The Gurfinkel Clarinet Duo - twin brothers Daniel and Alexander Gurfinkel - will be in Hong Kong next month to perform with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK). Their concert, Twins on Winds, will feature classic numbers by Mendelssohn, Mahler and Bizet. It is the young clarinettist duo's Asian debut. The twins, born in 1992, won the prestigious 'Maestro' competition for young prodigies in March 2004 and leading prizes at the first Israeli Competition for Woodwind Players in December 2004. The teenage musicians were born into a family of esteemed clarinet players in Israel. Their grandfather Arkady Gurfinkel was a renowned clarinet player, teacher and arranger. Their father Michael Gurfinkel is the principal clarinet player with Israel Symphony Orchestra (and Israeli Opera) and a hugely talented chamber music player. 'Even before we were born it was obvious that we were going to be musicians because our father wanted us to be musicians. And he didn't want to miss such an opportunity of [continuing the] family tradition,' the brothers say. They started playing the clarinet aged nine and immediately realised that it was their vocation. 'The clarinet stands out from other instruments because it sounds a bit like a trumpet, with the quality of the human voice and has a very soft sound,' the twins say. The boys have very different personalities: 'My character is more sensitive than my brother's, and I like different things than he does - for example, I like spicy food and Alex prefers sweets,' says Daniel. Nevertheless, the brothers have a happy and harmonious partnership both as a family unit and as a musical duo. 'It feels very good. We complement and complete each other when making music. We don't even have to look at each other and we can still play together,' they say. The twins, who have toured internationally with Russian conductors Vladimir Spivakov and Yuri Bashmet and Indian conductor Zubin Mehta, see their music as a new classical genre. 'Our father discovered a lot of pieces that are never performed. We want to [use it to] to promote our kind of ensemble,' they say. They also believe that music can bring peace to the world and joy to all people, regardless of their background. 'Music has the power to make the world a better place, because if it were played all the time there would never be war,' say the boys. 'We want our music to bring only pleasure.' We have 10 pairs of tickets to Twins on Winds on April 3 at HK City Hall. E-mail your name and address to yp@scmp.com for a chance to win. Visit www.ccohk.com for more concert details.
