HK Phil Presents a Line-up of Fantastic Programmes in April
From Movie-in-Concert, Choral Feast to Piano and Symphonic Works
Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert (14 & 15 April)
Brahms | A German Requiem (21 & 22 April)
Urbański & Chiyan Wong (28 & 29 April)

29 MAR 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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[29 March 2023, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) continues to present a series of fantastic programmes in April, including a popular movie-in-concert, a colossal choral feast, a rarely presented piano and orchestral work and an all-time favourite symphony. Tickets are now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET.

Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert (14 & 15 April)

The film that gave the world one of its greatest movie heroes, Indiana Jones, is back and better than ever before. Relive the magic on the silver screen with the original great adventure – Raiders of the Lost Ark – with Hollywood film music composer John Williams’ epic score performed live to picture by a full symphony orchestra. The movie-in-concert is a Hong Kong premiere and will be conducted by Benjamin Northey, the Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Conductor in Residence of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert” will be held on 14 April 2023 (Fri) at 8PM and 15 April 2023 (Sat) at 3PM & 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$580, $420 and $280 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Brahms | A German Requiem (21 & 22 April)

Prompted by the death of his mother, Brahms’ A German Requiem draws its text from the German-language Bible translated by Martin Luther. But more than an expression of German soul, Brahms wanted this to be a work for “all mankind”, confronting mortality not with grief, but with assurance, hope, and everlasting joy. It is now treasured as one of the greatest German Romantic works for chorus.

Renowned German conductor Cornelius Meister, currently the Music Director of the Staatsoper und Staatsorchester Stuttgart prepares the HK Phil Chorus and The Learners Chorus for this masterpiece, featuring soprano Valentina Farcas and baritone Thomas E. Bauer.

“Brahms | A German Requiem” will be held on 21 & 22 April (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$600, $500, $400 and $300 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Urbański & Chiyan Wong (28 & 29 April)

Some classics are popular for a good reason, and Dvořák's Symphony no. 9, From the New World sounds as fresh, as stirring and as gloriously tuneful today as when it was first heard. When European composers travelled to America, they were torn between wonder at the New World and nostalgia for the old. Dvořák poured all his emotion into this symphony that overflows with melody. Guest conductor Krzysztof Urbański, the Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana will make his debut with the HK Phil, bringing an energy that’s all his own in this popular symphony.

In the first half of the concert, Hong Kong-born Chiyan Wong joins in Busoni’s lush Indian Fantasy – inspired, like Dvořák's symphony, by the melodies and rhythms of the Native American community. Indian Fantasy weaves together eight folk tunes that were sung by the American Indians. Rarely performed in Hong Kong, Indian Fantasy is described as “mythical, mystical and magical” by Wong, who recently completed his doctorate on Busoni at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

The concert will open with Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa, a beautiful piece inspired by the magnificent mountains on the border between Poland and Slovakia.

“Urbański & Chiyan Wong” will be held on 28 & 29 April (Fri & Sat) at 8PM in the Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium. Tickets priced at HK$420, $320 and $220 are available at URBTIX and POPTICKET. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

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Artists

Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert

Benjamin Northey, conductor [full description]

Australian conductor Benjamin Northey is the Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Conductor in Residence of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Previously Resident Guest Conductor of the Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra (2002-2006) and Principal Conductor of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (2007-2010), Limelight Magazine named him Australian Artist of the Year in 2018.

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Brahms | A German Requiem

Cornelius Meister, conductor [full description]

Cornelius Meister began his tenure as Music Director of the Staatsoper und Staatsorchester Stuttgart in 2018. The awards that he has received in recent years include the Gramophone “Contemporary” Award 2022, the OPUS Klassik award of “Conductor of the Year”, the International Classical Music Award of “Symphonic Recordings” for the complete recording of Bohuslav Martinů’s symphonies, and the Diapason d’or and the German Record Critics’ award for the DVD Jules Massenet: Werther (Opernhaus Zürich). Under his direction, the Staatsorchester Stuttgart was also awarded the Innovationspreis of the Deutsche Orchester-Stiftung in 2020. Last summer, he conducted a new production of the Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival.

