Who would’ve thought the words ‘musical genius’ and ‘recorder’ could belong to the same sentence? The Fluteman manages to combine the absurdity of playing one of the simplest of musical instruments – the recorder – with jaw-dropping skill, turning it into a hilarious and ingenious show with all of the classical hits, and more. Be prepared to watch a master in collaboration with City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK), and at the same time, laugh your socks off!
The Fluteman Show: Programme
- Fučík, Entrance of the Gladiators
- Mozart, “Die Vogelfänger bin ich ja” (from The Magic Flute)
- Monti, Czardas
- Warlock, Capriol Suite*
- Mozart, Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183*
- Telemann, Concerto for Recorder in C Major, TWV 51:C1*
- Gabor Vosteen, Dancing Crocodile
- Vivaldi, Concerto for Recorder in C major, RV 443*
- Arr. Christoph Koenig, Popcorn Music
*selected excerpts or movements only
The programme runs for 60 minutes without an intermission.
About the artists and organiser
Gabor Vosteen, recorders
Gabor Vosteen is an internationally acclaimed recorder player and comedian. His unique mixture of virtuoso recorder playing and physical comedy has brought him to festivals, concert halls, cabarets and circuses around the world. He has collaborated with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Southwest German Philharmonie Konstanz, the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, and the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra. Gabor Vosteen is the recipient of numerous awards including the Audience Prize at Tuttlinger Krähe, the Kleinkunstpreis Herborner Schlumpeweck, First Prize at the Koblenz Gaukler und Kleinkunstpreis, and both the Audience Prize and Second Prize at the European cabaret competition Niederstätter surPrize in Bozen. In recent years he has toured extensively with his solo act The Fluteman Show which received the Best Small Ensemble award at the YAMAwards in Denmark in 2019.
George Ellis, guest conductor
George Ellis has performed as a guest conductor with all of Australia’s major professional orchestras and with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur. He is currently the Chief Conductor of The Australian Session Orchestra. In 2000 he conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games. At the helm of his George Ellis Orchestra, he has led concerts at the Sydney Opera House, the Victorian Arts Centre, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Adelaide Festival Centre, and the Perth Concert Hall. For national television in Australia, he has conducted at the ARIA Awards and in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. He has also appeared on screen for the film Mao’s Last Dancer, conducting Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK), organiser
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong holds a unique position as one of Asia’s leading chamber orchestras. Members are professional musicians experienced in playing a diverse range of music styles and genres including Baroque, Classical, Contemporary, East/West Crossover, Tango, Jazz, Cinema, and Orchestra Theatre. Established since 1999, CCOHK has performed with many world-class artists including Sir James Galway, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dame Emma Kirkby, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Neville Marriner, Michala Petri, Christian Lindberg, Sarah Chang, Philippe Entremont, Julian Lloyd Webber, Edgar Meyer, Branford Marsalis, Richard Galliano, Sharon Isbin, and Dawn Upshaw. The orchestra has also collaborated with celebrities including Hayley Westenra, Richard Clayderman, Robin Gibb, Dame Edna Everage and Canto-pop stars Sandy Lam, Hins Cheung, Hacken Lee, and Jacky Cheung.
Additional highlights include concerts with the Vienna Boys’ Choir, The American Boychoir, the Warsaw Boys Choir, the Swedish Voices Chamber Choir, the King’s Singers, and the Swingle Singers. On tour, CCOHK has been invited to perform in Italy, Taipei, Beijing, Chengdu, and at the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. In Hong Kong, CCOHK’s engagements have included Hong Kong Ballet, French May Arts Festival, RTHK Radio 4’s televised Christmas Concerts in the Park, the World Harp Congress, and The Hong Kong International Piano Competition.
A keen supporter of contemporary music, CCOHK has performed for Musicarama and at the Hong Kong Contemporary Music Festival, and has commissioned new works by Mao Yuan, Daniel Binelli, Dobrinka Tabakova, and Richard Harvey. The orchestra’s CDs include world premiere recordings. CCOHK’s passion for building young audiences for music has inspired the evolution of several new and fully staged musical productions and extravaganzas. At the helm of CCOHK’s artistic planning is CCOHK’s founder Leanne Nicholls who was awarded for Community Service in the HKSAR’s Chief Executive’s 2022 Honours List for her contributions to the development of classical music in Hong Kong. Chief conductors include French conductor Jean Thorel (2008 to 2016) and Armenian conductor and virtuoso pianist Vahan Mardirossian (since 2019).