HONG KONG (2 March 2018) -- Presented by Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and sponsored by Swire Properties' ArtisTree, Notating Beauty That Moves -- Music at an Exhibition marks the start of Swire Properties' Arts Month. Taking place at ArtisTree in Taikoo Place, the music-themed exhibition invites audiences to explore the relationship between musicians' physical movements and the notes on a score, through different art forms.
Running from 3 to 29 March, Notating Beauty That Moves -- Music at an Exhibition is co-curated by artist and composer Samson Young -- who represented Hong Kong at the 2017 Venice Biennale, and Yang Yeung -- Founding Member and Artistic Director of soundpocket, a renowned artistic group in Hong Kong that promotes music and sound as art forms. This month-long exhibition will showcase 36 pieces of artwork ranging from musical scores, works-on-paper and drawings, to moving images, texts, photography and paintings. The collection has been sourced from around the world, and highlights include works by avant-garde composers Cathy Berberian, John Cage, Mark Applebaum, Morgan O'Hara and Samson Young.
Complementing the exhibition are eight music programmes featuring 13 concerts, which include four new works commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Feature groups include Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the acclaimed Australian group Ensemble Offspring; as well as artists such as renowned British mezzo-soprano Lore Lixenberg and pianist Colleen Lee.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Aphasia (2011)
- A nine-minute video documenting one of Mark Applebaum's performances;
- In Gesturing Motion (10 and 11 March), special guests Chou Shu-yi -- the Taiwanese dance artist and Karen Yu -- on percussion, will reinterpret this work;
* Aria (1958)
- A printed score by John Cage that denotes different singing styles through colourful wavy lines;
* Stripsody (1966)
- One of the most famous graphical scores by avant-garde composer Cathy Berberian that visualises music in a non-traditional way;
- In Vocalizing Motion (17 and 18 March), the renowned British mezzo-soprano Lore Lixenberg will perform both John Cage's Aria (Hong Kong composer Alain Chiu's version) and Cathy Berberian's Stripsody;
* The Sonatas and Interludes
- A printed score and one of John Cage's piano masterpieces;
- In Song and Dance II (29 March), Colleen Lee -- the renowned pianist and Hong Kong Sinfonietta Artist Associate (2010/2011) will be performing this work on a prepared piano;
* Live Transmission
- French composer Pierre Boulez's hand movements while conducting Stravinsky's Petrushka (1911 version) together with the London Symphony Orchestra;
- Boulez's 75th birthday -- a graphite on Bristol paper by American artist Morgan O'Hara;
* Landschaft
- Three dynamic drawings that are transcriptions of environmental soundscapes, by co-curator Samson Young;
* Moon Spell in Summer
- A series of drawings by Thai artist Thitiphorn Kotham on 100 sheets of music hand written by her father, a cruise ship band leader who died when the artist was three years old;
* Drift
- A five-minute video with sounds created by Japanese dance and visual artist Hiromi Miyakita, articulating the concept of "dance through stillness".
EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Date: 3 -- 29 March 2018
Time: 6 pm -- 8 pm (3 March)
12 pm -- 8 pm (4-22 March)
12 pm -- 9 pm (23-29 March)
Venue: New ArtisTree, 1/F, Cambridge House, Taikoo Place, 979 King's Road, Quarry Bay
Price: Free
Website: http://www.taikooplace.com/en/whatson/content/whatson/artistree/notating-beauty-that-moves.aspx
MUSIC PROGRAMMES
Venue: New ArtisTree, 1/F, Cambridge House, Taikoo Place, 979 King's Road, Quarry Bay
Duration: All programmes are approximately one-hour long
Admission age: 6 or above
Limited seats: First-come, first served
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Music Director: Yip Wing-sie
Principal Guest Conductor: Christoph Poppen
Hong Kong Sinfonietta is one of Hong Kong's flagship orchestras. With conductor Yip Wing-sie as Music Director, the orchestra has brought music closer to the community and has achieved significant recognition locally and internationally for its passionate performances and innovative programming. Since 1999, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has collaborated with an illustrious array of musicians and groups, and performs year-round with over 110 performances a season. The orchestra is a regular guest at international arts festivals and has toured to 39 cities around the world.
About ArtisTree
As a keen supporter of arts and culture, Swire Properties introduced ArtisTree to Taikoo Place in 2008, making diverse arts and cultural events accessible to local communities. Since its launch, the unique multi-purpose space has made a significant contribution to Hong Kong's arts scene, with landmark events including the inaugural Vivienne Westwood: A Life in Fashion exhibition, Outside the Box | Frank Gehry exhibition as well as Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection. Over the years, ArtisTree has hosted over 130 events, attracting more than 800,000 visitors of all ages. To facilitate the ongoing redevelopment of Taikoo Place, ArtisTree has been relocated to its new home in Cambridge House.
Fitted with professional theatre-standard stage lighting and audio-visual technologies, the new 7,000 sq ft multi-purpose venue will allow for an even greater scope of arts programmes, with a particular focus on the performing arts. The new ArtisTree has also been designed as a platform for the emergence of innovative art forms and a diverse range of original works presented for the first time in Asia.
About Taikoo Place
Taikoo Place is recognised as one of Hong Kong's best-planned business hubs, managed by Swire Properties. The portfolio offers over 5 million sq ft of prime commercial space for local and multinational corporations. A wide range of cosmopolitan business and leisure amenities are situated within the area, including TAIKOO PLACE APARTMENTS, the multi-purpose venue ArtisTree, the co-working hub blueprint, the sustainable development exhibition centre The Loop, the new private club The Refinery, the landscaped garden Taikoo Park, as well as restaurants and cafes. Within five-minute walking distance are the shopping mall Cityplaza and the lifestyle business hotel EAST, Hong Kong. www.taikooplace.com
About Swire Properties
Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail, hotel and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use developments in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections. Swire Properties is listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and its investment portfolio in Hong Kong comprises Taikoo Place, Cityplaza and Pacific Place as its core holdings. In addition to Hong Kong, the Company has investments in Mainland China, the United States and Singapore. www.swireproperties.com