This year’s Macao International Music Festival is themed “Music October” and takes place in October, connecting and communicating with the world through music. The festival features 11 programmes and seven outreach activities.
Internationally acclaimed Chinese pianist Chen Sa is the only Chinese pianist who won three prestigious international piano competitions, namely the Leeds International Piano Competition, the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In the “Chen Sa” Piano Recital, she performs solo piano masterpieces of the Classical and Romantic periods with her excellent and sophisticated technique, including Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas No. 4 and No. 10, and Schumann’s Kinderszenen Op.15 and Kreisleriana Op.16. This year marks the 110th anniversary of the death of Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler.
World-renowned bass-baritone and winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, Shenyang, joins hands with four young musicians, namely Liao Xi, Liu Liyuan, Zhang Jingzhuo and Wei Yun, to present the concert “Dreamful Youth”, featuring classical pieces such as Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, in honour of Gustav Mahler.
Under the baton of the national first-class conductor Liu Ju, the Macao Chinese Orchestra, in collaboration with violinist Xie Nan and guzheng player Su Chang, presents the concert “East-West Connection in Music”, featuring the Violin Concerto The Butterfly Lovers performed by Xie Nan, the Guzheng Concerto Ru Shi performed by Su Chang, a premier performer, and authoritative interpreter. The Orchestra will also perform The Sisters’ Islands, offering the audience a magnificent musical feast of Chinese and Western music.
The Macao Orchestra joins hands with violinist Liu Ming, who won the Nestlé Cup-Young Musician Award at the Beijing Music Festival twice, to present Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, op. 61 in the concert “Virtuosity and Pastoral Music”. Meanwhile, the Orchestra will also perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, op. 68, presenting the beauty of pastoral scenery with music.
The concert “Contemporary Meets Tradition – Cantonese Music Assembly” will gather young musicians from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to present a combination of traditional Cantonese music and new arrangements of compositions and singing. Several famous Cantonese music pieces such as Thunder in the Drought and The Toll of the Temple Bell and Macao’s premiere Cantonese musical piece Sunset Clouds in Autumn will also be presented, leading the audience into the realm of Lingnan music.
The concert Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Group in Congjiang, Guizhou by Congjiang Ethnic Art Troupe from Guizhou, will be held at the Company of Jesus Square. Inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, the Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Group narrates the history, culture and knowledge of the Dong people and their belief in the unity of humans and nature, and expresses romantic love and moral values.
The concert “Bravo Macao!” offers local young musicians a platform to showcase their talents and artistic achievements. This year, six rising stars, namely Wong Sin I, Melody Ho, Chio Chin Hou, Ha Iek, Cheong Tin Ut, and Ng Sok Kun, will share the stage to show their talents.
Concerts “Music and Movie Nights”
This year’s Festival especially presents FIMM-tastic Weekend: Music and Movie Nights at Tap Siac Square for three consecutive nights, featuring the screening of Fado on Big Screen: Cuca Roseta MEU, London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle on Big Screen, and the movies In The Tracks Of – Special Edition, Silent Cinema – Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, allowing the audience to enjoy outdoor music in the autumn breeze.
When: October 3–30, 2021
Where: Dom Pedro V Theatre, Largo de Santo Agostinho, Macau, Tap Seac Square, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Macau, Macao Cultural Centre, Avenida Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE, Macau, Company of Jesus Square, Macau
Tickets are on sale from September 25
For more information and ticketing, check the official website or click here
