ENG-1986 — Page 322

RECREATION AND THE ARTS

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In addition, the council aims at promoting private sponsorships to the arts and has formulated plans for the establishment of an Arts Sponsorship Award in Hong Kong.

The council also provides specialist and technical advice to the performing groups and individuals to assist them in their performances and development.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's subscription concerts at the City Hall, Tsuen Wan Town Hall and Academic Community Hall continued to draw large audiences during the year. Internationally renowned artists who performed included the distinguished Scottish conductor, Sir Alexander Gibson, pianists Stephen Hough, Pascal Roge and Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich, violinists Oscar Shumsky and Boris Belkin and vocalists Teresa Berganza and Beverly Hoch. The subscription season closed at the end of June with three performances of Verdi's Requiem.

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The Philharmonic gave the opening concert of the 1986 Hong Kong Arts Festival and provided accompaniment for the Glyndebourne Festival Opera performances of Don Giovanni and A Midsummer Night's Dream, which opened the Lyric Theatre of the Academy for Performing Arts in February. In June, the Orchestra was one of the organisers of the 'First Contemporary Chinese Composers' and performed three concerts of contemporary Chinese musical compositions. Pop concerts and educational concerts were also presented during the season.

Shortly after the 1986-7 season started in September, the orchestra gave two concerts in South Korea to coincide with the Asian Games. Kenneth Schermerhorn continued for his third season as Music Director of the Philharmonic. Kenneth Jean was appointed Principal Guest Conductor and Hong Kong conductor Yip Wing-sie was appointed Resident Conductor.

Earlier in the year, in February, the orchestra made its first trip to China. Led by Music Director Kenneth Schermerhorn, it gave six concerts in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Peking, and all were very well received, with audiences demanding four encores. The orchestra also was the first outside orchestra to perform in the new Concert Hall in Peking.

Chung Ying Theatre Company

The Chung Ying Theatre Company continued to develop its professional expertise within the schools, community halls and public venues of Hong Kong.

Building up its repertoire of Cantonese and English language productions, the company presented Fantastic Fairground (a play with music for family audiences) and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which was set in Canton during the Tang Dynasty. I am Hong Kong, a success in 1985, reached its 100th performance in Darwin, Australia in late May 1986. The play was presented with the English version of The Dragon's Disciples, a production which had enjoyed success in Singapore in March. Both these productions also visited Macau in their Cantonese versions in early May.

The company has also increased the number of workshops it offers to children, teachers and student actors in an effort to stimulate interest in theatrical arts within the Hong Kong community.

Hong Kong Ballet

The Hong Kong Ballet had a momentous year, which saw a reorganisation of the administrative and artistic staff and marked the beginning of a new phase of development.