Valentina Farcas, soprano [full description]

Valentina Farcas has worked with some of the foremost conductors and directors of our time including Maestros Riccardo Muti, Riccardo Chailly, Kirill Petrenko, Jaap van Zweden, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Kurt Masur, Fabio Luisi, René Jacobs, Fabio Biondi, Ivor Bolton, Paavo Järvi, Jeffrey Tate, Bruno Bartoletti, Bertrand de Billy, Thomas Hengelbrock, Alessandro De Marchi, Riccardo Frizza, Christopher Hogwood and directors Robert Carsen, Stefan Herheim, Damiano Michieletto, Barrie Kosky, Laurent Pelly, Daniele Abbado, Cristina Muti, Guy Joosten and others. She has performed at the Theater an der Wien, Salzburg Festival, Teatro Regio Torino, Maggio Musicale

Fiorentino, Komische Oper Berlin, Dallas Opera, Teatro di San Carlo Napoli, De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Opéra National de Lyon, Semperoper Dresden, Ravenna Festival, Opéra de Lausanne, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Theâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Teatro Municipal de Santiago in Chile and the Wiener Musikverein.

Thomas E. Bauer, baritone [full description]

Critics and audiences around the world agree: Thomas E. Bauer is one of the most fascinating vocal artists of our time. Reviewers of his numerous orchestral concerts rave about the “sheer virile force” that comes with “an unusually precise diction, emotional intensity and rare beauty in his baritonal sound” (Opernglas). As a concert vocalist, Bauer made recent guest appearances with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with the KBS Symphony Orchestra at Seoul International Music Festival; and at the Beethovenfest Bonn, with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Pygmalion, and Anima Eterna.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus, chorus [full description]

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus was established in 1980. Over the years, it has collaborated with the HK Phil to perform a range of different works. In 2013, the Chorus undertook a new recruitment drive, and over 450 singers were attracted to attend the auditions. The first performance by the newly reformed Chorus was Handel’s Messiah. Since then, the Chorus has performed with the HK Phil in major works by composers including Britten, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Haydn and Mahler under renowned conductors Lorin Maazel, Nicholas McGegan and Jaap van Zweden, amongst others. The Fellows programme was launched in the 2020/21 Season.

The Learners Chorus, chorus [full description]

The Learners Chorus was founded in 1979 by former members of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union Choir. In addition to hosting choral concerts and large-scale concerts with The Learners Orchestra, Learners has also given guest performances both within and outside Hong Kong. Recent appearances include Britten’s War Requiem with the HK Phil and its Chorus under the baton of the late Maestro Lorin Maazel; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand” at the Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival; “Heroes: A Video Game Symphony” and “National Geographic: Symphony for Our World”, both with the Macao Orchestra; and “Los Angeles International Choir Festival” and “Verdi Requiem” with Dream Orchestra of Los Angeles. Net ticket proceeds of its fundraising concerts were donated to charitable organisations for installing water cellars, rebuilding schools and sponsoring scholarships, among other causes.

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Urbański & Chiyan Wong

Krzysztof Urbański, conductor [full description]

Krzysztof Urbański was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana succeeding Vladimir Ashkenazy in November 2022. Highlights of his 2022/23 Season include debuts with the HK Phil and the Staatskapelle Berlin, as well as two projects with the Münchner Philharmoniker. Moreover he returns to the Wiener Symphoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Bamberger Symphoniker, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra Washington. Urbański appeared as a guest conductor with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, hr-Sinfonieorchester, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Zürich, Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony among others.

Chiyan Wong, piano [full description]

Born in Hong Kong, pianist Chiyan Wong's audacity and vision have captivated listeners, in a repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to the 21st century. Wong recently made his Paris debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and gave the Hungarian premiere of Thomas Adès' Piano Concerto with the Danubia Orchestra Óbuda at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. His recital for Premiere Performances Hong Kong, given in the spring of 2021, has been the subject of a feature-length concert film, Encore, which was shown in his native city.

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RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK IN CONCERT

14 & 15 | 4 | 2023

FRI 8PM

SAT 3PM & 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$580 $420 $280

Tickets now available at URBTIX and POPTICKET

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Benjamin Northey

conductor