Evening Recital by Henry Hung and friends

Free entry, registration required.

Schumann / Liederkreis, op. 24

Brahms / Five Lieder, op. 105

Wei-Pin Chen / Five Taiwanese Songs (European premiere)

This evening recital is a sequel by Hong Kong-born baritone Henry Hung, exploring the meaning of journey and distance, after Sojourner (2017), Non omnis moriar (2018), 6000 Miles Away (2019), and Die Un trennbaren (2022). At a very special time of farewelling his best friend, Pang-Yen Chang (Taiwanese tenor), who is returning to his homeland, this recital invites all to reconcile feelings of longing, love, loss, and wandering with your beloved others.

The recital borrows the emotions from two masterpieces by Schumann and Brahms, Liederkreis op. 24 and Five Lieder op. 105. Brahms’ op. 105 is specially adapted for cello and piano, performed by Min-Erh Wang (DPhil Music, St Catherine’s) and Yu-Wen Huang. Both songcycles traverse a wide emotional landscape and reflects on intimacy and loss. The unique blend of poetry and music epitomises the romanticism traditions yet highlights the contrasting music language by the two great composers.

The recital will also feature works by a living Taiwanese composer Wei-Pin Chen, who has led an extraordinary life in composing songs in Taiwanese – what he calls a “forgotten civilisation”. Nostalgia permeates his music, which is rich in local sentiment and evokes the sounds and essence of Taiwan. He brings a distinctive perspective to the study of Taiwanese phonology, including tone, articulation, and the differences between colloquial and literary forms. He is regarded one of the most reputable Taiwanese composers, recognised by the Golden Melody Awards.