2024 has been an exciting year for classical music so far, from Jaap van Zweden’s final concert as the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s music director and Tarmo Peltokoski’s appointment, to performances featuring renowned talents such as violinist Sayaka Shoji. Ushering in the new orchestral season are concerts showcasing pre-eminent soloists, chamber works and choral pieces– here, we’ve picked out six of the highlights.
Season Opening: Tarmo Peltokoski & Daniel Lozakovich
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The HK Phil’s 2024/25 season is off to a stunning start with a collaboration between the orchestra’s all-new Music Director Tarmo Peltokoski, hailing from Finland, and Swedish violin virtuoso Daniel Lozakovich. With Sibelius’ monumental Violin Concerto and Bruckner’s ninth and final symphony on the programme, this concert promises an enthralling evening of late Romanticism.
When: 8pm, September 5 & 6, 2024
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Ticketing: From HK$380 at urbtix.hk
National Day Concert: Vasily Petrenko & Li-Wei Qin
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Helming the HK Phil’s annual National Day concert is veteran conductor Vasily Petrenko, who joins forces with Li-Wei Qin to perform Haydn’s charming Cello Concerto no. 1. The concert takes a seasonal direction, with two spring-inspired pieces including Delius’ ethereal “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring”, and rounding off with Stravinsky’s avant-garde “The Rite of Spring”. Also featured is Chinese composer Huang Ruo, whose style fuses East and West and spans genres from traditional folk to noise and jazz.
When: 8pm, September 20 & 21, 2024
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Ticketing: From HK$220 at urbtix.hk
HKS Recital Series: An Evening of Songs + Chamber Music with Juliane Banse
Featuring the Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s star players, and violinist and concertmaster James Cuddeford, is the October installation of the orchestra’s Recital Series. This show of small-group chamber works from the late 19th century to the present features a lineup of Mahler, Strauss and Respighi, culminating in Chausson’s melancholic “Chanson Perpétuelle” arranged for soprano, string quartet and piano. The programme also features an exciting world premiere from Cuddeford: a collection of four songs for voice and violin, performed alongside soprano Juliane Banse.
When: 8pm, October 30, 2024
Where: Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
Ticketing: From $180 at hksl.org
Mahler and Richard Strauss – On Love and Death
This side-by-side display of vocal and orchestral works brings together a collection of Lieder by Richard Strauss, highlighting the vocal prowess of soprano Juliane Banse. At the baton of Music Director Christoph Poppen, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta will throw open the concert with Mozart’s majestic “Idomeneo” Overture, and conclude the evening with Strauss’ otherworldly tone poem, “Tod und Verklärung”.
When: 8pm, November 2, 2024
Where: Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
Ticketing: From HK$220 at hksl.org
Elim Chan & James Ehnes
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This new addition to the HK Phil’s Swire Maestro Series brings together renowned conductor Elim Chan, performing Prokofiev’s magical Fifth Symphony, and Grammy-winning Canadian violinist James Ehnes with Tchaikovsky’s heart-wrenching Violin Concerto. Alongside these classics, the programme also features the world premiere of a new work commissioned by the Philharmonic.
When: 8pm, November 22 & 23, 2024
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Ticketing: From HK$220 at urbtix.hk
Classics For The Modern Era: Stravinsky & Wang Lin
This concert is a celebration of the experimental, with three of Stravinsky’s masterworks on display alongside the world premiere of Chinese composer Wang Lin’s new work for the HK Phil, which reflects on themes of life and existence. The programme promises a diverse collection of soundscapes, from the “Symphonies of Wind Instruments” to the concluding “Symphony of Psalms”, a collaboration with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus.
When: 8pm, November 29, 2024; 5pm, November 30, 2024
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Ticketing: $250 at urbtix.hk
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Wing Hei WooCredit
Lead image: @hkphilharmonic via Instagram
