Jaap van Zweden News

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil)'s Music Director Jaap van Zweden will be conducting the HK Phil for a series of stunning programmes over three weeks in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Featuring world-renowned violinist James Ehnes and organist Leo van Doeselaar, the first programme on 8 & 9 June will take the audience from America to France through music by American composers Charles Ives and Leonard Bernstein, and the beautiful Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saens.

Decca Gold is proud to announce the forthcoming release of Sing Happy, the live performance of the New York Philharmonic's 2018 Spring Gala starring Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald. Recorded live on May 1 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, the recording represents McDonald's first collaboration with Decca Gold - as well as her first solo recording with full orchestra.

Composers Stacy Garrop, Robin Holcomb, and Andrea Reinkemeyer will each receive orchestral commissions of $15,000 as part of the League of American Orchestras' 2017 Women Composers Readings and Commissions program, which is administered by American Composers Orchestra (ACO) and supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Dutch violinist Tosca Opdam will make her debut in Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall presented by EBF Classics on June 4, 2018 at 8pm with a program exploring the theme of “home.” The centerpiece of the evening is the world premiere of Robin de Raaff's North Atlantic Light, commissioned by and dedicated to Opdam and inspired by Willem de Kooning's 1977 painting of the same name. Accompanied by pianist Victor Stanislavsky, she will also perform J.S. Bach's Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in E major, BWV 1016; selections from Korngold's Much Ado About Nothing Suite; Debussy's Violin Sonata; and Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 94bis. Opdam plays a Matteo Goffriller violin from 1700, which is generously on loan to her by a private collector.

The Handel and Haydn Society will honor Deborah Borda, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, for her extraordinary contributions to the field of classical music at the 2018 Society Ball, “A Celebration of Heroes and Heroines.”

Concertmaster Frank Huang will lead the New York Philharmonic from his chair as Concertmaster in a program spotlighting the Orchestra's string section. The concerts will feature Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3, with Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples as soloist; Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik; and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, and take place on Thursday, May 31, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 1 at 11:00 a.m.; Saturday, June 2 at 8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Guest conductor Karina Canellakis, winner of the 2016 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, makes her second Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra appearance to lead the US premiere of Dai Fujikura's Secret Forest, Beethoven's energetic and uplifting Symphony No. 2 in D Major and Mozart's dramatic Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, performed by David Fray, a "gifted pianist" (Chicago Tribune), on Saturday, April 21, 8 pm, Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, April 22, 2018, 7 pm, Royce Hall.  Fujikura's work has been described as "a riot of imaginative bird and insect noise - well worth exploring" (The Guardian).

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Society Limited today announces that Michael MacLeod, since April 2011, will retire at the end of March 2019 after eight years in the position.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's "Composers Workshop - Beyond the Ring" Public Working Session and Showcase was held on 13 March 2018 at the Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong. In our commitment to nurturing composing talents in Hong Kong, the HK Phil has organised a series of workshops and a public showcase for six young local composers - Chan Chi-long, Kwok Man-ho, Meilina Tsui Mei-ling, Wong Ching-yin, So Ho-chi, and Wong Chun-wai. Their new works were premiered by the HK Phil under the baton of conductor Sebastian Per?owski, with the honoured attendance of officiating guest Mrs. Angelina Cheung, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs.

The New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will hold its annual Spring Gala at New York's Metropolitan Club (1 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) on Thursday evening, April 5, 2018, starting at 6:00 pm. The organization will honor renowned opera singer and recitalist Stephanie Blythe with the NYCHORAL Music Excellence Award for her contributions to the musical profession, as well as Sylvia R. Hoisington who is celebrating her 50th season with the chorus. Produced in partnership with the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, the evening's showcase performance will feature soprano Amanda Majeski and tenor Ben Bliss, both of whom will be participating in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Cosi fan tutte from March 15 to April 9, 2018. Members of the NYCHORAL Chamber Ensemble will also perform. The evening will feature a silent auction of unique items and experiences. The program is as follows:

The New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will hold its annual Spring Gala at New York's Metropolitan Club (1 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) on Thursday evening, April 5, 2018, starting at 6:00 pm.

On 13 & 14 April in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), conductor Zhang Guoyong and violinist Baiba Skride will perform a programme of music composed at critical times in the lives of two Russian composers.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), together with renowned violinist Ning Feng under the baton of Principal Guest Conductor Yu Long, will bring a taste of Scotland to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. They will tantalise the audience with the sights and sounds of Scotland as revealed by three composers - Mendelssohn, Bruch and Maxwell Davies on 6 & 7 April.

On Sunday, 8 April in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is delighted to present an afternoon concert for all the family featuring great music associated with Great Britain. HK Phil's Principal Guest Conductor Yu Long, the orchestra and violinist Ning Feng will introduce music from British composers Alun Hoddinott, Edward Elgar and Peter Maxwell Davies, as well as British-themed music from non-British composers including Percy Grainger and Max Bruch.

Wagner aplenty, Wagner galore. After starting the week off with the Met's PARSIFAL under the exciting Nezet-Seguin, I ended it with another Wagner, DIE WALKURE, in a sweeping account of Act I from the New York Philharmonic under its music director designate, Jaap van Zweden.

Music Director Designate Jaap van Zweden will lead the New York Philharmonic on the ASIA 2018 tour, March 8–18, 2018. The ten-day tour — Jaap van Zweden's first international tour with the Orchestra — will feature eight concerts in five cities. The Orchestra will perform in Beijing, Kyoto, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Taipei. The soloists on the tour are Beijing-born pianist Yuja Wang and Japanese-American violinist Ryu Goto.

Jaap van Zweden begins his tenure as the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in the 2018–19 season. In introducing Jaap, the Philharmonic also welcomes an expanded connection to New York City: embracing our position as New York's Orchestra; weaving our tradition of innovation throughout the season's programs; celebrating seminal works of the repertoire; exploring ways in which music impacts and responds to social issues; and telling the stories of our home city through music. The Philharmonic emphasizes its commitment to today's composers and expanding audience experiences through two new series at The Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. With a legacy of firsts, the New York Philharmonic will pave the way for its future while building on its storied past under the leadership of its new Maestro.

Juilliard today announced conductor David Robertson as director of conducting studies, distinguished visiting faculty at Juilliard. As part of his new role, Mr. Robertson will be the principal teacher for all conducting degree students at the school. He will work with three or four students per academic year and will personally audition prospective students.

2018 is the centenary of the end of World War One and also the 70th birthday of Polish Animation. In the upcoming Swire Classic Insights, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) will present fabulous music, on-stage commentary, and live animation in three concerts to be held on 2 March (Fri), 3 March (Sat) and 16 March (Fri) at 8pm in the Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong. Registration is required. Ticket registration begins on 13 February 2018.

The New York Philharmonic will return to Bravo! Vail in Colorado for the Orchestra's 16th annual summer residency there, performing six orchestral concerts July 20-27, 2018.