Beijing (13 October 2018) –UBS presents a special concert featuring performances by Andreas Ottensamer, the Shanghai Quartet and the HKPHIL Quartet at the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) on 13 October. The 2018 edition of the Festival celebrates 15 years of partnership between UBS and BMF. The concert will take place at the Opera & the Concert Hall of Central Conservatory of Music.

UBS’s support for the Beijing Music Festival aims to promote musical talent in China and enhance cultural connections between musicians from around the world.

“UBS and BMF have promoted classical music in China for 15 years.  The partnership provides opportunities for our clients to experience performances by a range of renowned Chinese and international musicians. This year's concert in Beijing will feature works by Mozart and Mendelssohn performed by the distinguished quartets from Hong Kong and Shanghai and clarinetist, Andreas Ottensamer," said Dr. Eugene Qian, President of UBS Securities, Member of the Asia Pacific Executive Committee, UBS Group.

“It is with great pleasure I return to Beijing – a city rich with culture and color – and my second time at the Beijing Music Festival, I look forward to playing great pieces composed for the clarinet and strings, with the HKPHIL Quartet,”said Andreas Ottensamer.

The first part of the program presents Ottensamer, the principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic together with the HKPHIL Quartet performing Mozart’s Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K.581. In the second half of the concert, the Shanghai Quartet and the HKPHIL Quartet will perform Mendelssohn’s Octet in E flat, Op.20.

“We celebrate our first performance at the Beijing Music Festival by playing with Andreas Ottensamer and the Shanghai Quartet for the first time, presenting classics by some of the greatest music composers” said viola player, Andrew Ling, of the HKPHIL Quartet.

“The Shanghai Quartet has been performing in China and around the world for 35 years and is excited to return to the Beijing Music Festival. We hope to inspire new audiences and bring great joy through our music,” said first violinist, Weigang Li, of the Shanghai Quartet.

Upholding a long-standing commitment to supporting the cultural and financial development of the communities in which it operates, UBS regularly hosts events for employees and Community Affairs partners. This year, UBS will invite students from Shunyi District Thirteenth Middle School to the rehearsal of the artists at the Central Conservatory of Music. 

Notes to Editors

About UBS

UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland.  UBS' strategy is centered on our leading global wealth management business and our premier universal bank in Switzerland, enhanced by Asset Management and the Investment Bank. The bank focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their targeted markets, are capital efficient, and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 52 countries, with about 34% of its employees working in the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 18% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 14% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs approximately 61,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

About UBS and Culture

UBS has been committed to culture for many decades. The Beijing Music Festival is an important partnership within the UBS cultural sponsorship portfolio. Across APAC, and globally, UBS is also strongly engaged in contemporary art. At the core of this commitment is the UBS Art Collection, comprising of over 30,000 artworks. Between 2014 and 2016, UBS (China) Limited opened a new Beijing sub-branch and the firm’s first ground floor presence in Asia Pacific, followed by the opening of its Shanghai Branch in Huangpu district. Major contemporary art pieces from the UBS Art Collection are displayed on the premises by internationally acclaimed artists including: Chen Wei, Michael Craig-Martin, Ding Yi, Anish Kapoor, Sarah Morris, Shi Guowei, and Wei Guangqing. UBS is Lead Partner of Art Basel in Hong Kong.

About Andreas Ottensamer

Born in 1989, Andreas Ottensamer comes from an Austro-Hungarian family of musicians and was drawn to music early, receiving his first piano lessons when he was four. At the age of 10 he began studying the cello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, then changed to the clarinet in 2003. His first orchestral experience was as a deputy in the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic and as a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. In 2009 he interrupted his Harvard studies to become a scholar of the Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. He is now the principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Ottensamer has won first prize in competitions for clarinet, cello and piano, and performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the world with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Kammerphilharmonie. In February 2013 Andreas Ottensamer entered a recording partnership with Deutsche Grammophon, and became the first solo clarinetist to sign an exclusive agreement with the Yellow Label. His second album "Brahms - The Hungarian Connection" won the Echo KlassikAward for Instrumentalist of the Year 2015.

About the Shanghai Quartet

Renowned for its musicality, technique and multicultural innovations, the Shanghai Quartet is one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles.  It melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire, allowing it to traverse musical genres including traditional Chinese folk music, masterpieces of Western music and contemporary works.

Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, the string quartet comprises: first violinist, Weigang Li, second violinist, Yi-Wen Jiang, violist, Honggang Li, and cellist, Nicholas Tzavaras. The group has toured North America, Asia and Europe. The Shanghai Quartet has collaborated with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, David Soyer, Eugenia Zukerman, Sharon Isbin, and Chanticleer; and has a long history of championing new music.  The Shanghai Quartet has an extensive discography of 35 recordings, a diverse and interesting array of media projects including a cameo appearance playing Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4 in Woody Allen’s film Melinda and Melinda to PBS television’s Great Performances series.

About the HKPHIL Quartet

The HKPHIL Quartet is one of the most celebrated string ensembles in Hong Kong. Formed in 2014 by the concertmaster, Wang Jing, principal second violin, Ying-Na Zhao, principal viola, Andrew Ling, and principal cello, Richard Bamping, all of the musicians have performed extensively in Europe and in America. The Quartet has performed in great concert halls globally including the Musikverein, the Berlin Konzerthaus, and the Sydney Opera House. In addition to recording, as the Quartet regularly performs at government events. The HKPHIL Quartet was invited to Rosthorn Medal Ceremony for Austria-Chinese Friendship Association, performing at the Parliament of Vienna. It also performed at the celebration of the Queen’s Birthday at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong.

The ensemble has championed a broad range of music encompassing music by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Borodin and Shostakovich, as well as a wide range of contemporary works.

For enquiries about UBS and the Beijing Music Festival

Annabelle Ku

Email: annabelle@suttonpr.com

Tel: +852 2528 0792

For enquiries about UBS

Joanna Sin

Email: Joanna.sin@ubs.com

Tel: +852 2971 7950