Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Europe Tour: Pre-tour Concert

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[5 Februrary 2015, Hong Kong]

The forthcoming European tour of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) begins in London on 24 February and continues to Vienna, Zurich, Eindhoven, Birmingham and Berlin. To share the joy of returning to Europe after 12 years with the Hong Kong audience, HK Phil will hold a pre-tour concert on 17 February 2015 (Tuesday) at 8 pm at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. The concert is supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Free Admission by registration at http://bit.ly/16ETuqs.

The conductor for this concert will be Peter Biloen, the Anton Kersjes Foundation’s National Dutch Conducting Prize-Winner, and the first Dutch conductor to reach the finals of London’s International Donatella Flick Conducting Competition. He will direct the HK Phil in Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony and Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 “From the New World”, which will be performed by the Orchestra in different cities respectively during their European tour.

The triumphant Fifth Symphony by Prokofiev was intended to inspire the Soviet people as the Second World War drew to its close. The Symphony’s first performance began as victory cannons were fired in Moscow, and Prokofiev declared that in the Symphony he was attempting to “sing the praises of the free and happy man – his strength, his generosity and the purity of his soul”. Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, From the New World, is one of the most popular ever written with its nostalgic longing for his Bohemian homeland and his impressions of the USA.

HK Phil Europe Tour Pre-tour Concertwill be held on 17February 2015 (Tue), 8PM, in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.Free Admission by registration, seats are limited, first come first served.http://bit.ly/16ETuqs

Artists
Peter Biloen, conductor [full biography]
Peter Biloen was the first Dutch conductor to reach the finals of London’s International Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, directing the London Symphony Orchestra in concert. He was awarded the Anton Kersjes Foundation’s National Dutch Conducting Prize and the prestigious Academy Conductor Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. An expert interpreter of both classic and modern repertoire, Biloen has been hailed by the press for his adventurous and groundbreaking programming.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Europe Tour Pre-Tour Concert
17 | 2 | 2015
TUE 8PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Free Admission by Registration, First Come First Served (http://bit.ly/16ETuqs)
For ages 6 or above

 

Click the thumbnail to download photos
Peter Biloen Photo Credit: Pepijn Zoon	The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Philip Chau

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is regarded as one of the leading orchestras in Asia. With a history stretching back to 1895, when it was formed as the Sino-British Orchestra, the HK Phil was re-named in 1957 and became fully professional in 1974. In February 2015, it embarks on a major tour to Europe, with concerts in London, Vienna (Musikverein), Zurich, Eindhoven, Birmingham, Berlin and Amsterdam.

Thanks to significant subsidy from the Hong Kong Government and long-term funding from Principal Patron Swire, The Hong Kong Jockey Club and other supporters, the HK Phil now boasts a full-time annual schedule of classical music concerts, pops concerts, an extensive education programme, and collaborations for staged opera with Opera Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ning Feng, Matthias Goerne, Lang Lang, Yu Long, Yundi Li, the late Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yuja Wang and Edo de Waart, the HK Phil’s previous Music Director.

The HK Phil promotes the work of Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions, on the Naxos label. Its acclaimed community engagement programme brings music to ten of thousands of children annually. A recording will soon be issued free to schoolchildren throughout Hong Kong of Britten’s A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony.

In 2013/14 season, the orchestra made critically-acclaimed tour performances in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Taipei. Future plans include tours to the USA, Japan and Korea.

The Swire Group has been the Principal Patron of the HK Phil since 2006. Through this sponsorship, which is the largest in the orchestra’s history, Swire also endeavours to promote artistic excellence, foster access to classical music and stimulate cultural participation in Hong Kong, and to enhance Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the great cities of the world.

This season is Jaap van Zweden’s third as Music Director of the HK Phil. With him, the orchestra is undertaking major expansion and new projects, including the first-ever performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung. The four operas are being performed, one a year, in concert and recorded live for the Naxos label.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
SWIRE is the Principal Patron of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is a Venue Partner of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre

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