Record-Breaking Advance Subscription Results to Welcome the HKPO’s New Music Director Jaap van Zweden
The Van Zweden Era Begins with
“Welcome, Jaap! A National Day Celebration” featuring Violinist Ning Feng in Butterfly Lovers (28 & 29 September)
Opening Performance Sponsored by Sunwah Group
29 September Performance Sponsored by Wing Lung Bank

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[1 August 2012 – Hong Kong]Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO) today announces extraordinary and record-breaking results from its advance subscription campaign for the 2012/13 Season, the first under its new Music Director Jaap van Zweden . The Orchestra’s advance subscription campaign, which ended on 1 July, has yielded outstanding results; the sales turnover per concert and the number of tickets sold per concert have exceeded the previous record set for the 2011/12 Season. The number of tickets sold per concert has increased 22% over the 2011/12 Season, and has broken all previous records.
 

"We are very pleased with the double digit results of our subscription campaign for the new season, which is a strong early indicator of the public's reaction to the exciting and innovative programmes devised by our new Music Director, Jaap van Zweden” said Michael MacLeod, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. "I also believe our unwavering commitment to the pursuit of excellence and the sheer hard work of everyone involved both on stage and behind the scenes, have contributed to this remarkable achievement."
 

Amsterdam-born Jaap van Zweden is one of today’s most sought-after conductors. Named Musical America’s Conductor of the Year for 2012, he is currently Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Jaap van Zweden’s recent performances in the U.S including his début at Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, concerts with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra have won tremendous acclaims from critics.
 

Appointed at age nineteen as the youngest ever Concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, he began his conducting career in 1995, successively holding the positions of Chief Conductor at the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (1996-2000), Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague (2000-2005) and Chief Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra (2008-2011).
 

The inaugural concerts of Jaap van Zweden as the Orchestra’s eighth Music Director reflect his high artistic vision. On 28 & 29 September (Fri & Sat), Jaap will be joined by two dynamic musicians – violinist Ning Feng , who will be playing the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, a household classic for Chinese as the celebration of the 63rd Anniversary of the Establishment of PRC, and young composer and pianistConrad Tao, who has been commissioned by the Orchestra to compose a new work, Pangu, to mark Jaap’s inauguration. “Welcome, Jaap! National Day Celebration” will be held at 8pm in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. The opening concert is sponsored by Sunwah Group and the 29 September concert is sponsored by Wing Lung Bank.
 

Tickets, priced at $480 $320 $220 $160 will be available at URBTIX from today.Free pre-concert talks will be given both nights at 7:15pm, also at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. For enquiries, please contact 2721 2030 or visit www.hkpo.com
 

The new 2012/13 Season – JAAP! is a milestone for the HKPO. Throughout the season Maestro Jaap van Zweden will be joined by 50 superb soloists, guest conductors and groups. The season will open with great fanfare on 7 & 8 September (Fri & Sat), “Bank of Communications brings to you: 12/13 Season Opening Concerts – Yundi’s Tchaikovsky. The roll-call of stellar artists continues with international superstars pianist Lang Lang, violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter and Nicola Benedetti, cellists Steven Isserlis and Jian Wang and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, as well as collaborations with Chinese composers Chen Qigang and Conrad Tao.
 

Ning Feng, violin [full biography]
Born in Chengdu, China, Ning Feng studied at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, London. Winner of the first prize in the 2006 International Violin Competition “Premio Paganini”, he has also won prizes at the Hannover International Violin Competition, the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, and also first prize at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
 

Having performed regularly in China at the highest level, Ning Feng is now developing a reputation internationally as an artist of great lyricism and emotional transparency, displaying tremendous bravura and awe-inspiring technical accomplishment. Looking ahead to future seasons, Ning Feng is welcomed back by the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Auckland Philharmonia orchestras, makes his début with orchestras in Bilbao, Strasbourg, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Ljubljana and Moscow, and at the Prague Spring festival. He has been paired with conductors of great esteem such as Vladimir Jurowski, Jaap van Zweden, Sir Mark Elder and, most notably, toured China in 2010 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the baton of Iván Fischer.
 

Conrad Tao, composer [full biography]
Hailed by a Musical America critic as “the most exciting prodigy to ever come my way”, 17-year-old Chinese-American pianist Conrad Tao gave his first piano recital at age 4, and at age 8 made his concerto début. In 2011, the Gilmore Young Artist award winner was the only classical musician to make Forbes’ “30 Under 30″ list. His first album for EMI, which includes three of his own compositions, was released in 2012.

As an accomplished composer, Conrad is an eight-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer award. Conrad was composer-in-residence with Chicago’s Music in the Loft concert series. His String Quartet No.2 was commissioned by the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music.
He was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2011, and the “YoungArts” program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts awarded him a gold medal in music. Conrad currently attends the Columbia University-Juilliard School and studies piano at The Juilliard, composition at Yale University and studied violin at The Juilliard.

Jaap Essentials: Welcome, Jaap! A National Day Celebration
28&29 | 9 | 2012
FRI & SAT 8PM
HK Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$480 $320 $220 $160
Available at URBTIX from now

Opening Performance is sponsored by Sunwah Group
29 September Performance is sponsored by Wing Lung Bank
 

Click the thumbnail to download photos

Ticketing Information
Credit Card Booking
(852) 2111 5999
Online Booking
www.urbtix.hk

For programme enquiry, please call HKPO at
(852) 2721 2030

HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden

The Hong Kong Philharmonic is a vital part of Hong Kong’s cultural life, as the city’s largest and busiest musical organisation. In 2013/14 the HK Phil will celebrate its 40th professional season, but its roots are well over a century old. The HK Phil has now evolved to become an orchestral powerhouse in the region, and an acclaimed cultural centrepiece of Asia’s World City.

The HK Phil is formed on the belief that a great city deserves a great orchestra. Annually it presents over 150 concerts for 200,000 music lovers. Featuring an enviable roster of international and local artists, with many concerts presented free, among them the annual Swire Symphony Under The Stars. Through its acclaimed education programme, over 40,000 young people learned about orchestral music last year.

The HK Phil’s members come from every corner of the globe, joining its strong core of Hong Kong musicians. In September 2012, Jaap van Zweden became the orchestra’s Music Director. Future years will see an ambitious series of new projects, with major international tours, renewed local partnerships, and large-scale concert events. The HK Phil has recently commenced a multi-CD recording project for Naxos, featuring works by Chinese composers.

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

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