Macau welcomes Raphaela Gromes in the cello and Lu Shao-Chia conducting the Macao Orchestra, for a night of dialogue between Elgar, Schumann and Tchaikovsky.
Included in the Maestros with Charisma Series, the Macau Cultural Bureau will bring virtuosa cellist Raphaela Gromes and guest conductor Lu Shao-Chia, leading the Macao Orchestra, for a concert that brings together the Englishman Elgar, the German Schumann and the Russian Tchaikovsky.
This musical dialogue is certain to create a gorgeous musical world blending their works in this concert. The audience will have a chance to listen to Elgar’s adoring murmurs amid the playing of string instruments in Introduction and Allegro, while appreciating Tchaikovsky’s creativity in the Polish tones of Symphony No. 3, and feeling into Schumann’s romantic mood when enjoying the melodious Cello Concerto.
Taiwan-born conductor Lu Shao-Chia studied music in Taipei, later at the Indiana University in Bloomington, USA, and also at Vienna’s College of Music. His training resulted in important first prizes at three renowned international conductor competitions: Besancon (France), Pedrotti (Italy) and Kondrashin (the Netherlands).
Lü Shao-Chia accepted positions as General Music Director of the Koblenz Theatre (1998-2001), the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz (1998-2004), and the Staatsoper Hannover (2001-2006). He appears regularly as guest conductor at several world-renowned opera houses, including the Opera Australia in Sydney and Melbourne, the English National Opera, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Den Norske Opera in Oslo, Gothenburg Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Staatsoper Hamburg and Stuttgart, Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper Berlin.
Lu has worked with many leading orchestras, such as the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica di Santa Cecilia Rome, Norwegian and Swedish Radio Orchestras, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, SWR Stuttgart, Rundfunksinfonieorchster Berlin, the Göteborgs Sinfoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, Frankfurter Museumsorchester and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. In Asia, Lu has worked with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, NHK, New Japan Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Orchestra and leading orchestras in China.
Lü Shao-Chia was Music Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic (the National Symphony Orchestra) from August 2010 to August 2019.
Raphaela Gromes’ cello playing has been characterized as “virtuosic and vibrant, full of passion and technically brilliant, versatile and charming at the same time”. The German cellist fascinates her audiences with fantastically challenging and extraordinarily light-footed performances.
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung described her appearances with the Münchner Symphoniker in 2018: ”She captivates her audience with her delightful play. With the first sound she creates incredible intimacy, her performance being very private, not one note being just “made””.
Raphaela Gromes first recorded for Faro Classics in 2016, followed by her highly praised first album – “Serenata Italiana” – as SONY Classical exclusive artist in fall 2017. Her second album, “Hommage à Rossini” for SONY, was released in November 2018 and her third album with the title “Offenbach” released in May 2019 for the 200th anniversary of the composer entered several times the top ten of the classical charts. Raphaela Gromes acts internationally as SOS Children’s Villages Ambassador.
Date: 11-01-2020 Saturday
Time: 8pm
Venue: Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium
Tickets: MOP 250 / 200 / 150
Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including one interval