HK Musician Believes Music Has Sacred Mission, Composes ‘Hong Kong Rhapsody’ to Continue Chopin’s Spirit

Hong Kong musician and painter, Ricker Choi, who emigrated to Canada when he was 13, will hold a piano concert titled "HK-Freedom Rhapsody," dedicated to the history of Hong Kong people's pursuit of freedom, in Toronto, on Nov. 5, 2022. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

Artist Ricker Choi was deeply touched while listening again to the movement of Chopin’s “Polonaise héroique in A-flat major, Op 53.” More than a hundred years ago, Chopin left Poland, his homeland. After this, he integrated his rich emotions, national pride, and life experience into his music. Ricker sees a strikingly familiar picture for himself now.

It is from this he decided to hold a “HK-Freedom Rhapsody” piano concert in November, in the hope that music and art can be used to awaken the hearts of more people, and remember the history of Hong Kong people’s pursuit of freedom during the chaotic era. At the same time, he hopes to remind and encourage people not to remain numb and to look forward in anticipation of the dawn of the day.

In 1830, 20-year-old Chopin left his homeland to perform in Vienna carrying a silver cup filled with Polish soil. After this, the Poland revolt started. He then moved to stay in Paris and was never able to return to his homeland during his lifetime. Nevertheless, he poured out all his love for Poland into the “Polonaises” he composed, integrating the past brilliance of his homeland, the helplessness of reality, the unknowns about the future, and the melodies that have been passed down from generation to generation.

The scene of Hong Kong people fighting for freedom in 2019 awakens the once-numb heart of artist Ricker Choi, who creates a series of oil paintings to review that part of history. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

History is reincarnated. Nearly 200 years later, in 2019, the world’s attention shifted to Hong Kong, the “Pearl of the Orient.” An unprecedented “Anti-Extradition Movement” changed not only the fate of thousands of Hong Kong people but also awakened a lot of people in Canada. Hongkonger artist Ricker Choi, grew up in Canada and once felt numb, being one of them. It was against this backdrop he wanted to contribute and devote himself to the creation of the “Hong Kong Rhapsody.”

March of the Millions Touched and Shocked the “Old Overseas Chinese”

Born in Hong Kong in the 197o’s, Ricker emigrated to Canada with his parents in 1988, when he was 13 years old. As a youngster, he was adaptable and integrated quickly into Western society. For him, Hong Kong was just a distant memory symbol. For many years, he, like many other Hongkongers who moved to foreign countries, had been busy developing their lives.

All started to change through the events in Hong Kong in 2019 when he began to realise the fake front of the CCP. When he saw the scenes of protests in Hong Kong, followed by the disappointing handling of the incidents, as well as the escalatory action by the Hong Kong government, he felt he should start to follow all the developments in Hong Kong. Confronted with all these heavy feelings, his heart could never be calm for a single moment since then.

Artist Ricker Choi's oil painting records Hong Kong people's yearning for freedom on top of Lion Rock hill in 2019. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

Creates Rhapsody to Record the History of Hong Kong

The term “Rhapsody” originated from the epics of the Greek era. It became eminent from the 19th century, primarily in piano pieces composed based on folk songs or folk song-style melodies. The most well-known is Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsodies,” which has an epic form, strong contrasts, and folk song style. Chopin, the representative of European romantic music in the 19th century, is a musician that Ricker admires, especially the movements of “Hero“ in ”Polonaise,” which demonstrates the hard-felt spirit of an era.

He believes that music possesses extraordinarily strong powers of expression, and contagious music can be felt and passed on to future generations. “That’s why both the incumbent Russian, and the subsequent Hitler regimes at the time, banned Chopin’s music completely because they were so afraid of his music inspiring patriotic feelings among the Poles. That’s a strong indication and further highlights the importance of music’s influence on society,” Ricker said.

Ricker Choi used to hold charity fundraising concerts. And this year, he steps on the stage again and hopes to be able to speak for the people of Hong Kong. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

“When the ‘anti-Extradition’ movement started in 2019, in addition to watching Hong Kong news every day, I just wanted to compose this song—”Hong Kong Rhapsody.” I felt that my role in this movement is to express it through art. I wrote it at one time and revised it repeatedly.

