Wong Time to Play | Concert Information

Hailing from Hong Kong and based in Berlin, the star of audacious piano virtuoso Chiyan Wong has been steadily on the rise in recent seasons. Following his own charismatically diverse tastes and curiosities, Chiyan sheds light on the hypnotic power of dance music spanning three centuries.

Chiyan opens the concert by conducting a spiritual dialogue with two important musical figures: Niccoló Paganini and Franz Liszt, who respectively through their instruments, the violin and piano, revolutionised the way we listen. Liszt’s Grandes études de Paganini, S141 (1851) which, inspired by Paganini’s ability to conjure up the uncanniest illusions on the violin, are not only amongst the most technically demanding pieces ever written for the piano, but also reveal an inner geometric sense of pattern-spinning.

What follows are a set of dances from the 18th century by Rameau in his Pièces de Clavecin: Suite in E minor (1724), leading to Moderne Tanzsuite, Op. 115 (1929) by Walter Niemann (1876–1953), which consists of five jazz-influenced dance pieces that evoke the sounds of 1920’s Germany.

Finally, musicians from West-Eastern Divan Ensemble joins Chiyan in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K453 (1784), in an arrangement by composer/conductor Ignaz Lachner for piano and string quintet. In it, you shall hear the pianist’s multiple curiosities – in improvising, in jazz, simply in playing with the material at hand, all come together in a piece which he terms as “drinking champagne through your ears”.

Coinciding with the concert is a mini-exhibition showcasing a number of Chiyan’s drawings, in which his unique eclectic taste in music is mirrored by a kaleidoscopic array of drawings consisting of people, landscapes, dreamscapes, illusive shapes and abstract images inspired by music.

Programme

Liszt │ Grandes études de Paganini, S 141 (Nos. 1, 4-6)

Rameau │ Pièces de Clavecin: Suite in E minor (Allemande, Gigue et Doublé, Rappel des Oiseaux)

Niemann │ Moderne Tanzsuite, Op. 115

Mozart │ Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453 (arranged by Lachner, for solo piano and string quintet)*

Piano Solo: Chiyan Wong

*With musicians from the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble

Concert Details

• Wong Time to Play
• Date: November 23, 2023
• Time: 7pm – 8:30pm
• Venue: Tai Kwun, Prison Yard
• Address: 10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong

Ticketing Information

• Tickets available on URBTIX
• Price: HKD 380

Information Source: Tai Kwun official website