When Lü Shao-chia (呂紹嘉) returned from the Staatsoper Hannover for the directorship of the NSO, he inherited an ensemble already steeped in Austro-German music and musicianship, on account of both the education of many orchestra members and the directorship of

One can’t help but notice the new major policy unveiled in 2011 and continuing well into 2012 – the supreme importance of strengthening Chinese culture. At the end of last year, President Hu published an essay in which he drew

A mere 15 years ago, Hong Kong proudly escaped the shackles of British colonial rule and happily pledged its allegiance to an even more aggressive ruler in the north. There were no cries for independence or democracy, no calls for

Injuries among musicians occur mainly due to overuse. Repetition, excessive force, poor posture, awkward positions, and little respite from our wonderful profession when stirred into the mix, is a recipe for disaster. Half of the injuries seen in musicians are

Stravinsky Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 1 (1907) At age nine, Russian musician Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) was already a music prodigy. His parents took him to his first opera performance when he was five, only to find

I read two interesting articles recently. One was about the Metropolitan Opera, whose spokesman proudly informed Times Magazine that the average age of subscribers is much younger now, “dropping from 66.4 in 2005 to 64.8 in 2011” – which, let’s

When we think about the wonders of the world, we think in terms of natural marvels or edifices. Typically, we don’t think in these terms when we describe creative artists but Janos Starker, qualifies. Virtuoso cellist, master pedagogue, articulate advocate

From Beijing to Bartók: a Talk with Tan Dun at the 2012 Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival Tan Dun flew to Hong Kong last month to oversee rehearsals for the local premiere of Ghost Opera, the chamber work considered