Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 Opened the 29th Macao International Music Festival
The opening ceremony of the 29th Macao International Music Festival, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, started at 7:40pm on 4 October at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium, followed by the opening concert Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 3, which marks the opening of this year’s MIMF. The ceremony was attended by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Alexis, Tam Chon Weng; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao S.A.R., Sun Da; President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; Vice President of Corporate Communications & Community Affairs of the Venetian Macau Ltd., Winnie Wong. This year’s Festival - themed ‘Soundmazing’ - features pure vocal music as a nutrient for the soul. The Festival opening concert Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 3 was conducted by Macao Orchestra’s Music Director Lu Jia, featuring world-renowned mezzo soprano Charlotte Hellekant, the Macao Orchestra, the China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus, and the Macao Youth Choir. This enormous and complicated composition demonstrated Mahler’s novel idea of orchestra, whilst it emphasised the symbiosis between Man and Nature. Tickets for this performance are all sold out. After the opening, the Festival will present a variety of concerts, including Jing • Qi • Shen rendered by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Performed under the baton of its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Yan Huichang, the piece Jing • Qi • Shen is based on the cyclical recurrence of life in the universe, expressing the gentle yet rigid beauty of the East Asian arts and culture. Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen partners with cellist Anssi Karttunen and violinist Leticia Moreno to present a glamorous concert with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, whilst mezzo soprano Charlotte Hellekant will join hands with the outstanding pianist Anders Kilström to stage Northern Night, a concert reminiscent of the pristine musical landscapes of Northern Europe in St. Dominic's Church. Moscow’s Novaya Opera Theatre will stage Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s one-act opera Mozart and Salieri in a series of three sessions at Dom Pedro V Theatre, while prestigious violinist Gidon Kremer will collaborate with the Kremerata Baltica to present the concerts Masks and Faces and New Seasons. Tickets for several programmes are nearly sold out, so don’t miss this amazing opportunity and buy your tickets. Tickets are on sale at all retail outlets of the Macau Ticketing Network or call the Ticketing Hotline: (853) 2855 5555.
