Music celebrates bond between HK and SZ

Many an old Shenzhener still couldn’t forget the night of June 30, 1997 when folks lined the city’s streets to bid farewell to the 14 battalions of PLA soldiers before they crossed the border to be stationed in the Hong Kong SAR. As if in an instant, a quarter century has passed since the “Pearl of the Orient” returned to the motherland.

Long before Hong Kong’s return, economic and cultural exchanges had exerted subtle influences on those living across the border. Ask anyone who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, and they can name their favorite Hong Kong singers or actors, be it Roman Tam, Lo Ta-yu, Stephen Chow or Chow Yun-fat.

The Trout Quartet performs at a concert celebrating the HKSAR's 25th anniversary at Shenzhen Concert Hall yesterday. Photos by courtesy of Shenzhen Concert Hall

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR and foster an increasingly close bond between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, musicians from both cities performed an unforgettable concert last night at Shenzhen Concert Hall, bringing the audience members down their memory lanes to relive the thrills of their beloved Cantopop and themes of Hong Kong TV shows.

In the first half of the concert, pianist Zhang Yue, the Trout Quartet, soprano Huang Xiyin, pop singer Chen Jiani, tenor Wang Haiyang and musicians from the School of Music, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen performed both Cantopop and Mandopop classics as well as Chinese music pieces and classical Western works.

Tenor Wang Haiyang (L) and soprano Huang Xiyin perform during the concert.

The audience members heard such familiar tunes as “The Moon Speaks for My Heart,” “Autumn Moon Over the Serene Lake,” as well as “Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano,” a light-hearted and delightful piece by Dmitri Shostakovich and “The Flower Duet” from Leo Delibes’ “Lakme,” praised by some as “the most beautiful female duet in an opera.”

Before the intermission, the student chorus of Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School performed alongside the Shenzhen Chanson de Montagne Children’s Choir “Me and My Motherland” and “Below the Lion’s Rock,” a beloved Cantopop piece first sung by Roman Tam.

In the second half of the concert, under the baton of veteran conductor Lei Yu, the Shenzhen City Philharmonic Orchestra performed Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” Dvořák’s “Slavonic Dance No. 8, Op. 46” as well as the rearranged themes of popular Hong Kong movies and TV shows.

Many in the audience couldn’t help but hum along when they heard the familiar melodies that accompanied Jeffrey Lau’s “A Chinese Odyssey” and the viral TVB show “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” adapted from Louis Cha’s wuxia novel of the same name.

“The theme song ‘The Iron-blooded Loyalists’ to the first part of the trilogy TV show ‘Condor Heroes’ definitely brought me back to my middle school days,” said a middle-aged audience member. “Hong Kong at that time was a charming mystic existence for me and my classmates.”

Co-organized by the Shenzhen Liaison Unit of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong and the Shenzhen Concert Hall, the concert was sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Vanessa Tang, director of the Shenzhen Liaison Unit of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, delivers a welcome speech before the concert yesterday.

Vanessa Tang, director of the liaison unit, who attended the concert together with local officials, said the diverse program presented by artists from Guangdong and Hong Kong is a memorable gift for Hong Kong SAR’s 25th birthday.

With COVID restrictions further lifted both in Hong Kong and on the mainland, she believes that Hong Kong and its good neighbor Shenzhen will see more cultural exchanges and exciting co-organized events planned for the future.

Already in the plan is a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area culture and art festival scheduled for year 2024, according to the policy address of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee.

“The festival will provide a stage for talents in the Greater Bay Area to display their quality cultural and art works,” Tang said, adding that Hong Kong, a place where East meets West, can play a role in the exchange between the bay area and the world.