Shining the spotlight on five HK Phil principals (2 & 3 December)

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[7 November 2016, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is showcasing the great talents within its own ranks, in two concerts, December 2 & 3. Music Director Jaap van Zweden will be leading four principal players in Haydn’s beautiful and charming Sinfonia concertante. The programme also includes the world premiere of a work composed by HK Phil’s principal timpanist James Boznos who writes under the name OZNO. And finally, the whole orchestra will demonstrate its virtuosity in Dvořák’s beloved Symphony no. 7.

OZNO’s Oikogeneia takes its name from the Greek words Oiko (“house”) and geneia (“child of”) is a collection of 21 fantasies originally written as Christmas presents for his family members. The work is dedicated to Jaap van Zweden.

Haydn’s enchanting Sinfonia concertante features a quartet of principal players in a witty musical interplay between winds and strings. All four solo roles are filled with challenging virtuoso music, but the music is full of charm, good humour, and typically Classical elegance. HK Phil’s principals, Michael Wilson (oboe), Benjamin Moermond (bassoon), Jing Wang (violin) and Richard Bamping (cello), are sure to put their virtuosity on full display.

Ending the concert is Dvořák’s 7th symphony, which is one of the Romantic Czech composer’s most popular works and, many would say, his finest symphony. At times serious, almost tragic, but filled with the characteristic dances of the composer’s homeland, the symphony offers the perfect opportunity for the entire HK Phil to showcase its collective virtuosity.  A concert of matchless musical mastery!

Classics: Starring Principals of Your HK Philwill be held on 2 & 3December (Fri & Sat), 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Ticket prices: HK$680, $480, $380, $280. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit www.hkphil.org.

Free Pre-concert talks are available before both concerts, stay-tuned for more details at www.hkphil.org

Artists
Jaap van Zweden, conductor [full biography]
Jaap van Zweden has risen rapidly in the past decade to become one of today’s most distinguished conductors.  Starting with the 2018-19 season, he will be the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.  Currently, he is Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and has been Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012. Van Zweden was named Musical America's 2012 Conductor of the Year. Born in Amsterdam, Jaap van Zweden was the youngest ever concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He began his conducting career in 1995. 

Michael Wilson, oboe [full biography]
A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music in London, Michael Wilson has worked regularly with London orchestras including the London Philharmonic, with whom he toured extensively under the direction of Kurt Masur.  Michael was appointed Principal Oboe of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2009 having been Co-Principal Oboe since 2005.

Benjamin Moermond, bassoon[full biography]
Benjamin Moermond has been principal bassoonist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2010 and is an active teacher and performer in Hong Kong and throughout the region. Solo engagements include the Haydn Sinfonia Concertante, Mozart Bassoon Concerto and, in 2016/17, Telemann's double concerto for Bassoon and Recorder in F major. Prior to joining the HK Phil, Benjamin studied at The Juilliard School under Judith LeClair.

Jing Wang, violin [full biography]
Jing Wang studied at The Juilliard School and completed post-graduate studies at the Shepherd School of Music (Rice University). He was Concertmaster for the Dallas Opera for three years before taking up his appointment as Concertmaster with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2013. He plays a 1700 violin by Giovanni Tononi on loan from the Canada Council of Arts Rare Strings International Collection.

Richard Bamping, cello [full biography]
Richard Bamping has been the Principal Cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra 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. 

James Boznos, composer [full biography]
A performer, composer and conductor, James Boznos performs throughout Asia, North America and Europe. The Berlin Morgenpost has called him "a dream virtuoso." Prior to his appointment as Principal Timpanist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in June 2000, Boznos worked with several orchestras in Chicago. Specialising in 20th century music, Boznos has premiered works by John Adams, Pierre Boulez and more.

CLASSICS:STARRING PRINCIPALS OF YOUR HK PHIL
2 & 3 | 12 | 2016
FRI & SAT 8PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$680 $480 $380 $280
Tickets are available now at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above

Artists

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Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo: Keith Hiro/HK Phil
Michael Wilson	Benjamin Moermond	Jing Wang	Richard Bamping	James Boznos

Programme

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden
Principal Guest Conductor: Yu Long

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is recognised as Asia’s foremost classical orchestra. The Orchestra presents more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season and attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually.

Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, has been the Orchestra’s Music Director since the 2012/13 concert season, a position he will continue to hold until at least 2022. In addition, Maestro van Zweden will also be the next Music Director of the New York Philharmonic starting with the 2018-19 season.

Yu Long was appointed for an initial three-year term in the 2015/16 season as Principal Guest Conductor.

Under Maestro van Zweden, the HK Phil is undertaking a variety of initiatives including a four-year project to perform and record the complete Ring of the Nibelung (Richard Wagner). The Orchestra is in the second of this four-year journey, performing one opera annually in concert. The performances are being recorded live for the Naxos label and mark the first performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of the entire Ring cycle.

Also under van Zweden, the orchestra undertook a highly successful five-country, seven-city tour of Europe in the 2014/15 season, with concerts in London, Vienna, Zurich, Eindhoven, Birmingham, Berlin and Amsterdam. Performances were met with enthusiasm and universally positive reviews. The concert in Vienna’s Musikverein was filmed for broadcast on TV.

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 and Yuja Wang.

The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and 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 tens of thousands of children annually. A recording was issued free to schoolchildren throughout Hong Kong of Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Leopold Mozart’s Toy Symphony.

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.

Thanks to a 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.

The Orchestra celebrated its 40th season as a professional orchestra in 2013/14.

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.