Besbrode Pianos is very happy to share with you 'Ke Ma Celebrates the Chinese Spring Festival at Selby Abbey'
To mark the end of the Chinese Spring Festival and the start of spring in the UK, Selby Abbey plays host to a concert from world-class pianist, Ke Ma.
We celebrate our friendship with China in what has been one of the most testing years in recent world history. Music has the power to unite, in healing and festivity. We look ahead to the arrival of spring and new beginnings with a performance in this exquisite Abbey, enjoyed by UK and Chinese visitors alike.
Ke Ma's performance includes a combination popular Chinese folk and pop tunes and the classical behemoth, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit suite. Based on three poems by Aloysius Bertrand, this suite includes the legendary 'Scarbo', considered one of the most difficult solo piano pieces in the standard repertoire. Watch Ke Ma address this challenge head-on with a captivating ease and vigour that belies the piece's intricacy.
Repertoire:
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit I. Ondine
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit II. Le Gibet
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit III. Scarbo
Wang JianZhong - Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon
Wang JianZhong - Liuyang River
Jay Chou - Mojito (rearranged by Ke Ma)
This performance will premiere on 31/05/2021 at 19:00 GMT and will be freely available to watch on our YouTube channel after the event.
Don't want to miss it? You can set a reminder using the link below.
We would like to thank Gary Lawson @GaryLawsonMedia who filmed the event and brought his drone along for the day to capture some amazing footage of this spellbinding performance in one Yorkshire's lesser know Gothic wonders.
Pianist: Ke Ma.
Born in 1994 in Datong China, Ke studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Christopher Elton, Michael Dussek and Andrew West, graduating with a Masters with distinction (DipRAM) in 2017. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral study at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Professor Joan Havill, Dr Alexander Soares and Rolf Hind. Ke has won top prizes at international competitions including 1st Prize at the 2016 Concours International de la vie de Maisons-Laffitte and Karoly Mocsari Special Prize (France), 1st Prize at the 2014 Shenzhen Competition (China) and 3rd Prize at the 2012 Ettlingen Competition (Germany). As a soloist, highlights have included appearances with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Young Musicians Symphony, Suffolk Symphony Orchestra and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tamás Gál at the Palace of the Arts in Budapest.
Besbrode Pianos is a specialist piano dealer and wholesaler based in Leeds, UK. Our extensive showrooms occupy three premises including four floors of a Victorian mill on the edge of Leeds city centre. This makes us one of the UK's largest retailers.
We permanently display more than 250 new and pre-owned pianos from leading brands with an entire floor dedicated to the Steinway family of pianos. This impressive inventory offers pianists an unrivalled opportunity to play and compare pianos side by side. We are experts in packing and shipping and have been selling pianos individually and by wholesale across the globe for the last thirty years.