It was February 2020 when I actually finished writing, and it was May 2020 when I finished recording. When Ricker was writing, scenes of Hong Kong people’s protests appeared in his mind, and each of the three movements in the music represents a historical event at a different time.

As a continuation of his charity fundraising concerts, Ricker Choi hopes this year he can also be a voice for Hong Kong people and raise funds to help jailed Hongkongers. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

The first movement titled “Revolution of Our Time,” shows the cause and development of the “anti-Extradition” incident; the second, “Elegy,” depicts the hurt endured through tyranny and those protesters that “disappeared” or were said to have committed “suicided;” the third, “Defend Our Campus,” describes the two “defend the campus” battles by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University students. “

I changed “Glory to Hong Kong” into the music of a defensive battle. The song also quoted the line “Vast Sky and Boundless Sea” to project the victory of the pro-democracy faction, the fantasy of the fall of the CCP, the freedom of Hong Kong, and the glory of Hong Kong after all.”

One of the scenes of "Defend Our Campus," part 3 of "Hong Kong Rhapsody"—is the battle for the defence of CUHK. Another oil painting by Ricker Choi. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

“Hong Kong Rhapsody” incorporates the music of four well-known songs that inspired Hong Kong people—“Glory to Hong Kong,” “Below the Lion Rock,” “Vast Sky and Boundless Sea,” and “Do you hear the people sing.” “In the music, I specifically added the melody of ”Below the Lion Rock,“ which represented Hong Kong in the 1980s. At that time, Hong Kong was in a very prosperous and vibrant era, while “Vast Sky and Boundless Sea” represented the 1990s. I tried to put all my feelings into “Hong Kong Rhapsody.” Ricker released the edited music and video for free, hoping to let everybody remember the indelible scenes of history through his music and pictures.

Music, Paintings, and Photographs Combined to Explore Today’s Hong Kong

Ricker believes that performing “Hong Kong Rhapsody” live on stage will bring a different feeling and atmosphere. Since the completion of the music creation, he wanted to perform publicly. But due to several reasons, he was unable to perform in 2020. And then with the pandemic sweeping the world, there were even more obstacles to public performances.

One of Ricker Choi's oil paintings satirises the current social phenomenon. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

It was not until this year that he finally had the opportunity to perform publicly under the theme of “HK-Freedom Rhapsody.” He found a venue in Toronto, Canada, and will put the music on the stage in November.

He hopes to increase people’s awareness of the issue of Hong Kong being ruled by the CCP dictatorship through the concert so that more Canadians can understand the situation and care about Hong Kong’s human rights and its rapid decline in freedom of expression.

Another of Ricker Choi's oil paintings shows the recent wave of emigration of Hong Kong people. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

Ricker revealed that during the performance of “HK-Freedom Rhapsody,” some pictures of the Hong Kong people’s protests in 2019 will be projected onto a big screen. “This will be more shocking, and it will also allow people to recall clearly what happened at that time.” In addition to his development in music, Ricker is also a painter and has created a series of oil paintings to reflect the scenes of Hong Kong people’s struggle on their road to democracy.

This “Artistic creation is not only a reminder of what happened but also emotional sustenance. I was really pleased by the recognition of so many Hong Kong people as regards my paintings when they saw them.

After these works are sold, I will donate all the money to organisations that support Hong Kong people, hoping to help a wide range of people. For example, I will donate the proceeds from ticket sales for the concert to the “Banyan Tree Aid” fund which supports young people in prison in Hong Kong. During the period of the upcoming performance, he will also exhibit his latest paintings on-site to share with the audience.

Ricker Choi's paintings are on display in London, UK. Courtesy of Ricker Choi

“Usually during turbulent times, there are always a lot of people who want to find a channel to express themselves. There have been numerous examples of inspiring artistic creations and music that burst out due to happenings of the time.” Ricker hopes that he can continue the spirit of Chopin, and continue along the road of art.

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《HK-Freedom Rhapsody》Piano Recital Date: November 5, 2022 (Saturday) Time: 19:00-21:30 Venue: Flato Markham Theatre, Markham, Toronto, Canada Performance information: https://reurl.cc/9pedWa

“Hong Kong Rhapsody” Part 1: “Revolution of the Time” “Glory to Hong Kong” “Hong Kong Rhapsody 2020 Part 1”

Part 2: Elegy

Part 3: Defend Our Campus