Creative Coordinator & Assistant Artistic Director: Cedric Chan

Video: Benny Woo, Johnny Sze

Sound Design: Chung Fong-ting

Lighting Design: Zoe Cheung

Poster Design: Man Lim-chung

Photography for Promotion: Kim Hoo@easteighteen

Graphic Design for Promotion: Sun Yue

Stage Manager: Chow Chun-yin

Technical Coordinator : Johnny Sze

Deputy Stage Manager: Zeta Chan

Assistant Stage Manager: Onki Chan

Lighting Operator: Tse tsz San

Make up: Billie Siu

Wardrobe: Bonnie Chan

Stage Crew: Leung Chi-hang, Hui Man-yiu

Photography: William lee, Vic Shing, Lai Pan-wai

Translation: Mona Chu

International Exchange Director / Producer: Wong Yuewai

General Manager (Administration and Finance): Jacky Chan

General Manager (Programme): Doris Kan

Programme Manager: Ho Yin-hei

PR & Publicity: Luka Wong

Rehearsal Assistant: Chloe Li

Programme and Creative Assistant: Niki Luk

Graphic design and Production Assistant: Carol Mak

Arts Tech Assistant: Mia Qiu

Video & Production: Angela Li, Alison Lee

Graphics: Ng Lai Man

Arts group/Programme:  Jessie Kwok, Angel Lau, Song Leung, Ashley Wong 

Arts Tech: Chan Chak Ming, Lin Wenjian, Leung Wing Laam

“Earth”

Sonata in B minor, K.87 – Scarlatti

Sonata in E major, K. 135 – Scarlatti

Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 878 – Bach

“Metal”

12 Notations – Boulez

“Water”

Aqua – Ryuichi Sakamoto

Reflets dans l’eau (Reflections in the Water) – Debussy

“Wood”

Bāng Chhun-hong (Pining for the Spring Breeze) – Teng Yu-hsien, arr. by Stephen Hough

The Butterfly Lovers – He Zhanhao, Chen Gang

“Fire”

Vers la Flamme (Toward the flame), Op. 72 – Scriabin

Ballade No. 2 in B minor, S.171 – Liszt

The concept of the Five Elements was used by ancient Chinese philosophers to describe the formation and relationships of all things in the world. The Five Elements are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Singly or in combination, they are the five major constituents of all things. The ancients related the Five Elements to different things in the world such as the Five Constant Virtues and Five Body Organs, which are unique Chinese cultural characteristics. Music also has its corresponding Five Notes. Traditional Chinese music uses a pentatonic scale, consisting of Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu, similar to the Western music notes Do, Re, Mi, So, La. Each note was imbued by the ancients with the attributes of one of the Five Elements: Metal (Shang), Wood (Jue), Water (Yu), Fire (Zhi), and Earth (Gong). 

For the Five Elements recital, the selection of music pieces is based on the concept of the interaction between the Five Elements generating and controlling one another, as in Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, and Wood generates Fire. Pianist KJ Wong selects not only pieces of Western classical music, in which he excels, but also traditional Chinese music and modern music. When selecting the pieces, KJ emphasizes on the “feeling”, especially feeling his connection with the Five Elements and all things on Earth. Through this solo concert, the audience will experience the beautiful fusion of Chinese and Western cultures, and feel the charm of the Five Elements and Five Notes.

In 2018, KJ Wong collaborated with Zuni for the first time in First Lessons in Heart Sutra, and in 2019, he continued to present his philosophical ideas in the piano recital God or No God. Both experiments are artistic creations that combine music, philosophy, and multimedia images, allowing every audience to feel the universality of art and philosophy.

Apart from piano recitals, KJ has also participated in several Zuni’s performances, including The Architectural of the City, In Praise of Shadows and One Hundred Years of Solitude 11 – Twelve Hours, continuously experimenting on classical piano music in collision with Zuni’s stage aesthetics.

The Five Elements recital will be KJ’s latest interdisciplinary experimental work. If you want to know how he uses the piano to tell the stories of the Chinese Five Elements and what sparks of creativity the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures can bring about, you must come to experience this live at the Five Elements concert.

Running time approximately 70 minutes

No latecomers will be admitted, until a suitable break in the performance
Zuni Icosahedron reserves the right to add, withdraw or substitute artists and/ or vary advertised programmes and seating arrangements.