Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Announces 2022/23 Season Programmes

Today, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) announces programmes and collaborations with esteemed arts groups from September to December 2022 of its 2022/23 Season. An array of virtuoso guest artists will be featured including four premieres. In this season, the HK Phil celebrates classical music that is timeless and transcendent. Let's sing an Ode to Life!

HK Phil Music Director Jaap van Zweden expresses his enthusiasm returning to Hong Kong to open the 2022/23 Season on 9 & 10 September 2022: "After such a long separation due to the pandemic, I greatly look forward to my return to Hong Kong in September 2022, and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate my reunion with Hong Kong audiences than with Beethoven's towering Ninth Symphony - its 'Ode to Joy' finale is the perfect joyful beginning to the HK Phil's 2022/23 Season."

HK Phil Chief Executive Benedikt Fohr is delighted to welcome the 2022/23 Season: "Daily life keeps us very busy, and for that we are grateful. However, to see and hear the collective energy and musicality of an orchestral ensemble brings both excitement and much needed balance to our busy lives. We cannot wait to inspire your soul with our music!"

Highlights of the 2022/23 Season (Sep - Dec 2022):

• Six programmes with Jaap! Starting with Beethoven's Symphony no. 9, from September through December, HK Phil Music Director Jaap van Zweden conducts a total of six exciting concert programmes, with renowned musicians including vocalists Barry Banks, Caitlin Hulcup, Shengyang; trombonist Jörgen van Rijen, cellist Jan Vogler, violinist Akiko Suwanai and pianist Niu Niu; Hong Kong musicians Louise Kwong and Avan Yu; HK Phil Concertmaster Jing Wang and the HK Phil Chorus. The Maestro is also keen to present contemporary repertoire with premieres of Chinese composer Tan Dun, Dutch composer John Borstlap and Hong Kong composer Simon Yip Sai-man.

• Mega outdoor concert Swire Symphony Under The Stars andprogramme with a Chinese touch, both under the baton of Principal Guest Conductor Yu Long. Zee Zee, Yiwen Lu, Anna Zhang Jingdan and Caleb Woo, join these performances.

• Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman conducts concerts with innovative approaches and collaborations: Cantopop music with Johnny Yim, Carmina Burana co-presented with Hong Kong Ballet, Richard Strauss' majestic An Alpine Symphony with stunning photography and live projection by German photographer Tobias Melle and an orchestral rendition of Cantonese Opera Floral Princess with Utopia Cantonese Opera Workshop.

• China Life (Overseas) Proudly Sponsors: New Year Celebration conducted by distinguished conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, welcoming 2023 with a joyful and exuberant programme of dance music from Johann Strauss (ii) and Richard Strauss, and overtures by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.

• HK Phil "Happy Autumn" Community Concert - Enjoy music for everyone by Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Johann Strauss (ii) and Mozart, conducted by Peter Biloen.

• China Life (Overseas) Proudly Sponsors: New Year Celebration conducted by distinguished conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, welcoming 2023 with a joyful and exuberant programme of dance music from Johann Strauss (ii) and Richard Strauss, and overtures by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.

• Collaborations with Opera Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's Cosmopolis Festival.

Six programmes with JAAP!

• The 2022/23 Season kicks off with Music Director Jaap van Zweden conducting Beethoven's Symphony no. 9. From its tragic opening to its jubilant "Ode to Joy" finale, this symphony is one of music's greatest journeys. Mozart's elegant, playful Piano Concerto no. 22 opens the concert. Pianist Avan Yu, soprano Louise Kwong, mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup, tenor Barry Banks, bass-baritone Shenyang and the HK Phil Chorus join for the season opening extravaganza (9 & 10 September 2022).

• Described as "the leading interpreter of Bruckner's symphonies" by BBC Music Magazine, Jaap conducts Bruckner's Symphony no. 7, alongside Tan Dun's Trombone Concerto Three Muses in Video Game, an Asia premiere featuring Jörgen van Rijen as soloist in these National Day Concerts (16 & 17 September 2022).

• HK Phil Concertmaster Jing Wang steps into the spotlight for the world premiere of John Borstlap's Violin Concerto no. 2. Mahler's Symphony no. 1 concludes the concert (18 & 19 November 2022).

• Jaap conducts Shostakovich's witty but powerful Symphony no. 9. The concert also features Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" and Elgar's sombre Cello Concerto with cellist Jan Vogler (2 & 3 December 2022).

• Continuing the Shostakovich journey, Jaap conducts Shostakovich's Symphony no. 5, together with Prokofiev's violin concerto with Akiko Suwanai. The concert opens with the world premiere of Hong Kong composer Simon Yip Sai-man's new work commissioned from the HK Phil and the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Hong Kong Composers Scheme (9 & 10 December 2022).

