20
The Arts
THE opening of the City Hall in March was the most important event of the year in the field of the arts in Hong Kong, and the Hall immediately became the centre of activities in both the performing and the fine arts. The facilities offered include a 1,500-seat concert hall adaptable for stage production, a 470-seat theatre, a banqueting hall and ballroom, an art gallery and museum, a public library and several exhibition halls, lecture rooms and committee rooms. All have been in heavy use since the opening of the Hall.
For the first time Hong Kong had the privilege of receiving visits from two full symphony orchestras of international status in one year. These were the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent, whose five performances marked the opening of the City Hall, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa which gave two concerts to open the First Asian Music Festival. The entire festival took place in the two auditoria of the City Hall.
Almost all concerts by visiting musicians during the year were given at the City Hall. They included pianists S. Niedzielski, Sebastian Benda, Walter Klein, Ornella Santoliquido, Orazio Frugoni, Irene Kohler, Gerd Kaemper, Yu Chun-yee, Liu Shih- kun, Ku Shen-ying, Daniel Barenboim, Bela Siki and Colin Kingsley. There were performances by violinists Yehudi Menuhin with Hephzibah Menuhin at the piano, Beryl Kimber with Moya Rea at the piano, Ladislav Jasek with Josef Hala at the piano, Erick Friedman with Annarosa Taddei at the piano, and Dr Marvin Ziporyn. Sopranos who appeared included Mildred Miller, Betty Allen and Rosie Farol, while chamber music groups included Virtuosi di Roma, the Tel Aviv Quartet, the Seoul Chamber Music Group, the Berlin Chamber Orchestra, the Wind Quintet of Radio Baden-Baden and the Hungarian Quartet. The Korean Children's Choir also performed at the City Hall.