As part of its 2024-25 concert season, the Macao Orchestra will present the “Tribute to Brahms” Concert Series over two consecutive weekends at the Macao Cultural Centre from 7 March. Five concerts with different themes featuring Brahms' most representative works will be performed by the Macao Orchestra and internationally renowned musicians, offering a multifaceted tribute to this 19th-century Romantic virtuoso.
Tribute to Brahms –Night of Grand Premiere
The Macao Orchestra will host the “Tribute to Composers” Concert Series for the first time, with the first performance to be held at 8pm on 7 March at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium. Under the baton of Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra, Lio Kuokman, the Orchestra will team up with two rising string stars, namely violinist Alexandra Conunova and cellist Pablo Ferrández, to perform the emotionally rich Double Concerto in A minor. The orchestra will also perform Brahms' deeply captivating Symphony No. 1 in C minor, which took 21 years to complete.
Tribute to Brahms – Romantic Pastoral
The concert “Tribute to Brahms – Romantic Pastoral” will be held on 8 March at 8pm at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium, in cooperation with Czech violinist Josef Špaček, who returns to Macao, under the baton of Lio Kuokman, to perform the Violin Concerto in D major, known as one of the “Four Greatest Violin Concertos” of the history of classical music. The programme will also include Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D major, which offers sharp contrast to the previous work with its warm and bright style.
Tribute to Brahms – Free Flow Chamber Music Sunday
A marathon of four sessions of Brahms' chamber music will be held at 3pm on 9 March at the Macao Cultural Centre Small Auditorium, featuring a number of internationally renowned musicians, including Lio Kuokman, Alexandra Conunova, Pablo Ferrández, Josef Špaček, Alexei Volodin, and Zhang Shengliang (“Niu Niu”). The programme includes the complete set of Brahms' Violin Sonatas, Piano Solos, Hungarian Dances, and the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B major, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in the melodic universe of the composer.
Tribute to Brahms – Niu Niu's Concerto No. 1
The concert “Tribute to Brahms – Niu Niu's Concerto No. 1” will be held on 14 March at 8pm at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium. Under the baton of Christian Arming, the Macao Orchestra will present the captivating Symphony No. 3 in F major, while one of Asia's most popular pianists, Zhang Shengliang (“Niu Niu”), will perform the composer’s romantic classic Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, a work requiring both technical mastery and emotional expression.
Tribute to Brahms – The Great Music Scores
The grand finale of the “Tribute to Brahms” Concert Series will be held on 15 March at 8pm at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium. Under the baton of Christian Arming, this concert will feature world-renowned Russian pianist Alexei Volodin who will perform Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major. The orchestra will also perform Brahms’ final symphony, Symphony No. 4 in E minor, offering the audience an immersive experience of the virtuoso’s immortal masterpieces.
The Macao Orchestra 2024-25 Concert Season is jointly organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Macao Orchestra Company Limited, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM, Sands China Ltd., SJM Resorts, S.A., and Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A, and supported by the Bank of China Macau Branch. Tickets for several concerts of the series are now on sale at the Macau Ticketing Network. For every purchase of four tickets for any of the “Tribute to Brahms” symphonic concerts, regardless of the ticket price, the customers will receive two complimentary tickets for any sessions of “Tribute to Brahms –Chamber Music Sunday”, subject to availability. Tickets are available through the Macau Ticketing Network. 24-hour ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; online booking: www.macauticket.com.
