Vassily Sinaisky returns to conduct Dvořák and Tchaikovsky
(25 & 26 November)

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[30 September 2016, Hong Kong] Vassily Sinaisky, one of today’s great Russian conductors, returns to the stage with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) on 25 & 26 November for a programme highlighting the fiery passions of Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, featuring German cellist Alban Gerhardt.  

“The calm authority and probing insight make him [Alban Gerhardt] one of the finest cellists around – expressive, unshowy and infinitely classy.”
--- The Guardian

The concert opens with Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, considered by many to be the most gripping ever composed for the instrument. It offers plenty of opportunities to exploit the soloist’s virtuosity, and allows the cello to bare its soul in music of unforgettable lyricism. “The Dvořák Cello Concerto is a blessing and a curse for us cellists; a blessing because not only cellists claim that it is the most beautiful concerto for any instrument… a curse as no other concerto is as strong as ‘the Dvořák’…”, said the concert’s soloist Alban Gerhardt.

After the interval, Maestro Sinaisky and the orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s stirring Manfred Symphony. The Manfred Symphony was claimed by Tchaikovsky as “…the best of my symphonic compositions”. It follows the story of Byron’s epic poem about a brooding hero in search of redemption. Tchaikovsky clearly found a kindred spirit in Byron’s Manfred and produced some of his most heartfelt music here.

Masterworks: Dvořák and Tchaikovskywill be held on 25 & 26November (Fri & Sat), 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Ticket prices: HK$480, $380, $280, $180 are now available at URBTIX. 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
Vassily Sinaisky, conductor [full biography]
Vassily Sinaisky’s international career was launched in 1973 when he won the Gold Medal at the prestigious Karajan Competition in Berlin. Shortly afterwards he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, a post he held from 1976 to 1987. He then became Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic. Sinaisky is Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Philharmonic, and has also held the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Music Director of the Russian State Orchestra.

Alban Gerhardt, cello [full biography]
Alban Gerhardt has, for twenty-five years, made a unique impact on audiences worldwide with his intense musicality, compelling stage presence and insatiable artistic curiosity. Following early competition success, Gerhardt’s international career was launched with his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Semyon Bychkov in 1991. Notable orchestra collaborations since have included Royal Concertgebouw, London Philharmonic and NHK Symphony, and with conductors including Kurt Masur, Christian Thielemann, Christoph Eschenbach, Myung-Whun Chung, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

MASTERWORKS: DVOŘÁK and TCHAIKOVSKY
25 & 26 | 11 | 2016
FRI & SAT 8PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$480 $380 $280 $180
Tickets are now available at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above

Artists

Click the thumbnail to download photos
Vassily Sinaisky Photo Credit: Jesper Lindgren	Alban Gerhardt Photo Credit: Kaupo Kikkas	The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Philip Chau/HK Phil

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.