Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui｜Strings with Love 29 Years - Heart to The World HKSAR Establishment Celebration Concert

Description

To celebrate the 29th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the Hong Kong String Orchestra presents a concert of special significance – Strings with Love 29 Years – Heart to the World. This is an artistic celebration that uses the language of strings to bridge Eastern and Western cultures and explore the shared emotions of humanity. The concert is led by renowned conductor Yang Yang, performed by the Hong Kong String Orchestra, and features the orchestra's founder, violinist Jue Yao, as soloist, presenting a programme deeply rooted in folk traditions yet outward‑looking in spirit.

The first half focuses on classic string works of the European nationalist tradition, including Sibelius's solemn and warm Andante Festivo, Bartók's six vibrant Romanian Folk Dances distilled from Eastern European folk melodies, and Dvořák's lyrically beautiful Serenade in E major for Strings, Op.22 – works that reveal the folk emotions and pastoral spirit embedded in the Western string tradition. The second half presents contemporary Chinese compositions. Guo Wenjing's Folk Song Suite for String Orchestra paints a poetic portrait of China's natural and cultural landscapes across four movements – The Dawn, Wooden Drum and The Woods, The Grassland, Eagle and Horse. The Hong Kong String Orchestra has also commissioned composer Elliot Leung to create Nine Dragons in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Hong Kong's return, featuring Jue Yao as violin soloist. The work unfolds in four movements: Nine Dragons opens with grand strings evoking legend and history; The Walled City evokes the tense and enigmatic atmosphere of the historic Kowloon Walled City; Hearth of the Lion offers a warm and resilient tribute to the Lion Rock spirit; and Next Station, West Kowloon closes with a rhythmic, forward-looking energy that celebrates Hong Kong's vitality and future. As a symbol of Hong Kong's urban culture and spirit, "Kowloon" connects history with the present, building a bridge between the East and the world. Together, these four movements tell the story of Hong Kong in a musical language shared across cultures, demonstrating the boundless possibilities of strings in both Eastern and Western musical contexts.

From ancient folk dances of Europe to the vast landscapes of China, from Dvořák's Bohemian spirit to Elliot Leung's musical memories of Kowloon, this concert unfolds as a cross-cultural dialogue across time and place. With Yang Yang's masterful conducting, Jue Yao's deeply expressive solo playing, and the ensemble cohesion of the Hong Kong String Orchestra, audiences will experience the pure emotional power of music – and discover how, when East meets West through strings, what is deeply national can also resonate with the world.

Programme :

1. Jean Sibelius : Andante Festivo

2. Béla Bartók : Romanian Folk Dances

3. Antonín Dvořák : Serenade in E major for Strings, Op.22

4. Wenjing GUO : Folk Song Suite for String Orchestra

5. Elliot Leung : Nine Dragons for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

   ( Commissioned by Hong Kong String Orchestra )