Due to overwhelming response, there are 10 tickets of box seats with restricted view ($250 for each ticket) available for sale at the URBTIX Box Office of Hong Kong Cultural Centre from 10am on the day of the concert. Each person can purchase a maximum of two tickets per transaction on a first come, first served basis.
The Rare "Prodigy": Kissin
Savio Lau
Moscow-born pianist Evgeny Kissin seems to have an innate connection with Hong Kong, he, who accepted an Honorary Doctorate of Letters awarded by The University of Hong Kong in 2009, holds a solo recital here after a few years.
Kissin was, and yet not quite, a child prodigy.
To say he was, it was because when he managed to hum the theme of a Bach fugue after listening to his sister, who was ten years older, performed it, he was not even a year old. Then at two, just when he was tall enough to reach the keyboard, he began playing the piano. There was a time when he played everything by ear with perfect accuracy, and could even improvise. It was not until later when he learned how to sight-read the scores.
When he came to international attention through a Chopin recording, Piano Concerto Nos. 1 and 2, he cut at the age of 12, critics marveled at the maturity of his art, saying that it was well beyond most professional pianists with 20 or 30 years of experience. Without a need to prove himself further by entering international competitions, he focused on his studies and training in Moscow. He made his Western Europe debut at 16. He was mature for his age, and "the quarter-life crises for child prodigies" never seemed to have bothered him. It is therefore to say he was not quite one.
Kissin has only one teacher in his life – Anna Pavlovna Kantor. She was his teacher at the Gnessin School of Music, in which he entered at the age of six. When asked what makes Kantor special, Kissin replied, "I think that our personalities simply matched extremely well". The close relationship between teachers and students in Russia is similar to that of ancient China: they live together. For years, Kissin has been accompanied on his concert tours by two important women – his mother and his teacher. Yet Kissin's family rapidly expanded last year – he married his childhood friend and had three foster children then.
Kissin is often considered a successor of the great Russian piano school not merely because of his virtuosity, but also due to his powerful articulation, which makes the piano seem "twice as big". He was the first pianist to be invited to give a solo recital at the BBC Proms in 1997. Before that, the organiser was of the opinion that the sound of a single piano was not enough to communicate in the Royal Albert Hall, which houses over 5,000 seats.
Amazing Swiftness, Resolute Clarity
Kissin published his autobiography last year, titled Memoirs and Reflections. With listening to his recordings, I map out his path as a pianist. In his 20s, it was his flawless virtuosity that made the strongest impression. Examples can be found in the recording of Carnegie Hall Debut Concert, Prokofiev's finger twister, Etude in C minor flowed like the wind, yet the delivery was clear and crisp; but sections of Schumann's Symphonic Etudes were over-driven, and somehow blanched the impact of the music. This reflected a propensity that Kissin had in his earlier career, which continued well into his 30s. His performances of Schubert and Schumann were, at times, inharmoniously gladiatorial. Yet after he entered his 40s, his style has clearly changed. No matter how big or complex a work, he maintained an unerring mastery over the balance of the structure and the finer details, displaying none of the restlessness that was present before. He himself admitted that his earlier recording of Beethoven's MoonlightSonata was like scraping the surface of the work. A review of his recording of Beethoven's piano concertos in Gramophone magazine likened his playing to that of Emil Gilels. His serious and passionate interpretation of Beethoven follows the Austro-German tradition, while simultaneously showcasing the vivid contrast of sound and dynamics that is a characteristic of the Russian piano school.
Kissin is an “born” musician. He says it is completely natural for him to enter the world of professional music as he has a desire to share with other people the things he loves. His heroes are Grigory Sokolov, Martha Argerich and Art Tatum, an American jazz pianist active in the first half of the 20th century. Kissin has always been humble when it comes to music. He speaks of a will he wrote when he was still a young boy, which states how his epitaph should be written, "Here lies Evgeny Kissin, son of the Jewish people, a servant of music". When asked what he considers important in a performance, the gifted pianist said, "To approach (the level of the music performed) as closely as our modest capabilities allow us".
Savio Lau is Editor (Music Section), Hi Fi Review.
English translation provided by KCL Language Consultancy Ltd
Sponsored by
Chopin
Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1*
Nocturne in E, Op. 62, No. 2*
Schumann
Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14*
Rachmaninov
10 Preludes, Op. 23, Nos. 1-7
No. 1 in F-sharp minor
No. 2 in B-flat
No. 3 in D minor
No. 4 in D
No. 5 in G minor
No. 6 in E-flat
No. 7 in C minor
13 Preludes, Op. 32, Nos. 10, 12 & 13
No. 10 in B minor
No. 12 in G-sharp minor
No. 13 in D-flat
*The programme is updated due to artist' s request.
The performance will run for about 1 hour and 30 minutes including a 20 minute intermission.
Audience is strongly advised to arrive punctually. Latecomers will only be admitted during the intermission or at a suitable break.
