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25Jun. 2017.

A Taste of Hong Kong


Think of Hong Kong. What springs to mind? What sights? What sounds? Whether you know the city intimately or have only glimpsed this vibrant, cosmopolitan hub in magazines and on-screen, Hong Kong Episodes will surprise and delight you.


Hong Kong Episodes was created for the 2015 biennial World Cultures Festival, a celebration of the rich and diversified cultures around the world through music, dance and theatre. For their 10th anniversary festival, The Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong felt it was rather incongruous to present artists from many other countries yet none from the host city itself. So they commissioned a work from two of Hong Kong’s foremost native musicians and composers: Fung Lam and Teriver Cheung.

Fung Lam has yet to reach the age of 40, yet has a profile at least as distinguished as many his senior. His works have been performed by internationally renowned orchestras such as the BBC Symphony, London Symphony and Tokyo Philharmonic. In 2007 he became the youngest Chinese composer, and the only one from Hong Kong, to be commissioned by the legendary BBC Concert Orchestra; his Unlocking, inspired by an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was featured in BBC Radio 3’s ‘Discovering Music’. Another work, Endless Forms, was premiered at the 2012 BBC Proms.


Fung Lam

Teriver Cheung is a world-renowned jazz guitarist and composer with a difference. Influenced by classical piano training from the age of five, he has developed a distinctive style of playing and composing, which has won him great acclaim in the highest jazz circles. After studies at home and in the USA, Teriver has toured extensively in Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico and America and appearing at just about every jazz festival in the world. After moving to New York City in 2009, he became an important figure on the jazz scene, as a bandleader as well guesting with influential musicians such as Latin Grammy Award winner Eddie Gomez, Billy Drummond and Jeremy Monteiro. Teriver has guested on many recordings, made his own albums and owns his own record label.


Teriver Cheung

Put the two of them together and what do you get? Fung explains that as soon as they put their creative heads and hearts together, they agreed on the essential elements of Hong Kong Episodes, one of which was the reversal of the usual scenario. “We wanted to include visual elements but in a similar role to the soundtrack to a movie – it should add something to the overall experience but not overtake the main focus of the music. We also wanted to divide the concert into a number of ‘episodes’ to present a virtual 24-hour day in Hong Kong. In the original production, we presented 12 episodes at two-hour intervals, but in this new 2017 touring version, we have eight episodes at three-hour intervals.” They also knew that they did not want to portray the stereotypical view of a city comprised exclusively of high-rise buildings and teeming streets. “We wanted to re-present Hong Kong in a slightly different light.  Familiar places (to locals, at least) would be presented visually from different artistic angles which, when combined with original music, creates an interpretation that is strangely familiar yet refreshingly different.” That refreshingly different view is seen through the eyes of architect Anthony Lai, who adds an extra dimension to the audience's experience.


Snapshots of just a few of Anthony Lai's striking images

Musically, this is very much an equal partnership with half of the pieces written by Fung and half by Teriver. "My music is often more contemplative in nature, leaving space for the jazz musicians to improvise.  Teriver’s music is often more vibrant and uplifting.  I think it makes a nice contrast.”

It most certainly does and you can savour the very special flavours of Hong Kong Episodes on 7 and 8 July.

To keep you in the mood, flamboyant pianist Fingerman (aka Kajeng Wong) will lead an exciting trio of performances from the innovative young Hong Kong musicians of Music Lab on 10 and 11 July. Book for both Hong Kong Episodes and Music Lab to take advantage of our 20% discount offer. Both shows are presented by Hong Kong Arts Development Council and Music Lab is also a co-poduction with Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London.
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