Happy Birthday Finally, Beethoven! Colleen Lee with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta
City Hall Concert Hall, Central 
Why We Recommend it
Hong Kong’s first live Saturday night classical concert since the outbreak of COVID-19, this line-up features genial, uplifting works from Beethoven, beautifully interpreted by Hong Kong pianist Colleen Lee.
Description
After months without live music due to the pandemic, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta returns with Happy Birthday Finally, Beethoven! featuring two crowd-pleasing works from the middle of Beethoven’s composing career: the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G and Symphony No. 4 in B-flat.
Interestingly, both pieces are not given as much attention as they should in concert repertoires, often overshadowed by the darker, weightier works that came after them, namely the Emperor Piano Concerto and Symphony No. 5.
This concert programme is jovial in tone, offering a lighter than usual look at Beethoven. The accessible music is paired with a commissioned contemporary piece, “Pastoral – after we perish,” by the Sinfonietta’s 2020-21 Artist Associate, Charles Kwong. It paints a grim, post-apocalyptic vision of the world, creating an interesting juxtaposition within the concert programme.
With superstar pianist Colleen Lee as soloist and Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie leading the orchestra, this uplifting programme aims to provide hope and comfort in these trying times.
Details
When: 11 Jul 2020 - 11 Jul 2020 Where: City Hall Concert Hall – 5 Edinburgh Place – Central
