Young Ukrainian pianist débuts with the HK Phil in Rachmaninov’s famous Piano Concerto no. 2 (15 & 16 April)

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[15 March 2016, Hong Kong] Rachmaninov’s darkly romantic, brilliant Piano Concerto no. 2, played by virtuoso Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova, is at the heart of this programme. Conductor Jun Märkl, known for his clarity and beauty of sound, also leads the orchestra through the exuberant high spirits of Glinka’s exciting overture from Ruslan and Ludmila, as well as a very different kind of concerto – Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra which will showcase every section of our very own Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil). 

Described by HK Phil Music Director Jaap van Zweden as “a wonderful artist, a great pianist”, Anna Fedorova’s international concert career took flight while she was only a child. Now 26 years old, the depth and power of her playing has moved audiences around the world, while her YouTube video of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no. 2 gained over 6 million “likes”. Audiences in Hong Kong will have a chance to hear her live performance of this dazzling and popular concerto in the concert hall.

After the technical and critical disaster of the premiere of his first symphony, Rachmaninov plunged into despair and had to seek hypno-therapy to start composing again. Fortunately, the triumphant premiere of the second piano concerto in Moscow restored his self-confidence. The second movement has frequently been adapted into pop songs.

Jun Märkl will also lead the orchestra in two pieces of very different styles – the energetic overture to the opera Ruslan and Ludmila composed by Glinka, father of Russian classical music, and Bartok’s most famous orchestral work, the Concerto for Orchestra. Composed in New York while he was dying, the five movements of this unique Concerto showcases every section of a modern symphony orchestra in music that is exciting, moving and tremendously enjoyable.

Rachmaninov 2 is sponsored by The Macallan.

Classics: The Macallan Bravo Series: Rachmaninov 2 will be held on 15 & 16 April(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 cal +852 2721 2332 or visit www.hkphil.org.

Free Pre-concert talks are available on both concert nights:

Artists
Jun Märkl, conductor [full biography]
Jun Märkl is the Principal Conductor of the Basque National Orchestra and was previously the Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon from 2005-11. He has also been the guest conductor of Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic and Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich.

Anna Fedorova, pianist [full biography]
Anna Fedorova is one of the world’s premier young pianists. Having mastered a formidable concerto repertoire, she has performed with orchestras around the world including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Philharmonic. She has performed at prestigious concert halls including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Zurich Tonhalle and the London Cadogan Hall.

Classics: The Macallan Bravo Series: Rachmaninov 2
15 & 16 | 4 | 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
Jun Märkl	Anna Fedorova
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Philip Chiu/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, is the Orchestra’s Music Director, a position he has held since the 2012/13 concert season. Maestro van Zweden was recently announced as the next Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. This appointment will not affect his tenure with the HK Phil; his commitment to the HK Phil extends at least to the summer of 2019.

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’s history stretches back to 1895, when it was formed as the Sino-British Orchestra. It was re-named in 1957 and became fully professional in 1974.

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.

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