|
 |
Music Amuses Did you know that Howard Blake’s “THE SNOWMAN” has practically frozen out “The Nutcracker” and become the UK’s favourite musical fare for children at Christmas? The concert version of The Snowman has been performed by orchestras worldwide from Japan to Canada. It is now so popular that The Independent, the British newspaper, once made the comment that “The Snowman has well nigh frozen out The Nutcracker as the nation’s traditional Christmas musical fare”. A stage show has also been created and is performed at London’s West End each year with enormous success. Every year at Christmas, TV stations around the world (including ATV World in Hong Kong) screen the film so that families can enjoy this wonderful winter-time classic time and time again. What is the appeal of The Snowman? The famous writer, producer, orchestrator and arranger Christopher Palmer (1946-1995) wrote in March 1990: “Since we have seen many excellent products which have come and gone and failed to reach a wider audience, The Snowman must have something special, something which touches a popular nerve. Looking at it, it is not too difficult to see what that ‘something’ is. It is the voice of innocence which has not been silenced or distorted by experience, but actually made more articulate by it.” The CCOHK staged the Hong Kong debut of “The Snowman & The Bear” in December 2003 to a packed house. On 10 December the concert versions of these two winter-time classics will be re-run in English along with the animated films. Don’t miss the chance to hear and see The Snowman & The Bear with the whole family! |