The presenter reserves the right to change the programme.
Evgeny Kissin's musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have earned him the veneration and admiration deserved only by one of the most gifted classical pianists of his generation and, arguably, generations past. He is in demand the world over, and has appeared with many conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Ernő Dohnányi, Carlo Maria Giulini, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti and Seiji Ozawa, as well as orchestras worldwide.
Kissin was born in Moscow in 1971 and began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at the age of two. At six years old, he entered a special school for gifted children, the Moscow Gnessin School of Music, where he was a student of Anna Pavlovna Kantor, who has been his only teacher. At the age of ten, he made his concerto debut playing Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 466 and gave his first solo recital in Moscow a year later. He came to international attention in 1984 when, at the age of 12, he performed Chopin's Piano Concerto Nos. 1 and 2 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Philharmonic under Dmitri Kitayenko. This concert was recorded live by Melodia, and a two-LP album was released the following year. Given the astounding success of this recording, Melodia proceeded to release five more LPs of live performances in Moscow over the following two years.
Kissin's first appearances outside Russia were in 1985 in Eastern Europe; his first tour of Japan in 1986; and in 1988 he performed with conductor Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker in a New Year's concert broadcast internationally. In 1990, Kissin made his first appearance at the BBC Promenade Concerts in London and, in the same year, he made his North American debut, performing both Chopin's piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta. The following week he opened the Carnegie Hall's Centennial Season with a spectacular debut recital, recorded live by the BMG Classics.
During the 2018-19 season, Kissin gives solo recitals in Vancouver and San Francisco before embarking on an extensive tour of Asia which includes recitals in Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, Yokohama, Tokyo and Osaka as well as a tour of Japan with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra under Mariss Jansons and an appearance with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In Europe, he performs with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, among other orchestras. In addition to touring major European and North American cities with a solo recital program of Chopin, Schumann, Debussy and Scriabin, he partners with violinist Itzhak Perlman for duo recitals in Boston, New York, Washington D. C. and Chicago. Musical awards and tributes from around the world have been showered upon Evgeny Kissin. He received the Crystal Prize of the Osaka Symphony Hall for the Best Performance of the Year in 1986. In 1991, he received the Musician of the Year Prize from the Chigiana Academy of Music in Siena, Italy. He was a special guest at the 1992 Grammy Awards Ceremony, broadcast live to an audience estimated at over one billion, and in 1995 he became the Musical America's youngest Instrumentalist of the Year. In 1997, he received the Triumph Award for his outstanding contribution to Russia's culture, one of the highest cultural honours to be awarded in the Russian Republic, the youngest ever awardee. Kissin has been awarded an Honourary Doctorate of Music by the Manhattan School of Music; the Shostakovich Award, one of Russia's highest musical honours; an Honourary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London; and an Honourary Doctorate of Letters from The University of Hong Kong.
Kissin's newest release is an album featuring Beethoven's sonatas on the Deutsche Grammophon. His previous recordings received numerous awards and accolades, having contributed significantly to the library of masterpieces recorded by the world's greatest performers. Past awards included the Edison Klassiek Award in The Netherlands, and Diapason d'Or and Grand Prix of La Nouvelle Academie du Disque in France. His recording of works by Scriabin, Medtner and Stravinsky, recorded by RCA Red Seal, won him a Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Instrumental Soloist. In 2002, Kissin was named the Echo Klassik Soloist of the Year. In 2010, he was awarded the Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with orchestra) in the 52nd Grammy for his recording of Prokofiev' s PianoConcertos Nos. 2 and 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, recorded by EMI Classics.
Kissin's extraordinary talent inspired Christopher Nupen's documentary film, Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music, which was released in 2000 on video and DVD by RCA Red Seal.
Tickets available from 11 August at URBTIX outlets, on Internet, by Mobile Ticketing App and Credit Card Telephone Booking (each patron can purchase up to 10 tickets of 'Piano Rectial by Evgeny Kissin' per transaction on the first counter booking day).
“Great Music” Package Discount
For each purchase of standard tickets for 'Piano Recital by Evgeny Kissin', 'Violin and Piano Duo Concert by Janine Jansen and Alexander Gavrylyuk', 'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma (22/11 & 23/11 concerts)' and 'Kodály Quartet', the following concession applies:
5% off for any 2 concerts, 10% off for any 3 concerts, 15% off for any 4 concerts, 20% off for all 5 concerts.
“Great Music” Group Booking Discount
For each purchase of standard tickets for 'Piano Recital by Evgeny Kissin', 'Violin and Piano Duo Concert by Janine Jansen and Alexander Gavrylyuk', 'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma (22/11 & 23/11 concerts)' and 'Kodály Quartet', the following concession applies:
10% off for each purchase of 4–9 standard tickets, 15% off for 10–19 standard tickets, 20% off for 20 or more standard tickets.
Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients available on a first-come-first-served basis).
Patrons can enjoy only one of the above discount offers.
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