The long-awaited Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) is finally here again, now coming to its 33rd edition! This is one of Macau’s most acclaimed and popular event, so be sure to reserve tickets in advance as they are limited and some of the performances sell out pretty fast. For you to have a better idea of what’s coming to town this October, we’ve selected a series of cool concerts for this MIMF’s edition. Read on and find out more about jazz, classic music, medieval melodies or even theatrical pieces featuring international talents, happening right here in the city.
Opening Concert: The Magic Flute
(See featured image above)
This edition of the Macao International Music Festival kicks off with the grand opera in two acts, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The grand opening features The Magic Flute, which appears to give rise to more questions and mysteries rather than provide answers. In the end, the immense fantasy of this magical opera defies all logic and reason. Its secret lies in deeper layers of fundamental human experiences for which the fairytale appears simply to be the most adequate form of expression and only music finds the appropriate language. It is with good reason that the “eponymous hero” of the opera is an instrument, or quite simply: music. The show is for approximately two hours and 45 minutes, including one interval and it’s performed in German, with subtitles in Chinese, Portuguese and English.
When: Friday–Sunday, October 4, 5 (8:00pm) and 6 (3:00pm), 2019
Where: Grand Auditorium, Macao Cultural Centre, Avenida Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE, Macau
How much: MOP $400–$700
For more information, check the event’s official website
Enjoy Music in Cinema: Screening of Musical Movies Community Activities
This time, the 33rd edition of the Macao International Music Festival also brings cinema to the city! There are four different movies screening at Cinematheque Passion. The Magic Flute (Sweden, 1975) is adapted from Mozart’s famous opera The Magic Flute, this film tells the story of a young flute player who can tame beasts and a prince setting out on a journey to rescue a kidnapped princess, the daughter of the Queen of the Night.
On their way, they face all kinds of people and events that test their moral values and conscience. Though filmed in a real theater, Ingmar Bergman’s cinematic version of the Mozart work still uses a lot of close-ups and camera movements, switching between on and off stage. Respecting the original while injecting new forms, the film has become the adaptation par excellence of The Magic Flute. Joyce Yang is a guest speaker at the end of the screening.
When: The Magic Flute – 7:30pm, Friday, October 4, 2019
You, the Living – 2:30pm, Saturday, October 5, 2019
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes – 9:30pm, Friday, October 11, 2019
Mo’ Better Blues – 2:30pm, Saturday, October 12, 2019
Where: Cinematheque Passion, 13 Travessa da Paixão, Macau
How much: MOP $60 per person
For more information, check the event’s official website
Folk Songs, by Trio Mediaeval
Trio Mediaeval, composed of three brilliant singers from Norway, quickly made a name for itself in the world of vocal music after its establishment. It presents two concerts at this year’s music festival. In Folk Songs, the Trio performs a selection of Norwegian and Swedish love songs, wedding tunes, lullabies, sun-prayers, ballads, religious hymns, and instrumental tunes, with its extraordinary vocal expertise.
Norwegian and Swedish vocal folk music is distinctive with its tradition of singing without words, a style known as tulling, sulling or tralling in which a sequence of consonants is invented or improvized by the singer. In dance music, which is characterized by rhythmic, often rapid instrumental-sounding passages and uneven beats, singers create their own sounds using plosives and nasal consonants with relatively light vowels. Trio Mediaeval rearranges old songs and ballads from its homeland and investigates its Scandinavian roots with a powerful and compelling account of Norwegian folk songs. The show takes approximately one hour and 30 minutes, including one interval. Program highlights include a traditional folk song from Norway, Lova Line, Swedish medieval ballad, St. Örjan och draken, and also Norwegian wedding tune Bruremarsj fra Gudbrandsdalen, among others. Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Jorunn Lovise Husan are the voices behind this beautiful trio.
When: 8:00pm, Sunday, October 6, 2019
Where: Dom Pedro V Theatre, Largo de Santo Agostinho, Macau
How much: MOP $200–250
For more information, check the event’s official website
Dorian Wind Quintet & Billy Childs in Concert
Dorian Wind Quintet shares the stage with leading American composer Billy Childs to present the world premiere of Ecosystems and the return of A Day in the Forest of Dreams premiered in 1997. Jazz pianist and composer Billy Childs remains one of the most diversely prolific and acclaimed artists today. Childs’ original compositions and arrangements have garnered him the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, 16 Grammy nominations, and five Grammy awards. Childs gathers great musicians for an exhilarating night of jazz, with the Dorian Wind Quintet as well.
Highlights include Childs’ world premiere of Ecosystems and A Day in the Forest of Dreams. Gretchen Pusch on the flute, Gerard Reuter on the oboe, on the clarinet is Benjamin Fingland’s, while Adrian Morejon on the bassoon, Karl Kramer-Johansen the horn, and Billy Childs enthralling audiences on the piano.
When: 8:00pm, Saturday, October 12, 2019
Where: Dom Pedro V Theatre, Largo de Santo Agostinho, Macau
How much: MOP $300–250
For more information, check the event’s official website
Encounter Four Seasons
Hailed as “one of the top ensembles of today” by CNN, Sejong Soloists has established itself as a first-class string orchestra renowned for its exceptional dynamic style with ranges of quartet-like precision to full orchestra resonance and is highly praised for its diverse performances, documentaries, and recordings. From the masterworks of Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky to eclectic programs with 20th-century masterpieces and music by distinguished living composers, the ensemble has performed all over the world with renowned solo artists in major music halls and festivals. Sejong Soloists served as ensemble-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival and School from 1996 to 2005, and as host ensemble for the Great Mountains International Music Festival and School in Pyongyang, Republic of Korea, since its inception from 2004 through 2010.
Sejong Soloists teams up with charismatic Bulgarian violinist Svetlin Roussev and the sensitive, emotional and powerful Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son to perform the Double Concerto in D minor by Mendelssohn. The program includes A. Webern’s Langsamer Satz, A. Piazzolla’s, The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, and Mendelssohn’s, Concerto for Piano, Violin and Strings in D Minor, MWV O4 (“Double Concerto”). This takes approximately one hour and 50 minutes, including an interval.
When: 8:00pm, Saturday, October 26, 2019
Where: Small Auditorium, Macao Cultural Centre, Avenida Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE, Macau
How much: MOP $200–250
For more information, check the event’s official website
Peter Broderick Live
Peter Broderick is an American-born multi-instrumentalist and singer, now based in Ireland. Aside from collaborations with M. Ward, Laura Gibson, Dolorean, Efterklang, Nils Frahm, Greg Haines, David Allred and many more, Broderick has recorded several acclaimed albums of solo material, ranging from sparse classical compositions or homemade folk music to piano and voice recordings–constantly experimenting with different musical genres and making his name as an increasingly essential artist in today’s musical panorama.
Along with some of the most prestigious venues across the world, Broderick has also performed in festivals like Roskilde Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Misty Fest, CTM Festival, Green Man, Supersonic Festival and OFF Festival. In 2017, Broderick was invited to compose music for the animation short film Two Balloons. This film circulated in film festivals around the world and racked up countless awards and accolades including Best Original Music Score at the New Renaissance Film Festival in Amsterdam. The show takes approximately one hour and 15 minutes without intervals and the program includes The Reconnection, Below It, Up Niek Mountain among others. There is a post-show talk after the performance as well.
When: 8:00pm, Sunday, October 27, 2019
Where: Amphitheatre, Taipa Houses–Museum, Avenida da Praia, Taipa
How much: MOP $200
For more information, check the event’s official website
