ENG-1979 — Page 257

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RECREATION AND THE ARTS

The festival brought to Hong Kong the 120 members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, under conductors Edo de Waart and David Zinman. Soloists included cellist Mischa Maisky, soprano Felicity Lott, pianist Youri Egorov and violinist Shlomo Mintz. More fine music was heard from France's Jean-François Paillard Chamber Orchestra, while opera lovers saw miniature masterpieces by the Salzburg Marionettes.

Britain's dramatic talents were represented by the Prospect Theatre Company whose cast included Derek Jacobi, Isla Blair, Julian Glover and Timothy West; and by the Chichester Festival Theatre which presented two plays by Christopher Fry, in addition to Julius Caesar.

Lighter entertainment was provided by Richard Rodney Bennett and Marian Mont- gomery, Teddy Wilson at the keyboard, and Italian clowns. A wealth of local talent also participated in the festival. The programme included performances by the Garri- son Players, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Since 1973, when the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra took on professional status under the auspices of the Urban Council, its musical stature in Hong Kong and abroad has grown rapidly.

The orchestra, with 70 full-time musicians, offered a wide variety of concerts during its sixth season. It played to a mainly young audience, giving concerts in the City Hall, the Academic Community Hall of the Hong Kong Baptist College, and at many schools and colleges.

A major development during 1979 was the appointment of an eminent Chinese conductor, Ling Tung, as music director.

The orchestra's repertoire includes programmes specially tailored for students and young people, the regular concert-goer and those interested in popular classical music. Matinees, chamber music, recitals, opera and regular orchestral concerts are all included. Some of the distinguished soloists who have appeared with the orchestra are pianists Fou T'song and Steven de Groote, cellist Mischa Maisky, bass baritone Yee-Kwei Zi and guest con- ductors Thomas Michalak, Anthony Hopkins and Akeo Watanabe. The orchestra also presents a platform for talented young soloists and composers from Hong Kong.

More than half the budget for the orchestra's 1978-9 season was met by the Urban Council; the remainder was funded by the government and the private sector.

Hong Kong Arts Centre

All areas in the Hong Kong Arts Centre's 19-storey building on the Wan Chai waterfront became fully operational in 1979, and many sections were in use every day from morning to night. In addition, there were nearly 1,000 presentations in the centre's three auditoria including music, drama, dance, traditional art forms and films.

The amount of new work by contemporary Hong Kong artistes was encouraging. Notable achievements included Gus Wong's play Mishima – given alternately in Cantonese and English; the New Music Hong Kong series, the second of which is to be accompanied by a commissioned book on Hong Kong composers; the world premiere of two commis- sioned plays based on works by Pa Hsin Yung; and the commissioning of a work by Violet Lam for Chinese, Japanese and Western flutes.

The Arts Centre provides an extensive range of courses and practice facilities. This educational aspect was increasingly stressed during the year with more than 40 courses