In 1950, Dmitri Shostakovich began composing the bold and enigmatic 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, amidst waves of pressure from the Soviet Power. This monumental work, believed to be inspired by J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, embodies not only Shostakovich’s masterful contrapuntal artistry but also the profound exploration of his complex inner turmoil. Marking the 50^th anniversary of Shostakovich’s passing, pianist Hannes Minnaar presented this tour de force in a three-hour recital.

Pianists Konstantin Lifschitz and Alexei Volodin performed Medtner’s ethereal Fairy Tales, Mussorgsky’s stately Pictures at an Exhibition, Stravinsky’s idiosyncratic Rite of Spring, Prokofiev’s picturesque 3 Pieces for Piano, two sets of 24 Preludes by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, and more. The two internationally celebrated pianists will narrate these pianistic gems over four concerts.

Paganini Competition winner Isabelle Faust returns to Hong Kong with pianist Alexander Melnikov to unveil the interlacing harmonic patterns in Beethoven’s 10 sonatas for violin and piano. Presented in three concerts, these lifetime musical testimonies offer the audience a glance through all the ups and downs in Beethoven’s life since he established fame at the young age of 27.

British pianist Paul Lewis, lauded as “one of today’s finest exponents of Schubert” by The New York Times, takes us on a heart-wrenching journey across a series of 4 concerts spanning 2 years. Lewis delves into the poignant and profound sentiments woven into Schubert’s keyboard masterpieces, exploring some of the most intimate and sincere facets of human emotion.

Israeli cellist Gavriel Lipkind, winner of both the Rostropovich and the Leonard Rose International Cello Competitions presented the six Bach Cello Suites in two concerts

In collaboration with the Bard College Conservatory of Music, New York, and M+, Hong Kong, this creative exchange project aims to explore the aesthetic commonality and discover the innovative potential of Ink Art and New Music. Through lectures, mentorships, commissions, and performances, this multi-phase series hopes to connect creative, knowledgeable, and curious minds and encourage meaningful conversations and new compositions.

One of the greatest figures of 20th century music, the French composer Olivier Messiaen wrote and premiered his Quartet for the End of Time inside a Nazi prison camp in the bleak winter of 1941. At the Quartet’s 80th anniversary, renowned pianist and music educator Nancy Loo will share the stage with Kitty Cheung (violin), Linus Fung (clarinet), and Eric Yip (cello) to perform this monumental work.

The six string quartets by Béla Bartók offer perhaps the most distilled essence of his style and life as a modernist and nationalist composer. Weaving together elements from European classical music and the exotic rusticity of Eastern European folk dance, the set is regarded as one of the most important contributions to the genre since Beethoven’s first entry a century earlier.

The Well-Tempered Clavier has laid the backbone of classical chromaticism, revealing the full-colour spectrum of all the 24 keys. Various schools of composers have religiously studied and drawn inspiration from the preludes and fugues, so have generations of keyboardists who performed and recorded the set. Amongst them is Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt, described by Gramophone as “today’s finest exponent of Bach’s keyboard music”.

Frequently referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of piano music, Beethoven’s set of 32 sonatas stands as a monument of artistic achievement.
After the acclaimed recital of ‘The Art of Fugue’ in 2015, pianist Konstantin Lifschitz is returning to HKU this fall with 8 concerts, offering his intelligent and distinctive approach to the complete cycle