HK Phil Presents a Series of Spectacular Concerts in May and June 
Zhang Haochen Plays Rachmaninov (26 & 27 May)
Anja Bihlmaier | German Hornsound (2 & 3 Jun)
Swire Maestro Series: Stéphane Denève Conducts the Organ Symphony (9 & 10 Jun)
Swire Classic Insights: Great Overtures (13 Jun)

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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[12 May 2023, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is thrilled to perform under the batons of four leading international conductors in a series of remarkable concerts held in May and June 2023. These concerts feature an exciting line-up of world-renowned soloists who will perform extraordinary programmes in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET.

Zhang Haochen Plays Rachmaninov (26 & 27 May)

Zhang Haochen, winner of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, takes on Rachmaninov's sweeping Third Concerto, known as the Everest of Romantic piano concertos. The concert also brings the powerful Symphonic Dances, sometimes described as Rachmaninov's greatest orchestral suite, to life. From the very beginning of the First Dance, Rachmaninov reveals his fascination with the different sounds created by the instruments of the orchestra. Led by the HK Phil Principal Guest Conductor Yu Long, this performance promises to deliver a unique energy and authority that the audience will not forget.

“Zhang Haochen Plays Rachmaninov”will be held on 26 & 27 May (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$480, $400, $320 and $240 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET.

Sponsor of 26 May Performance: CMB Wing Lung Bank

Anja Bihlmaier | German Hornsound (2 & 3 Jun)

The concert begins with the Overture from Wagner's popular opera, The Flying Dutchman. Next, the four brilliant players of German Hornsound weave that special magic in two extraordinary, rarely heard showpieces for four horns and orchestra composed by Schumann and Erkki-Sven Tüür respectively, along with HK Phil’s Principal Horn Lin Jiang and Co-Principal Horn Russell Bonifede. Schumann's Symphony no. 4 provides an exciting conclusion to the symphony concert. This masterpiece begins with a dramatic opening and ends with a triumphant finale. Anja Bihlmaier, Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest the Hague and Principal Guest Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, will make her HK Phil debut in this concert.

“Anja Bihlmaier | German Hornsound”will be held on 2 & 3 Jun (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$420, $320 and $220 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET.

Swire Maestro Series: Stéphane Denève Conducts the Organ Symphony (9 & 10 Jun)

Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony is one of the world’s best-loved classics, and the audience will experience its electrifying showcase for the Hong Kong Cultural Centre's grand 8,000-pipe organ in this concert. First, though, the great French organist Olivier Latry puts this colossal instrument through its paces in Poulenc’s rip-roaring concerto. Stéphane Denève, Music Director of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, takes the baton to kickstart the evening with a fiery modern French classic, Guillaume Connesson's Flammenschrift.

“Swire Maestro Series: Stéphane Denève Conducts the Organ Symphony”will be held on 9 & 10 Jun (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$480, $400, $320 and $240 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET.

Swire Classic Insights: Great Overtures (13 Jun)

Colombian Maestro Andrés Orozco-Estrada presents a special programme that explores some of the best-known overtures in classical music. From being an introduction to an opera, composers quickly recognised its dramatic potential to make these short orchestral works attractive trailer of all theatrical tension and memorable tunes. These overtures also get audience captivated by the sound of the orchestra. In Bruch’s elegiac Kol Nidrei, HK Phil Principal Cello Richard Bamping will showcase the beauty of the cello.

“Swire Classic Insights: Great Overtures”will be held on 13 June 2023 (Tue) at 7:30PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Admission is free; registration is required. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration period for the public begins on 16 May 2023 (Tue). For details, please visit HK Phil website.

For enquiries about the above concerts, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

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Artists

Zhang Haochen Plays Rachmaninov

Yu Long, conductor [full description]

Yu Long, distinguished Chinese conductor with an extensive international reputation, is Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the HK Phil. Maestro Yu is the Founder of the Beijing Music Festival and was its Artistic Director from 1998 to 2018. He is Co-Director of the MISA Summer Festival in Shanghai.

