The Macao Orchestra (OM, from the Portuguese acronym) under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau recently presented the concert “Ning Feng Plays Elgar”, part of the Shining Virtuosos Series, at St. Dominic’s Church. In the concert, young Taiwanese conductor Tung-Chieh Chuang, winner of the Malko International Conductors Competition, led internationally renowned violinist Ning Feng and OM in the performance of the romantic and lyrical Violin Concerto in B minorby Edward Elgar, a British composer of the 19th and 20th centuries. In his return to the territory, Ning Feng offered Macao music aficionados a superb musical performance, and personally conducted the activity “Music Hour - Violin Master Class with Ning Feng” on 17 February, at the Macau Museum of Art Auditorium, attracting a number of violin students and enthusiasts.
Elgar’s Violin Concerto in B minor is regarded as a very challenging and difficult concerto. Ning Feng performed it with his particular style and extraordinary technique, demonstrating virtuosity and a perfect execution in both the slower movement and the climatic moments of the concerto. In the second half of the third movement, the violinist revealed the pizzicato tremolo accompanied by the orchestra, leaving the audience longing for more in spite of the 50-minute long Concerto. Then internationally awarded conductor Tung-Chieh Chuang directed Stravinsky’s Fire Bird Suite (1919) with his extraordinary technique, allowing the audience to feel the prince’s determination in his fight against the devil and experience the exhilarating sounds of French impressionism present in this piece.
Before the concert, OM especially organized the activity “Music Hour - Violin Master Class with Ning Feng”, guided by Ning Feng himself, broadening the musical horizons and performance experience of participants. After the performance, an autograph session with the violinist was held, highly sought after by numerous fans.
On 4 March, at 4pm, at the Dom Pedro V Theatre, OM will present the concert “Weekend Music Party – Sand Art Music Show”. Renowned Hong Kong sand-painting artist, Ma Wing Cheung, and OM will present, combining classical music and sand painting, an innovative and interdisciplinary art performance. A limited number of tickets are still available, priced at MOP120 and MOP100. Ticketing hotline: 2855 5555. For details and programme enquiries, please contact OM through tel. 2853 0782, during office hours, or visit the Orchestra’s webpage at www.om-macau.org/.
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