HK Phil Music Director Maestro Jaap Van Zweden 
Returns to Open the 2022/23 Season 
Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 9 (9 & 10 September)
National Day Concert: Tan Dun & Bruckner (16 & 17 September)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: 
Dennis Wu
Director of Marketing 
Tel: (852) 2721 9035
Email: dennis.wu@hkphil.org 

Emily Hui
Media Relations and Communications Manager
Tel: (852) 2721 1585
Email: emily.hui@hkphil.org

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[25 August 2022, Hong Kong]The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) opens its 2022/23 Season with Music Director Jaap van Zweden returning to Hong Kong to conduct two splendid programmes in two consecutive weeks of September – Season Opening:JAAP | Beethoven 9 on 9 & 10 September 2022(Fri & Sat),and National Day Concert: Tan Dun & Bruckner on 16 & 17 September 2022(Fri & Sat),both in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.

The tickets for the Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 9 (9 & 10 September) have been sold out,and the tickets for National Day Concert: Tan Dun & Bruckner (16 & 17 September) are selling fast. Join us this season to celebrate classical music that is timeless and transcendent together!

Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 9 (9 & 10 September)

In the Season Opening programme, Music DirectorJaap van Zweden, the HK Phil and a combined chorus of over 100 voices will present Beethoven’s epic Ninth Symphony. From its tragic opening to its jubilant “Ode to Joy” finale, this symphony is one of the greatest emotional journeys in all music. Under the baton of van Zweden, the triumphant culmination of Beethoven’s symphonic work comes to life in its full glory. Joining this extravaganza are soprano Louise Kwong, mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup, tenor Barry Banks, bass-baritone Shenyang, Die Konzertisten and the HK Phil Chorus. The concert will open with Mozart’s elegant, playful Piano Concerto no. 22, played by virtuoso pianist Avan Yu.

Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 9 will be held on 9 & 10 September 2022 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$1,080, $800, $520 and $380 have been sold out. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Title Sponsor of Opening Night Concert: UOB

National Day Concert: Tan Dun & Bruckner (16 & 17 September)

Described as “the leading interpreter of Bruckner’s symphonies” by BBC Music Magazine, van Zweden will conduct Bruckner’s monumental Symphony no. 7 at the National Day Concert. Widely regarded as one of Bruckner’s greatest successes, the Symphony no. 7 was composed in the times of upheaval, and it articulates the composer’s inner strength. The Asian Premiere of Tan Dun’s Trombone Concerto Three Muses in Video Game will serve as the concert opener, featuring the original dedicatee Jörgen van Rijen as soloist. As a contemporary homage to video games, this Trombone Concerto is very different from Bruckner’s work but equally amazing in its own right.

National Day Concert: Tan Dun & Bruckner will be held on 16 & 17 September 2022 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Limited 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.

Co-sponsors of 16 September Performance:

The Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association and China Minsheng Bank Corp., LTD. Hong Kong Branch

Sponsor of 17 September Performance: CMB Wing Lung Bank

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SEASON OPENING: JAAP | BEETHOVEN 9

Artists

Jaap van Zweden, conductor [full description]

Over the past decade, conductor Jaap van Zweden has become an international presence on three continents. Currently Music Director of the HK Phil, he is also Music Director of the New York Philharmonic and Conductor Laureate of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as guest conductor with leading orchestras such as, in Europe, the Orchestre de Paris, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, and, in the US, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Avan Yu, piano [full description]

One of Canada’s most exciting young pianists, Avan Yu achieved international recognition when he triumphed at the Sydney International Piano Competition in 2012, winning First Prize along with nine special awards. He has performed extensively throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, at venues such as the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Koerner Hall in Toronto, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Salle Cortot in Paris and the Sydney Opera House.

Louise Kwong, soprano [full description]

Louise Kwong’s musical achievements are recognised by being awarded one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Awards in 2019, and the Young Artist Award by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2014. Internationally, she made debuts at the Rome Opera House as Mimì in La Bohème, and as Micaëla in Carmen at Caracalla Rome. She has performed in different opera houses such as the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam and the Graz Opera House of Austria.

Caitlin Hulcup, mezzo-soprano [full description]

Caitlin Hulcup has appeared at leading opera houses internationally, including the Wiener Staatsoper, the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and the Royal Opera House London. She made her debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2004 as Enriquetta (I Puritani). Since then roles have included Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) for Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with Zubin Mehta in a new production by Lorenzo Mariani, and for the Bolshoi Theatre with Vassily Sinaisky, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) for the Palau de les Arts Valencia with Mehta, etc.

Barry Banks, tenor [full description]

Barry Banks’s performances of the leading bel canto roles by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti have taken him to the world’s leading opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Covent Garden, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Salzburg Festival and the Wiener Staatsoper. This 2022/23 Season, Banks makes his role debut as Mime (Das Rheingold) at the Dallas Opera conducted by Emmanuel Villaume, and he returns to Los Angeles Opera in the West Coast premiere of Michael Abel’s Omar.

Shenyang, bass-baritone [full description]

Winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007, Shenyang was immediately propelled into the spotlight with an array of international engagements including debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Opernhaus Zürich and the Washington National Opera. A decade on, he has established himself as one of the finest voices of his generation, and amassed an expansive repertoire for both the opera and concert stages.

Die Konzertisten, chorus [full description]

Established in 2008, Die Konzertisten (DK) is recognised as one of Hong Kong’s foremost chamber choirs. DK performs repertoire ranging from Renaissance polyphony and Baroque masterpieces to Romantic delicacies and newly commissioned works. DK regularly collaborates with internationally distinguished artists and has appeared in many of Hong Kong Arts Festival’s programmes. A keen advocate of Baroque music, DK ardently promotes the historically informed performance of early music to the local audience.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus, chorus [full description]

Established in 1980, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus collaborates with the HK Phil to perform a range of different works. In 2013, the Chorus undertook a new recruitment drive, and over 450 singers were attracted to attend the auditions. The first performance by the reformed Chorus was Handel’s Messiah. Since then, the Chorus has performed with the HK Phil in major works by composers including Britten, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Haydn and Mahler under renowned conductors Lorin Maazel, Nicholas McGegan and Jaap van Zweden. The Fellows programme was launched in the 2020/21 Season.

SEASON OPENING: JAAP | BEETHOVEN 9

9 & 10 | 9 | 2022

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme

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NATIONAL DAY CONCERT: TAN DUN & BRUCKNER

Artists

Jaap van Zweden, conductor [full description]

Over the past decade, conductor Jaap van Zweden has become an international presence on three continents. Currently Music Director of the HK Phil, he is also Music Director of the New York Philharmonic and Conductor Laureate of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as guest conductor with leading orchestras such as, in Europe, the Orchestre de Paris, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, and, in the US, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Jörgen van Rijen, trombone [full description]

Principal trombonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jörgen van Rijen is in demand as a soloist with a commitment to promoting his instrument, developing new repertoire for the trombone and bringing the existing repertoire to a broader audience. A specialist on both the modern and baroque trombone, he has performed as a soloist all over the globe as well as performed concertos with orchestras including the Czech Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He was awarded the Netherlands Music Prize in 2004 and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2006.

NATIONAL DAY CONCERT: TAN DUN & BRUCKNER

16 & 17 | 9 | 2022

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$680 $560 $420 $300

Tickets now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme