Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1995

Striking a Major Chord in Hong A Yale-CUHK Venture in Piano benefits 1 Yale University's 'International Summe r Piano Institute' (ISPI) was launched five years ago to offer professional-level piano training to young musicians in North America and Europe. This summer Yale, in partnership with CUHK, made possible this experience in Hong Kong for the 11 most promising young pianists of Asian descent. From 19th June to 8th July, Yale and CUHK co-organized the region's first ever ISPI. With Dr. Daniel Law, senior lecturer of the CUHK Music Department being appointed as assistant director of the ISPI , The Chinese University provided administrative support for the project, as also teaching, lodging, and library facilities. The pianists, who hailed from Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, USA, China, and Japan, included a graduate and a current student of the University's Music Department. They were all selected through highl y competitive auditioning to participate in three weeks of intensive training led by four world-renowned musicians 一 Boris Berman (the director of the Institute), Peter Frankl, Claude Frank, and Michael Friedmann. As a part of the training the four masters, along with other faculty members of both the Yale School of Music and the Music Department of CUHK gave recitals, master classes, and seminars and lectures on topics ranging from piano music of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to Western and Asian repertoires. The programme was made possible by a generous donation by the Hui Yeung Shing Foundation. It was an immense success, and was unanimously hailed by the press and the participants as a unique experience. In the words of Dr. Law, the programme provided a rare opportunity for young, talented pianists in Asia to improve their technical skills, deepen their understanding of piano music, and broaden the intellectual and musical basis of their interpretation. It gave them an opportunity to experience for themselves the musical currents in the Western world. The recitals also gave those with an appreciative ear a chance to savour performances by the world's established, and up-and-coming pianists. The pioneering success of this joint venture has encouraged CUHK and Yale to plan a similar one in 1996. It continues a tradition of joint ventures by Yale and CUHK to promote the interflow of Eastern and Western cultures, and provides a platform for the exchange of ideas among musicians. It is also another significant laurel for the University's Music Department, which is eminent in Asia in the fields of composition, ethnomusicology, musicology, and performance, and is deeply committed to the cause of music per se. Front row: Prof. Michael Friedmann (sitting on the left) and Prof. Peter Frankl (sitting on the right) — from the Yale School of Music——with the young pianists. Back row: Dr. Chan Wing-wah (left 3), chairman of the CUHK Music Department; Dr. Dennis Hui (left 4), patron of thefunction; and Dr. Daniel Law (left 5), assistant director of the ISPI. Striking a Major Chord in Hong Kong 2