Highly sought-after pianist Cho Seong-Jin to give recital in HK in November

Being praised as one of the most distinctive pianists of his generation, Cho Seong-Jin will visit Hong Kong in November to stage a piano recital, offering rich and diverse music pieces to music fans.

The recital is one of the highlights of this year's Asia+ Festival. It is also the grand finale of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD)'s Great Music 2023. Tickets will be available from Tuesday (Sept. 19).

A repertoire spanning the late 18th century to the early 20th century will be performed in this recital, including Haydn's "Piano Sonata in E minor, Hob. XVI:34", Ravel's "Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn" and "Miroirs", and Mozart's "Adagio in B minor, K. 540", as well as Liszt's "3 Sonnets del Petrarca, S. 161, Nos. 4-6" and "Après une lecture du Dante, fantasia quasi sonata, S. 161, No. 7".Cho started learning piano at the age of six and gave his first public recital at 11. He was brought to the world's attention in 2015 when he won the First Prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. As a recitalist, Cho appeared in many of the world's most renowned concert halls, including New York's Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam's The Concertgebouw, Berliner Philharmonie, Vienna's Musikverein Wien, and London's Barbican Centre. He has collaborated with a number of world-distinguished conductors, including Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

"Piano Recital by Seong-Jin Cho" will be held at 8:00 p.m. on November 28 (Tuesday) at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced at HK$200, HK$280, HK$360, HK$440 and HK$520 will be available from September 19 onwards at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288.

A pre-concert talk entitled "Classical Romantic Impression" (in Cantonese) will be held at 6:45 pm on November 28 at Level 4 Foyer, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The speaker will be music practitioner Jimmy Shiu. Admission is free, with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Presented by the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau and organized by the LCSD, the Asia+ Festival will be held in October and November to bring audiences stage performances, exhibitions, and an outdoor carnival with participation from over 20 countries, with a focus on Asia and to celebrate the cultural diversity of the continent and Belt and Road regions.

The LCSD presents the Great Music 2023 from September to November. Various internationally acclaimed musicians and ensembles gather in Hong Kong to perform an array of exciting and diversified music programs.

In addition to the brand-new Asia+ Festival, the LCSD is also organizing various cultural exchange activities. They include Hong Kong Week 2023@Bangkok, the New Vision Arts Festival and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival and more, promoting different places' cultural exchanges and cooperation.