Alpha Omega

PhotoTHE CHAMBER GROUP

Performing with the contestants during the ROUND III (Semifinals) of the competition will be THE ENDELLION QUARTET.

Andrew Watkinson and Ralph de Souza, Violins

Garfield Jackson, Viola - David Waterman, Cello

In 2008-2009, the Endellion String Quartet celebrates its Thirtieth Anniversary Season. The occasion will be marked by the release of a boxed set of the complete Beethoven string quartets (Warner Classics); new commissions of Six Quartettini from Robin Holloway and a new piece from Roxanna Panufnik and poet Wendy Cope; involvement in Phil Grabsky’s new documentary film, ‘In Search of Beethoven’; a series of performances of Haydn’s Seven Last Words incorporating the Endellion’s commission of Andrew Motion’s words written especially for this piece, and concerts throughout the UK, and in Europe, China, Japan and Korea. The Endellions will continue their Residency at Cambridge University which began in 1992, and they will be involved in special celebratory concerts at the University which in 2009 celebrates its Eight Hundredth Anniversary coinciding with the Endellions’ Thirtieth.

The Endellion is renowned as one of the finest quartets in the world. Over the years, its schedule has included regular tours of North and South America and concerts in Australasia, the Far East, the Middle East, South Africa and every West European country. In Britain, the Endellion String Quartet has appeared at nearly all of the major series and festivals and is regularly broadcast on BBC radio and television as well as in the proms. Its presence in London has been marked by several series both at the South Bank and Wigmore Hall, where the Quartet were Artistic Directors of several ‘Quartet Plus’ series. They have worked with guest artists including members of the former Amadeus Quartet, Sir Thomas Allen, Joshua Bell, Michael Collins, Steven Isserlis, Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmerman. In 1996 the quartet were winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Chamber Ensemble.

Their discography is extensive and varied including their 1987 recording for EMI of the complete string chamber music of Britten , the Haydn Op 54 disc – the first of a series for Virgin Classics –and also works by Mozart, Bartok, Dvorak, Smetana, Foulds, Walton, Bridge, Schubert, Barber, Amy Beach and Tchaikovsky. In 1998 EMI released ‘Arcadiana’, the Endellion Quartet’s commission from Thomas Adès, on a disc that subsequently received the ‘Editor’s Choice’ award in the 1998 Gramophone Awards.

The Endellions’ release of the complete Beethoven quartets and viola quintets (supported by the Stradivari Trust) is notable for including rarely heard movements, studies, and fragments for quartet and quintet, as well as Beethoven’s complete early version of Op 18 no 1 and his remarkable quartet arrangement of his piano sonata Op 14 no 1. The quartet texts used in these recordings have been prepared by the notable Beethoven scholar and editor, Jonathan Del Mar, in collaboration with the Endellion Quartet. These texts are gradually being published by Barenreiter, and include striking restorations of Beethoven’s original notes, harmonies, rhythms, slurrings, articulations, and expression marks, using newly available sources.

THE ORCHESTRA

Performing with the contestants during the Round IV (Finals) of the competition will be the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong under the baton of Maestro Christopher Warren-Green.
The number of musicians of the City Chamber Orchestra of HK will be supplemented by 30 guests artists to bring the orchestra to the full symphonic size required for the performance of the second concerto each finalist will have to play.

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The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong

The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) has established itself as one of Hong Kong's leading orchestras with a reputation for innovative programming and excellent music-making. Its members are all professional musicians who are also some of the most sought-after instrumental teachers in Hong Kong. Over ten different nationalities are represented in the orchestra including Hong Kong, the PRC, Russia, France, the Czech Republic, Australia, the USA, Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines and the UK. Currently the CCOHK gives a subscription series of concerts each year covering a wide range of styles from Baroque to contemporary works in venues ranging from the concert hall to churches and historical buildings. The annual children's concerts such as The Snowman and The Bear and The Magic Jungle are also a special part of the orchestra's programme planning. The CCOHK broadcasts regularly on RTHK Radio 4 and has appeared on television in Hong Kong, Australia and Spain.

Since 1999 the CCOHK has collaborated with many distinguished artists including British baritone Sir Thomas Allen, Danish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri, Australian pianist Roger Woodward, French saxophonist Claude Delangle, Argentinean bandoneon virtuoso Daniel Binelli, harmonica virtuoso Robert Bonfiglio, Chinese guitarist Yang Xue-fei and pop stars Robin Gibb, Jacky Cheung, Sandy Lam and Olivia Newton-John. In 2003 the Hong Kong Arts Development Council granted the CCOHK the "Rising Artist Award" in recognition of the orchestra's outstanding contribution to music in Hong Kong. In 2007 the CCOHK toured by invitation to Italy and mainland China.

THE CONDUCTOR

Maestro Christopher Warren Green

PhotoChristopher started his musical career as a violinist when, at nineteen, was invited to join the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, becoming two years later the concertmaster of the then BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. After an appointment as concertmaster with the Philarmonia, he returned to the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as concertmaster. As a violin soloist he has appeared with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Mariner, Michael Tilson Thomas, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Leonard Slatkin.

In 1998 he became Principal Guest Conductor of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, taking over as Chief Conductor from 2001 until 2005 and from 1998 to 2001 was Chief Conductor of the Joenkoeping Sinfonietta. In 2004 he succeeded Sir Neville Marriner as Principal Conductor of the Camerata Resident Orchestra of the Megaron Athens.

In Europe, Christopher Warren-Green regularly conducts the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the BBC Concert orchestras Other conducting posts include the Joenkoeping Sinfonietta, the Sundsvall Chamber Orchestra , the St.Louis, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Vancouver and Victoria Symphony Orchestras,Auckland Philharmonia and the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

Maestro Warren-Green has been a frequent guest of the British Royal Family conducting musical events celebrating the marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Queen’s 80th birthday.

Christopher’s long standing relationship with the London Chamber Orchestra started in 1988, when he became its Music Director. With Virgin Classics he has recorded with the LCO a series of acclaimed CDs including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, a selection of concert and orchestral pieces by Mozart and “Minimalist”, a selection of compositions of this particular genre. He has also recorded for BMG, EMI, Philips, Chandos and most recently for Deutsche Grammophon.



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