World-Class Soloists Unite With The HK Phil Under Jaap Van Zweden and Vasily Petrenko

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will present a superb line-up of programmes led by Music Director Jaap van Zweden and Maestro Vasily Petrenko in November and December 2023. World-class soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Elizabeth Watts and Lang Lang will share the stage with the HK Phil.

 

CUHK 60th Anniversary: Yo-Yo Ma & HK Phil (8 November)

In celebration of The Chinese University of Hong Kong's 60th anniversary, HK Phil Music Director Jaap van Zweden will join hands with internationally-acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma for Dvořák's Cello Concerto in this special one-night-only event. Beethoven's heroic Leonore Overture no. 3 will open the concert, and Tchaikovsky's Capriccio italien will conclude the evening to a rousing finish.

 

Cello superstar and a 19-time Grammy Award winner, Yo-Yo Ma has recorded more than 120 albums. His multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in the power of culture in generating trust and understanding. Most recently, Yo-Yo began “Our Common Nature”, a cultural journey that celebrates the unifying force of nature in human's pursuit of a shared future. He was recognised as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

 

“CUHK 60th Anniversary: Yo-Yo Ma & HK Phil” will be held on 8 November 2023 (Wed) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$1,980, $1,480, $980 and $480 have already been sold out. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Artists:
Jaap van Zweden, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Programme:
BEETHOVEN | Leonore Overture no. 3
TCHAIKOVSKY | Capriccio italien
DVOŘÁK | Cello Concerto

Vasily Petrenko & Nobuyuki Tsujii (1 & 2 December)

 

Following an exhilarating HK Phil debut last season, Vasily Petrenko, Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, will return to Hong Kong with an all-French programme, including the overture to Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini and Ravel's complete music for the ballet Daphnis et Chloé.

The concert will also witness the HK Phil debut of Van Cliburn gold medal laureate Nobuyuki Tsujii, who will bring      us Ravel's jazz-infused Piano Concerto. Despite being born blind, the Japanese pianist jointly-won the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, and has earned an international reputation for the passion and excitement he brings to his live performances. He was described by The Observer as the “definition of virtuosity”.

 

“Vasily Petrenko & Nobuyuki Tsujii” will be held on 1 & 2 December 2023 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$680, $540, $400, $260 and $50 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

 

To allow audiences to dive deep into specific orchestral works, “Swire Music for Everyone Series: Ravel Piano Concerto” will be held on 1 December 2023 (Fri) at 10am in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. The concert is free and tickets are available on a first come, first-served basis. Online registration details will be announced on the HK Phil website later. Please stay tuned.

Artists
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Nobuyukui Tsujii, piano

Programme
BERLIOZ | Benvenuto Cellini Overture
RAVEL | Piano Concerto
RAVEL | Daphnis et Chloé (complete ballet music)

 

Vasily Petrenko | Mahler 4 (8 & 9 December)

 

Vasily Petrenko continues with a German programme, featuring the Hong Kong debut of English soprano Elizabeth Watts. Hailed as “one of the most beautiful voices Britain has produced in a generation” (International Record Review), Watts will grace the stage by singing five ravishing lieder by Richard Strauss, including perennial favourites as Morgen! and Cäcilie. Watts is the winner of the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and the Kathleen Ferrier Award. She is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and was awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

 

Petrenko will open the programme with Richard Strauss' Serenade and conclude with Mahler's Fourth Symphony, with Watts joining in the final movement and presenting a child's vision of heaven.

 

“Vasily Petrenko | Mahler 4” will be held on 8 & 9 December 2023 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$580, $460, $340, $220 and $50 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Artists
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Elizabeth Watts, soprano

Programme
R. STRAUSS | Serenade
R. STRAUSS | Five Lieder

                            Das Rosenband

                            Ruhe, meine Seele!

                            Winterweihe

                            Morgen!

                            Cäcilie

MAHLER | Symphony no.4

Jaap & Lang Lang (15 & 17 December)

International piano megastar Lang Lang will join Music Director Jaap van Zweden for Beethoven's Third Concerto, a work of delicate drama and lyrical sweetness. Opening with Berio's enigmatic transcription of Contrapunctus XIX from The Art of Fugue, the concert will conclude with Copland's majestic, post-war Third Symphony, the finale of which quotes Fanfare for the Common Man, one of the composer's most famous pieces.

 

Heralded by TheNew York Times as “the hottest artist on the classical music planet” and named as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2019, Lang Lang plays sold-out concerts all over the world. Apart from giving mesmerising performances, he has contributed to musical education worldwide. In 2008, he founded the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, dedicated to cultivating future pianists, championing music education at the forefront of technology, and building a young audience through live music experiences.

 

“Jaap & Lang Lang” will be held on 15 December (Fri) at 8PM and 17 December 2023 (Sun) at 3pm in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$1,480, $1,080, $780, $480 and $50 have already been sold out. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Artists
Jaap van Zweden, conductor
Lang Lang, piano

Programme
BACH / BERIO | Contrapunctus XIX from The Art of Fugue
BEETHOVEN | Piano Concerto no. 3
COPLAND | Symphony no. 3

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