Jaap van Zweden, Lio Kuokman and the HK Phil 
Return to the Greater Bay Area in November 2023

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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[13 October 2023, Hong Kong] As a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is committed to participating in cultural exchange, showcasing the artistic excellence of Hong Kong locally, nationally, and internationally. After a gap of almost four years since its last tour to the Greater Bay Area due to the pandemic, the HK Phil is thrilled to return for its 50th anniversary. Under the batons of Music Director Jaap van Zweden and Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman, a total of three concerts will be staged at the Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou on 10 and 24 November 2023 and at the Shenzhen Concert Hall on 25 November 2023 respectively.

Xinghai Concert Hall 25th Anniversary Season

Jaap van Zweden & HK Phil: Mahler Symphony No. 1 (10 November)

Marking the golden jubilee of the HK Phil and the 25th anniversary season of Xinghai Concert Hall, Jaap van Zweden will bring the Guangzhou audience a symphonic feast. Beethoven’s Leonore Overture no. 3 distils Fidelio opera into a 15-minute orchestral adventure, while Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien captures the carnival atmosphere on the streets of Italy. Mahler embraces everything in his symphonies – the inspirations for the First Symphony include the soundscape of his childhood, the rustic Ländler, a nursery rhyme and a melody he heard at a dinner party.

“Xinghai Concert Hall 25th Anniversary Season – Jaap van Zweden & HK Phil: Mahler Symphony No. 1” will be held on 10 November 2023 (Fri) at 8PM at the Xinghai Concert Hall Symphony Hall in Guangzhou. Tickets are priced at RMB ¥880, ¥680, ¥480, ¥280, and ¥180. For ticketing information, please visit wap.concerthall.com.cn.

Xinghai Concert Hall 25th Anniversary Season

Lio Kuokman & HK Phil: From Gershwin to Williams (24 November)

Led by Lio Kuokman, the HK Phil will present a night of all-time greatest hits from blockbuster movies by John Williams, Broadway musicals by Bernstein, and Gershwin's iconic concerto of the Jazz Age New York, together with HK Phil Principal Cello Richard Bamping, as well as sopranos Louise Kwong and Vivian Yau. Lio Kuokman will play the piano part of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

“Xinghai Concert Hall 25th Anniversary Season – Lio Kuokman & HK Phil: From Gershwin to Williams” will be held on 24 November 2023 (Fri) at 8PM at the Xinghai Concert Hall Symphony Hall in Guangzhou. Tickets are priced at RMB ¥480, ¥380, ¥280 and ¥180. For ticketing information, please visit wap.concerthall.com.cn.

Shenzhen Concert Hall

Lio Kuokman and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Concert (25 November)

The HK Phil celebrates its 50th anniversary with Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, From the New World. Lio Kuokman plays the piano solo and leads the orchestra in Gershwin’s iconic concerto Rhapsody in Blue, bringing to life the glamourous Jazz Age New York of the roaring twenties. Opening the concert is Bernstein’s popular Broadway classic Candide Overture and Three Dance Episodes from On the Town.

“Shenzhen Concert Hall – Lio Kuokman and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Concert” will be held on 25 November 2023 (Sat) at 8PM at the Shenzhen Concert Hall Symphony Hall. Tickets are priced at RMB ¥480, ¥380, ¥280, ¥180 and ¥80. For ticketing information, please visit www.szyyt.com.

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XINGHAI CONCERT HALL 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN & HK PHIL: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 1

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. He has appeared as guest conductor with leading orchestras such as, in Europe, the Orchestra 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.

XINGHAI CONCERT HALL 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN & HK PHIL: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 1

10 | 11 | 2023

FRI 8PM

Xinghai Concert Hall Symphony Hall

RMB ¥880 ¥680 ¥480 ¥280 ¥180

Artists

Programme

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XINGHAI CONCERT HALL 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

LIO KUOKMAN & HK PHIL: FROM GERSHWIN TO WILLIAMS

Artists

Lio Kuokman, conductor/piano [full description]

Currently Resident Conductor of the HK Phil, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra, and Programme Director of the Macao International Music Festival, Lio Kuokman was praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a startling conducting talent”. He won the second prize, Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize at the third Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris, and served as the first Chinese Assistant Conductor at the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has successfully collaborated with many leading orchestras across the globe.

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. Bamping 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.

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 in Austria.

Vivian Yau, soprano [full description]

Hailed as “a light, silvery, bright soprano with impressive coloratura” (The Aspen Times), Hong Kong soprano Vivian Yau has collaborated with renowned orchestras and opera companies such as the HK Phil, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Macao Orchestra, and West Edge Opera. Recent highlights include performing the role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville with both Aspen Opera Center and the Mediterranean Opera Festival, the title role of Silent Opera UK’s immersive production Vixen at the 2023 Hong Kong Arts Festival, title role in the world premiere of Pierangelo Valtinoni’s Alice in Wonderland at the 2021 Hong Kong Arts Festival, and her Carnegie Hall debut in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio alongside The Cecilia Chorus of New York.

XINGHAI CONCERT HALL 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

LIO KUOKMAN & HK PHIL: FROM GERSHWIN TO WILLIAMS

24 | 11 | 2023

FRI 8PM

Xinghai Concert Hall Symphony Hall

RMB ¥480 ¥380 ¥280 ¥180

Artists

Programme

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SHENZHEN CONCERT HALL

LIO KUOKMAN AND HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA CONCERT

Artists

Lio Kuokman, conductor/piano [full description]

Currently Resident Conductor of the HK Phil, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra, and Programme Director of the Macao International Music Festival, Lio Kuokman was praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a startling conducting talent”. He won the second prize, Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize at the third Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris, and served as the first Chinese Assistant Conductor at the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has successfully collaborated with many leading orchestras across the globe.

SHENZHEN CONCERT HALL

LIO KUOKMAN AND HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA CONCERT

25 | 11 | 2023

SAT 8PM

Shenzhen Concert Hall Symphony Hall

RMB ¥480 ¥380 ¥280 ¥180 ¥80

Artists

Programme