Zhang Haochen, piano [full description]

Since his gold medal win at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, Zhang Haochen has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination and spectacular virtuosity. In 2017, he received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, which recognises talented musicians with the potential for a major career in music. Zhang has already appeared with many of the world’s leading festivals and orchestras.

Anja Bihlmaier | German Hornsound

Anja Bihlmaier, conductor [full description]

Anja Bihlmaier’s strong musical instinct, abundant charisma and natural leadership have propelled her to the forefront of her generation of conductors both on the symphonic and operatic stages. She enters her second season as Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest the Hague, alongside her position as Principal Guest Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in Finland.

German Hornsound[full description]

Founded in 2010 by Christoph Ess, Andrés Eloy Aragon Ayala, Stephan Schottstädt and Timo Steininger, four graduates of the French horn class of Christian Lampert at the State University of Music and the Performing Arts Stuttgart, German Hornsound has earned a strong international reputation with their new concert formats and creative programme concepts. They have made debuts at nearly all music festivals in German-speaking Europe over the past years.

Lin Jiang, horn[full description]

Principal Horn of the HK Phil, Lin Jiang is considered an extraordinarily gifted horn player of his generation. Born in Shanghai in 1986, he moved with his family to Australia at the age of five and began playing the horn at the age of ten. He continued his studies at Scotch College Melbourne, the Victorian College of the Arts and the University of Melbourne, where he received a Bachelor of Music Degree with honours.

Russell Bonifede, horn[full description]

A native of Southern California, Russell Bonifede has held the position of Co-Principal Horn of the HK Phil since September 2010. Before moving to Hong Kong, he served as Co-Principal Horn of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Nishinomiya, Japan from 2009 to 2010. In 2002, Russell moved from Los Angeles to the east coast of the US, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He also holds a Master's Degree in music from Yale University where he studied under William Purvis of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Russell has attended numerous internationally acclaimed summer music festivals.

Swire Maestro Series: Stéphane Denève Conducts the Organ Symphony

Stéphane Denève, conductor[full description]

Stéphane Denève, currently Music Director of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, will start serving as Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra from the 2023/24 Season. He recently concluded terms as Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director of the Brussels Philharmonic. He previously served as Chief Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Olivier Latry, organ[full description]

Established as the leading worldwide ambassador for his instrument, French organist Olivier Latry has performed with leading orchestras and renowned conductors in the world’s most prestigious venues. He has recorded for major labels and premiered an impressive number of works. Named titular organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris at the age of 23, and Organist Emeritus at the Orchestre National de Montréal since 2012, Latry is first and foremost an accomplished, thoughtful and adventurous musician, exploring all aspects of the organ music, with an exceptional talent as an improviser.

Swire Classic Insights: Great Overtures

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor [full description]

Andrés Orozco-Estrada was Principal Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2021. He led the Houston Symphony Orchestra as Music Director from 2014 to 2022, and was also Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2022. In October 2022, Orozco-Estrada took up his professorship in orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He regularly conducts Europe's leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Orchestre National de France, as well as major US orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

Richard Bamping, cello[full description]

Richard Bamping has been Principal Cello of the HK Phil since 1993. He has performed with many of the finest musicians of recent history – Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Leonidas Kavakos, Mstislav Rostropovich, Carlo Maria Guilini, Valery Gergiev, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Sir Colin Davis and Claudio Abbado, to name but a few. Richard has performed many of the staples of the solo cello repertoire with orchestras from Europe to the Far East. He has a great passion for playing chamber music with friends and colleagues whenever he gets the chance.

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ZHANG HAOCHEN PLAYS RACHMANINOV

26 & 27 | 5 | 2023

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$480 $400 $320 $240

Tickets now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme

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ANJA BIHLMAIER | GERMAN HORNSOUND

2 & 3 | 6 | 2023

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$420 $320 $220

Tickets now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme

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SWIRE MAESTRO SERIES: STÉPHANE DENÈVE CONDUCTS THE ORGAN SYMPHONY

9 & 10 | 6 | 2023

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$480 $400 $320 $240

Tickets now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme

Cultural Partner: French May

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SWIRE CLASSIC INSIGHTS: GREAT OVERTURES

13 | 6 | 2023

TUE 7:30PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

Free registration from 16 May 2023

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme