“I sought only to serve my art” In 2019 we celebrate the 150th birthday of Albert Roussel (1869-1937), a French composer who turned to music only as an adult. His childhood was overshadowed by the death of both parents and

‘Music Communicates Without Words’ Taiwanese-born violinist Paul Huang is now based in New York, having moved there aged 12 to study at the Juilliard School’s pre-college programme. Now at the age of 28, having picked up awards including an Avery

The Hopeless Romantic On 8 March 1869, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) died in his house in the Rue de Calais in Paris. To commemorate the 150th year of his passing, we pay homage to the writer, conductor, traveler, lover, cynic and

A musical journey across the ages awaits listeners at Li Biao’s concert in Hong Kong on 15 March. Performing arrangements on only percussion instruments, Li Biao and his ensemble will span almost 300 years of music in just one evening.

The Belligerent Virtuoso Our birthday boy this month is Louis Marchand (1669-1732), born 350 years ago in Lyons on 2 February 1669. By all accounts, he was a rather strange and disturbed character. Described as restless, cumbersome, self-conceited, and ambitious

‘Absorb as much as possible from life around you’ Russian-Israeli trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov performs in Hong Kong on 16 February with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, playing works by Mozart and Jörg Widmann.

“Great teacher of musical truth” On 17 January 2019 we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Russian composer Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomïzhsky (1813-1869). Born in the Tula district on 14 February 1813, Dargomïzhsky was a popular and highly skilled

‘Breathe More andante Enjoy Life’ Haochen Zhang on Oxygen in Performance Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang performs Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto on 18 and 19 January with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Between concerts in the USA and China he takes a