• Pianist Niu Niu and Jaap join forces in two of Tchaikovsky's best-loved masterpieces: the romantic First Piano Concerto and the shattering Sixth Symphony (16 & 17 December 2022).

Concerts with a Chinese touch by Principal Guest Conductor Yu Long

• In a specially curated programme, HK Phil Principal Guest Conductor Yu Long conducts the orchestra's biggest annual outdoor symphonic event, Swire Symphony Under The Stars, at the Central Harbourfront, under the backdrop of Hong Kong's spectacular night skyline (12 November 2022). Keep an eye on the HK Phil website for free registration details!

• Eastern and Western musical traditions in close dialogue in concerts co-presented with HKU MUSE and led by Yu Long, with Chen Qigang's poignant Un Temps Disparu with erhu soloist Yiwen Lu and Fauré's Requiem with soprano Anna Zhang Jingdan and baritone Caleb Woo (4 & 5 November 2022).

Innovative collaborations - concerts led by Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman

• HK Phil x Cantopop Music: Celebrating the new season, HK Phil Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman and renowned composer/arranger/producer Johnny Yim come together for a concert featuring classic Cantopop arranged for orchestra, with a surprise guest appearance from a STARS Academy singer (2 & 3 September 2022).
• HK Phil x HK Ballet: The HK Phil and Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) co-present an epic double premiere: Under the baton of Lio Kuokman, acclaimed soloists, dancers, two choruses and the HK Phil come together to present the Asia premiere of HKB Artistic Director Septime Webre's choreography of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, preceded by the world premiere of The Last Song by HKB Choreographer-in-Residence Ricky Hu Songwei set to music by J. S. Bach (14 - 16 October 2022).
• Photography & Live Projection: Set to stunning images of the Alps by Tobias Melle, Richard Strauss' An Alpine Symphony vividly recalls the adventures of a day in the mountains. Sharing the evening is violinist Alena Baeva playing Korngold's Violin Concerto (21 & 22 October 2022).

• HK Phil x Cantonese Opera: Based on the classic Floral Princess created by Tong Tik-sang, this brand new orchestral re-imagining is complemented by the exquisite on-screen interpretation by renowned acting duo Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin. For this rendition under Directors-General duo Joseph Chan and Ip Ka-po with producer Maurice Lai, director Rex Ng weaves together text, video and audio, while composer Lee Che-yi pens an original symphonic poem. Lio Kuokman conducts the HK Phil in this world premiere (23 & 24 December 2022).

China Life (Overseas) Sponsors: New Year Celebration

For its traditional New Year concert, the HK Phil joins with conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada to usher in 2023 with a joyful and exuberant programme of dance music by Johann Strauss (ii) and Richard Strauss, and overtures by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky (30 & 31 December 2022).

Happy Autumn Community Concert

The HK Phil wishes to bring everyone a joyous musical autumn with music by Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Strauss and Mozart, conducted by Peter Biloen (23 & 24 September 2022). HK Phil Principal Trumpet Nitiphum Bamrungbanthum will play Haydn's Trumpet Concerto. Registration details for these free concerts sponsored by The Tung Foundation will be announced later.

Collaborations

The HK Phil collaborates with Opera Hong Kong for Verdi's La Traviata (5 - 9 Oct 2022), and HK Phil Principals are invited to perform in The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's (HKUST) Cosmopolis Festival (25 Sep 2022) for the premieres of works by Augusta Read Thomas and HKUST Composer-in-Residence Ilari Kaila. Stay tuned for more details.

Chamber Music Concerts

Experience the passion and personalities of the individual musicians that make up the HK Phil through their chamber music performances! The extraordinary chamber music repertoire includes all styles of music in various combinations of instruments - from the Baroque period through the current 21st century, including new works by Hong Kong composers. In the 2022/23 Season, chamber music concerts are planned at Tai Kwun's JC Cube, the West Kowloon Cultural District's Tea House Theatre and Hong Kong Palace Museum, The University of Hong Kong's Grand Hall and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's Shaw Auditorium. Stay tuned.

Discount scheme at URBTIX

This season, the HK Phil continues to offer a flexible ticketing scheme with attractive discounts at URBTIX. For standard tickets, the general public can enjoy up to 15% off, while Club Bravo members are entitled up to an exclusive 30% discount, plus other upgraded privileges and benefits. The more programmes you purchase, the more you save. Tickets will be available on URBTIX from 8 August 2022 (Monday) at 10AM.

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