News of the Loss of ‘Father of New Music in HK’ Tops the List
In 2023, the local arts and cultural sectors have made a strong comeback after the pandemic: a local performing arts group documented its glorious years in a publication, andmany talented musicians gained recognition in international competitions. However, we also witnessed the loss of music veterans. The results of the "2023 Top 10 Music Headlines", an annual project organised by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Radio 4, were unveiled today (20 January). Among the 20 nominations, the news of "Known as ‘The Father of New Music in Hong Kong’, composer Doming Lam passes away at the age of 96." topped the poll with 77.3% of the votes.
'Search for roots in tradition, find ways in the avant-garde’ was a famous motto of composer Dr. Doming Lam, a trailblazer in Hong Kong's music scene. From 1964 to 1994, he was an active composer, conductor, lecturer, as well as producers for music programmes on TV and radio. Not only did he compose timeless masterpieces such as "The Insect World" and "Autumn Execution", he also helped established the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Composer Guild, putting Hong Kong's fine music on the international platform.
Other notable music headlines include “The publication of ‘The Hong Kong Oratorio Society – 65 Glorious Years’ becomes the first account of a local performing arts group to present details of its 300 plus concerts since its founding in 1956.” and“Andrew Ling, the Principal Viola of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra succeeds Yip Wai-hong, the founder of the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra as its new Music Director.” These rank second and third with 67.1% and 62.6% of votes respectively.
With the aim of understanding public concerns and reviewing significant local music happenings in the last year, Radio 4 organised its 38th annual poll on the “Top 10 Music Headlines”. This year, 20 music news items were nominated by professionals in the music and cultural scene. These shortlisted headlines were selected based on their influence on cultural and academic development in Hong Kong, with newsworthiness being a secondary consideration. Listeners around the world, along with music critics, were invited to cast their votes from 1 to 10 January 2024. Voting by the public and the critics accounted for 60% and 40% of the results respectively.
The above poll results were announced in the programme “2023 Top 10 Music Headlines” on Radio 4(FM97.6 – 98.9) today (20 January) at 12nn in English and at 6:15pm in Chinese. Both programmes are archived on RTHK’s website (radio4.rthk.hk)and the RTHK Radio App. For more information about the poll results, related photos and detailed audio descriptions of all nominated news, please visit the “2023Top 10 Music Headlines” special webpage (rthk.hk/musicheadlines2023).
