Jaap Van Zweden and Maestro Vasily Petrenko Present a Series of Programmes in January and February

From January to February 2023, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) will present a line-up of programmes led by Music Director Jaap van Zweden and internationally acclaimed Maestro Vasily Petrenko. Numerous soloists - violinist Ning Feng, pianists Boris Giltburg and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, ondes martenot player Cynthia Millar, HK Phil Principal Trumpet Nitiphum Bamrungbanthum, Principal Trombone Jarod Vermette, and a stellar cast of vocalists - will share the stage. Tickets are now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET.

Vasily Petrenko & Ning Feng (6 & 7 January)

Currently serving as Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko has received numerous awards including, among others, the Artist of the Year award at the prestigious annual Gramophone Awards, the Male Artist of the Year at the Classical BRIT Awards, Honorary Doctorates by both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University, and an Honorary Fellowship of the Liverpool John Moores University. He will mark his HK Phil debut with two programmes in two weeks.

In the first week of January 2023, Petrenko shines light on Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, in which the composer used a colossal orchestra to tell the story of an imaginary hero. The Maestro pairs it with Elgar's Cockaigne Overture and Sibelius' Violin Concerto, to be performed by Ning Feng, an "immaculate" (BBC Music) and "wonderful player with a creamy, easy tone and an emotional honesty" (The Washington Post).

"Vasily Petrenko & Ning Feng"will be held on 6 & 7 January 2023 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$680, $560, $420 and $300 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Swire Maestro Series: Vasily Petrenko & Boris Giltburg (13 & 14 January)

Vasily Petrenko is a conductor with a youthful spirit but a profound feeling for his native Russian tradition. Lauded across the globe as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling interpreter, pianist Boris Giltburg, meanwhile, aims "to delve deeper and deeper into the world behind the notes". They collaborate in Prokofiev's glittering Third Piano Concerto, followed by Rachmaninov's epic and passionate Second Symphony (13 & 14 January 2023).

"Swire Maestro Series: Vasily Petrenko & Boris Giltburg"will be held on 13 & 14 January 2023 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$680, $560, $420 and $300 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Jaap | Brahms Symphony Cycle I & II (20 & 27 January)

Johannes Brahms was a composer of contrasts: a deeply romantic genius, who believed in the importance of tradition, and a master-craftsman who burned with passionate and poetic emotion. His four symphonies are landmarks of 19th century music and over two remarkable concerts HK Phil Music Director Jaap van Zweden conducts them all. He begins with the songful and sunlit Second Symphony and the brooding, tragic Fourth on 20 January. Then, he turns to the sweeping, gloriously romantic Third Symphony and the work they called "Beethoven's Tenth" - the epic tragedy and blazing triumph of Brahms' gripping First Symphony on 27 January.

"Jaap | Brahms Symphony Cycle I & II" will be held on 20 & 27 January 2023 (Fri) at 8PM respectively in the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$680, $480 and $280 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Swire Community Concert (28 January)

The HK Phil and Jaap van Zweden have a gift to music lovers this Lunar New Year on everybody's birthday. This is a relaxed concert with all-time favourite classics that welcomes families and people with special needs to enjoy music in a friendly environment. Starring fabulous HK Phil Trumpet Nitiphum Bamrungbanthum and Principal Trombone Jarod Vermette as soloists with Phoebus Chan as presenter, it will be an adventure for the ears.

"Swire Community Concert"will be held on 28 January 2023 (Sat) at 3PM in the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Registration for the concert is free of charge. Details will be announced in early January 2023 on the HK Phil website. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Bach | St Matthew Passion (3 & 4 February)

Jaap van Zweden will also conduct Bach's St Matthew Passion, a universal work that people of all religions can enjoy. Besides the divisions across era, genre and style, it also transcends geography, culture, and even faith. Filled with emotions, a survivor of great and terrible events tells his tale; a great chorus becomes an angry crowd. The performances assemble world-class soloists: tenor Nicholas Phan, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, soprano Amanda Forsythe, mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, tenor Paul Appleby and bass-baritone Apollo Wong, together with State Choir Latvija, The Hong Kong Children's Choir and the HK Phil Chorus to perform this masterpiece.

"Bach | St Matthew Passion"will be held on 3 & 4 February 2023 (Fri & Sat) at 7:30PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$780, $620, $460 and $300 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Jaap | Turangalîla-Symphonie (10 & 11 February)

Turangalîla-Symphonie is one of the most original visions of the concept of symphony from the 20th century. Messiaen drew on impressively diverse sources for this piece: from the ancient sonorities of the Indonesian gamelan and the rhythmic structures of classical Hindustani music to the mesmerising complexity of bird. Jaap van Zweden leads a super-sized orchestra in this HK Phil debut, along with star pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Cynthia Millar on the ondes martenot - an electronic instrument controlled via a keyboard straight out of science fiction. The concert opens with the most famous portions from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

"Jaap | Turangalîla-Symphonie"will be held on 10 & 11 February 2023 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$580, $480, $380 and $280 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.