French cellist Queyras offering Hongkongers concert treats and a free masterclass
Jean-Guihen Queyras to give a recital featuring Bach suites and three contemporary works, and join Hong Kong Sinfonietta in a Haydn concerto and the Asian premiere of a recent work by Thomas Larcher
As this year’s Le French May festival winds down, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras is set to play in two world-class shows this week.
The Canadian-born French musician first puts his technical brilliance on display as he tackles works by three contemporary composers in Ivan Fedele, György Kurtág and Jonathan Harvey, along with three unaccompanied cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach.
“Bach’s suites are genius works,” says Queyras, “a unique mix of inventiveness, joyful melodies and architecture.”
The 50-year-old Queyras says he enjoys giving recitals because of their atmosphere and “the intimate ‘one-on-one’ relationship with the audience”.
A second concert sees Queyras play works by Joseph Haydn and Thomas Larcher accompanied by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta under the baton of Clemens Schuldt. The programme also features works for orchestra by György Ligeti and Franz Schubert.