Mark Latimer Piano Recital
REPLACEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Pianist Leon McCawley performs on 1 March 2010 at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall.

The Hong Kong Arts Festival announces a piano recital by Leon McCawley on Chopin’s birthday (1 March) to celebrate the composer’s bicentenary.

The BBC Young Musician of the Year will perform works by Chopin and Barber, whose centenary is also being celebrated this March. McCawley kindly steps in to replace Mark Latimer who has had to withdraw due to hand injuries.

A double celebration devised by Leon McCawley, this programme traces Chopin's influence on Barber, known for his Adagio for Strings, possibly one of the most played and well-loved pieces of music everywhere.

This promises to be an exceptional evening of wonderful piano music, and a birthday date to remember.

Programme
Chopin     Four Mazurkas, Op 6
Barber     Nocturne, Op 33, Homage to John Field
Chopin     Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, Op 35
Barber     Four Excursions, Op 20
Chopin     Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op 27, No 1
Barber     Sonata for Piano, Op 26

Ticket Arrangement for Mark Latimer Piano Recital
Original tickets to Mark Latimer Piano Recital will be accepted at the Leon McCawley Piano Recital. Patrons who do not wish to attend the Leon McCawley Piano Recital may return tickets to obtain cash refund from the URBTIX outlets at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre or Hong Kong City Hall between Friday 5 March and Sunday 21 March 2010. 

Leon McCawley
Leon McCawley won the First Prize in the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and the Second Prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition, both in 1993. His teachers include Heather Slade-Lipkin at the Chetham's School of Music and Eleanor Sokoloff at the Curtis Institute of Music. His recordings have received many accolades including two Gramophone Editor's Choice Awards and a Diapason d'Or.

McCawley has given many highly acclaimed recitals at Europe’s most important concert halls, including the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Prague Rudolfinum and Vienna Musikverein. McCawley performs frequently with many of the top British orchestras and with conductors such as Mark Elder, Kurt Masur and Simon Rattle.

Super virtuosic piano experience
March 1 - a very special day to remember

On March 1, 1810, Chopin was born.
On March 1, 2010, Mark Latimer celebrates the Romantic composer's 200th birthday with the rarely performed Allegro de Concert.

Protégé of the great John Ogdon, Latimer made his orchestral debut at age 16, performing two Brahms piano concertos. He loves the challenge of mastering the most difficult piano repertoire, giving worldwide exposure to neglected masterpieces and tackling all styles – from classical to jazz and experimental compositions – with panache.

This "British classical music's enfant terrible" (Time Out) will also play Bach's Italian Concerto and Alkan's answer to this Baroque masterpiece – Concerto for Solo Piano. First to record it in a live performance, Latimer will play this most demanding of all piano works in Hong Kong "like a bat out of hell" (The Independent).

Please click here for details of PLUS events.

Leon McCawley Piano Recital
Chopin     Four Mazurkas, Op 6
Barber     Nocturne, Op 33, Homage to John Field
Chopin     Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, Op 35
Barber     Four Excursions, Op 20
Chopin     Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op 27, No 1
Barber     Sonata for Piano, Op 26

Mark Latimer Piano Recital

Chopin    Allegro de Concert, Op 46
Bach       Italian Concerto, BWV971
Alkan      Concert for Solo Piano, Op 39, Nos 8-10