JAAP RETURNS! HK Phil Music Director Maestro Jaap van Zweden opens the 2021/22 Season with TWO WEEKS of stellar programmes
Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 7 (3 & 4 September)
JAAP | Dvořák 7 (10 & 11 September)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Meggy Cheng
Director of Marketing 
Tel: (852) 2721 9035
Email: meggy.cheng@hkphil.org 

Flora Fung
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[3 September 2021, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) opens its 2021/22 season with Music Director Jaap van Zwedenreturning to Hong Kong to conduct two stellar programmes in the first two weeks of September – Season Opening:JAAP | Beethoven 7 on 3 & 4 September 2021(Fri & Sat),and JAAP | Dvořák 7 on 10 & 11 September 2021(Fri & Sat),both in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.

Tickets to the first performance of Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 7 (3 September) have been SOLD OUT, and limited tickets to other performances conducted by Jaap. Do not miss the chance to harbour a love for music with Jaap and the HK Phil!

Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 7 (3 & 4 September)

In the Season Opening programme, Music Director Jaap van Zweden and the HK Phil pay tribute to Beethoven with the world premiere of Hong Kong-born composer Raymond Yiu’sOld Bei. The piece was commissioned by the HK Phil to mark Beethoven’s 250th anniversary.

HK Phil’s very own Concertmaster Jing Wang is ready to shine in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. This Concerto is full of deep and lyrical melodies and a full symphonic structure, giving the music a strong narrative feel.

Wrapping up the concert, Maestro Jaap van Zweden directs the orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7, which is full of life-affirming dance rhythms – Wagner once described it as the “apotheosis of the Dance” – and contrasts dark and complex sections with light and joyful ones. Many will be familiar with the second movement which has featured in many films, notably X-Men: Apocalypse and The King’s Speech.

Title Sponsor: United Overseas Bank

Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 7 will be presented on 3 & 4 September 2021 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets are HK$980, $780, $580 and $380 and are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

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JAAP | Dvořák 7 (10 & 11 September)

In the second week, Music Director Jaap van Zweden and the HK Phil present to you another magnificent Seventh Symphony.  Dvořák’s Symphony no. 7 is deemed the composer’s best symphony, and certainly one of the greatest 19th century symphonies after Beethoven. On a happier note, this symphony is one of Jaap’s favourites.

Jaap will open the concert with the Asian premiere of Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms which expresses the composer’s grief following the death of her mother, and ends with a sublimely beautiful sense of coming to terms with such loss. Virtuoso pianist Avan Yu will join the HK Phil in Rachmaninov’sRhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,a dramatic showpiece where one of the most spectacular composers for the piano takes a theme from one of the most spectacular composers for the violin, and spins it into gold. 

Foundation for Amazing Potentials proudly supports Maestro Jaap Amazing Young Artist Concert Series

JAAP | Dvořák 7 will be presented on 10 & 11 September 2021 (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets are HK$$780, $680, $580 and $380 and are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

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Artists (Season Opening: JAAP | Beethoven 7)

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 Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, he is also Music Director of the New York Philharmonic – a post he has held since the 2018/19 season. Guest engagements this season include the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. 

Jing Wang, violin [full description]

Critically acclaimed Canadian violinist Jing Wang is one of the most versatile and dynamic violinists of his generation. Since his solo recital debut in Marseilles, France at the age of six, Wang has garnered prizes in top international competitions, including the first prize at the 2007 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition. In 2003, Wang was awarded the "Young Soloist of the Year" by Les Radios Francophones Publiques, a broadcast network of four countries including France, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium. As a part of the award, Wang’s first CD album including works by Beethoven, Ravel and Gershwin was released in Europe.

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Artists (JAAP | Dvořák 7)

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 Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, he is also Music Director of the New York Philharmonic – a post he has held since the 2018/19 season. Guest engagements this season include the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. 

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 and 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. 

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SEASON OPENING: JAAP | BEETHOVEN 7

3 & 4 | 9 | 2021

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$980 $780 $580 $380

Tickets now available at URBTIX

For ages 6 and above

Title Sponsor: United Overseas Bank

Artists

Programme

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JAAP | DVOŘÁK 7

10 & 11 | 9 | 2021

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$ $780 $680 $580 $380

Tickets now available at URBTIX

For ages 6 and above

Foundation for Amazing Potentials proudly supports Maestro Jaap Amazing Young Artist Concert Series

Artists

Programme