As the Artistic Director of Music Lab since 2013, KJ has been trying to build a platform where musicians from HK may experiment and express themselves through innovative and contemporary performances. 2016 marks the beginning of their new chapter: Music Lab Festival
Music Lab Festival celebrates local talents by producing top quality concerts. Being Asia’s World City, Music Lab believes that local talents deserve as much attention and opportunities as our frequent international guests. Thus the festival envisions to promote emerging and promising local talents, as well as achieving new heights with our talents. Serving as a collaborative platform, Music Lab unites local artists by providing stage opportunities solely presented and performed by local practitioners.
In our first season, the Festival comprised of three concerts:
/ Fingerman - Fast & Difficult
/ Travel in Expression
/ Veloz VS STM
Fingerman
– Fast & Difficult
Classical Music
21.2.2016
Fingerman can play anything, fast or difficult.
His charm and velocity conquer audiences across the universe, his looks and flamboyance attract the wildest fans, his stories and legends bring the wildest broke outrageous guesses.
It is said that the Devil admires his abilities and even the angels fall for his talent. Some even swear they see sparks of fire among his fingers, that they are ignited by magic. Surely contemporary audience are attracted to flowery titles such as House of Fingers, fastest player alive, hottest musician ever.
Fingerman is wise. He knows their secrets It is not about music. It is about the looks, the fingers, the velocity, the excitement. It is to fulfil our emptiness by superfluous vanity.
Introduced by Faust's legend in Liszt's Mephisto Waltz, Fingerman goes wild by Kapustin's three concert études in Jazz style, before finding nuances of colours and dance in Albeniz and Ravel. Connected by the Gypsy's tune in Horowitz/Bizet's Carmen, the legend of virtuosity prevails on Volodos/Mozart's Turkish March. Fingerman’s death is foretold in his finale : Stravinsky's Petroushka. Fingerman serves a purpose, hates it all. He asks, “where are our musical moments?”
P R O G R A M M E
Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 – Liszt
Prelude, Toccatina and Pastoral from Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40 – Kapustin
El Puerto from Suite Iberia Book I – Albéniz
Rondeña from AlbénizSuite Iberia Book II – Albéniz
Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs – Ravel
Carmen Variations – Horowitz/Bizet
Turkish March – Mozart/Volodos
Petrushka – Stravinsky
Travel in Expressions
Classical x Vocal Recital
2.3.2016
Since the dawn of time there was an ancient spirit that is said to be a gift of God, a blessing from Nature. It is spiritual but not religious; it bounds to no genre, but to all genres; it belongs to no nation, but to all races. It is anything, everything.
It has the power to crush our minds, demolish our beliefs, and expose our deepest fears; while it may also lift our broken souls, empathise with our pain and heal our wounds.
With time it became a valuable friend of many great men. And many became great with its company.
The Spirit travels through time, experiences life via the depth of expression and the juices of joy and sorrow. The Spirit inspired the great Brahms to dedicate four serious verses from the bible in the anticipation of Clara Schumann’s death, in which he delivered feelings of life, death, faith, hope and charity. Grieg, inspired by Norwegian landscape, shared his love for nature with the Spirit in his many works.
Vaughan Williams was inspired to share his love of poetry. His work Songs of Travel was an experience only possible in the abstractive arts. The Spirit also inherits stories of great history and literature. Contemporary composer Dominick Argento even drew great references from literature in the Elizabethan era for their joint creation.
The Spirit is essentially expressive. It serves as a compass of our emotions. He guides our sentiments through time; it travels in expression.
The Spirit’s name is Music.
P R O G R A M M E
Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs), Op.121 – Brahms
Six Songs, Op.48 – Grieg
Six Elizabethan Songs – Argento
Songs of Travel – Vaughan Williams
VELOZ vs Set Tone Men
Classical Music
16.3.2016
This is a tale of two kingdoms.
They are descendants of two distinguished bloodlines: the voice and instrument. The former, being the most organic and instinctive musical instrument, is the origin of all musical possibilities. The latter, also called the harmonica, is the new frontier of musical colours and nuances.
The Kings of Veloz are no conservatives. Inheriting a great tradition, they carry their ancestors’ legacy with audacious attempts and experiments. Their music is heard in auditoriums, on the streets, in the corners and the cyberworld. Their sound is unheard of, unimaginable, unbelievably exciting and unexpected. They are true warriors of sound.
The Knights of Set Tone Men are quick with their steps, and rich in their tone. Often stepping into no man’s land, they inspire us in a distant yet familiar nostalgia with their arranged cantopop and foreign tunes. Their rearrangements are afresh; the pieces never sound quite the same under the Knight’s voice. God forbids, they are smashingly good-looking too.
You will witness a battle between the two kingdoms. These bloodlines will present the world the best of their craft, the niche of their sound, the magic of their ensemble.
May the distinguished deserve their crown – The Voice of Voices.