang Liang to present live demonstrations of the complete set. Excerpts will be performed at varied tempos and with different interpretive approaches, offering audiences deeper insights into the musical imagination contained in the entire work. ———————————————————————
Lecture 1
Date: May 20 (Wednesday)
Compositions: “24 Caprices”: Nos. 1 – 6Date: May 27 (Wednesday)
Compositions: “24 Caprices”: Nos. 7 – 12Date: June 3 (Wednesday)
Compositions: “24 Caprices”: Nos. 13 – 18Date: June 10 (Wednesday)
Compositions: “24 Caprices”: Nos. 19 – 24—————————————————————————-
Lecture 1: Introduction and the Early Romantics
Date: June 17 (Wednesday)
Compositions: Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat, ‘Emperor'” and Mendelssohn’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor” Date: June 24 (Wednesday)
Compositions: Chopin’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor” and Liszt’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat”Date: July 8 (Wednesday)
Compositions: Schumann’s “Piano Concerto in A minor” and Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A minor”Date: July 15 (Wednesday)
Compositions: Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor” and “Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat”Date: July 22 (Wednesday)
Compositions: Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor” and Saint-Saens’ “Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor”Date: July 29 (Wednesday)
Compositions: Rachmaninov’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor” and “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”