HK Phil gets biggest ever gift
NewsThe Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has received a record donation from its principal patron, the Swire Group. The gift is worth HK$50 million over the next three years.
That comes down to about US$6.2million.
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Considering the cultural wasteland that is Hong King, US$6M is infinite.
Hong Kong is a cultural wasteland, first because the British made it the Wild West (or East, as it were) of unbridled western capitalism (frankly, what was worse, the Brits exporting opium to China or exporting capitalism to Hong Kong?), second because China, who reclaimed it in 1997, made Hong Kong a subsidiary of the Chinese communist party, it would not surprise me one bit if the HK Phil programs nothing but Mao-Tse-Tung era operas.
Dude what u on? Opium?
To begin with, HK has a rich and influence cinematic history/ industry that rivals that of just about any country, and the fact that your are blind to it betrays the wasteland of your ignorance.
Your ignorance is breathtaking. Take a look at their repertoire.
The unbridled western capitalists made sure they had an orchestra and a ballet company, and built good ones, and much more followed, including one of the best modern dance companies I have ever seen.
The Chinese communists, alas, are far too busy restricting civil rights to take much interest in the arts, but must I remind you where a great deal of classical music talent is coming from these days?
Chet’s ignorance is more than breathtaking. It reeks of idiotic deliberate anti ramblings of almost everything to do with Hong Kong. Its City Contemporary Dance company is indeed one of the finest anywhere. It was founded privately without government support by Willie Tsao who went on to found similar companies in Beijing and Guangzhou. Its second orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is a very fine ensemble with a great many original types of programming.
The overall arts scene in Hong Kong is a good deal more vibrant, exciting and varied than in a great many cities in the west. But clearly the writer Chet knows nothing whatever about it!
A look at their website contradicts such totally erroneous, knee jerk pronouncements. Like most orchestras in large cities, The Hong Kong Phil plays a broad repertoire of classical and modern orchestral music. Directors over the last 20 years were Edo de Waart and Jaap van Zweden. Recent guest conductors include Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Paavo Järvi.
When I go to HK I am primarily interested in the food scene (best dim sum and chinese BBQ in the world). Classical music is the last thing on my mind.
Your loss.You could hear some wonderful music.
The grub is good, though! I still remember adoring the spring onion pancakes I could get whenever I stepped off the ferry to Hung Hom.
The classical music listings in Hong Kong are not particularly worth discussion. The orchestra is good given that it has been professional for a relatively short time.
Hong Kong suffers from space issues: performance venues are few, rehearsal venues very few. In recent years, what would otherwise be small offices in commercial towers have turned into ‘concert’ venues with premium rental costs.
Consider the weekly concert listings in other major East Asia cities and it is painfully obvious Hong Kong has very few concerts going on. The major events of each year involve outsourced musicians from London or New York City. There is a major recital by an international artist once every two months.
It was different in the ‘80s. There were fewer people and less demand, but a greater interest in attending performing arts shows. This is around the time the Cultural Centre was born. So glad I was to see its opening. I visited the city just three months ago. Today, the Centre has very few redeeming qualities and has not been maintained as well as it should. Furthermore, the washrooms are borderline third world.
I crossed the border and made excursions to Shenzhen and Zhuhai. The new halls in these cities are outstanding.
Hong Kong has shoebox halls with poker table seats, and the city is suitably happy with that.
I always preferred the Lyric Theatre at the APA to the Cultural Centre. I was there when the CC was opening — even got a tour in a hard hat — and then saw early productions there. I disliked the building from the get-go — taking up all that waterfront space without any windows to speak of. It always seemed dark and institutional. The APA is a wonderful building.
Where on earth does Gerry Feinstein get all his erroneous facts? As far as arts events are concerned, his post is basic nonsense. What is a “short time” I wonder? The HK Phil is in its 50th anniversary season as a professional ensemble. Its venues are filled with concerts, plays (I guess Mr. Feinsteen does not notice them if he does not understand Cantonese), dance, festivals and other performances. There are now more than in the 1980s as a little checking will prove.
Where I agree with him are his comments on the HK Cultural Centre. It was third rate when it opened. You don’t just have to go to China to realize that. Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to mention just some cities outside China have concert halls and venues that were being designed and built at about the same time as the HKCC. All are without question vastly superior. With so many excellent venues all around north and south east Asia, those managing the HK Cultural Centre should be praying for a natural disaster that will instantly destroy it!