George Dorsey - American anthropologist in the XX-th century said "Play is the beginning of knowledge". It appears that the organizers of the educative program "Spielfeld Klassik" - that is taking place until fall at the Munich Philharmonic - agree with this statement. Proof of this is the concert that will be presented on April 3^rd and 4^th, in which three musical opera pieces will be performed and explained to young of music enthusiasts: Symphony no. 26 in D minor by Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 7 in D minor by Antonín Dvořák and Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Pianos and Orchestra, BWV 1052. The latter is starring French pianist David Fray. Conducting the Munich Philharmonic orchestra during this concert, will be the young 34 year-old Columbian conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, of whom we're spoken about on previous occasions. But who is David Fray?

Pianist Davis Fray was born in 1981 in Tarbes, in South-Western France, close to the Pyrenees Mountains. His reputation of being a non-conventional, even an eccentric musician, is rooted in his first success - winning the second Grand Prize in the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2004. Four years later he was voted "Newcomer of the Year" by BBC Music Magazine and a comparison between him and the famous pianist Glenn Gould kept coming up. Up to now, David Fray has recorded six albums with pieces by Bach and Schubert. His latest album, released in 2010 included Concerto No.22 and Concerto No. 25 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, recorded together with the London Philarmonia Orchestra and conducted by Jaap van Zweden.

London Philarmonia Orchestra concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Center

Since we have been talking about the Spielfeld Klassik project organized by the Munich Philarmonica - whose principal conductor is Lorin Maazel, and as we have just mentioned the name of the Philarmonia Orchestra, I ought to tell you that the British ensemble is playing tomorrow, conducted by Lorin Maazel. The above-mentioned concert will take place at the Hong Kong Cultural Center, and its program includes Joseph Haydn's Concerto for cello and orchestra in C Major and Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler - it's the 100^th anniversary of the musician's death. The cellist in the Haydn concert is Trey Lee, a musician born in Hong-Kong, but brought up in the United States. The most important award in the young musician's career is the first prize won by him at the International Cello Competition 'Antonio Janigro' in 2004 in Zagreb. That is the same year in which he recorded his debut album. He is, no doubt, an artist heading towards a brilliant career.

As for the Philarmonia Orchestra, it is nowadays amongst the most renowned orchestras in the world. The ensemble has over 80 members and they play in over 100 concerts a year in the United Kingdom alone, not to mention them participating in international festivals. Formed in 1945, the Philarmonia Orchestra has an impressive record of over 1000 recorded musical pieces.

Nolwenn Leroy and her world music style

From today's Hong Kong we cross over to the Gaelic territory in Celtic times - all this, of course, through music. The artist we are about to become acquainted with is Nolwenn Leroy, originally from Brittany - a region located between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. Although she was born in 1982, in Saint-Renan - in Northwestern France, the artist grew up in Saint-Yorre. She studied at the Vichy music conservatory, she took law classes, she played the violin and the piano, and, after recording two albums in a similar style to that of Lara Fabian and one with acoustic-pop influences, she turned towards traditional songs specific to the region where she was borned. The record, released in 2010, is called "Bretonne" and it is the main reason behind her receiving numerous awards in her mother country. It is also the reason behind her packed schedule this spring. It seems that the audience is eager to listen to the stories Nolwenn Leroy has to tell through her music about her celtic ancestors.