The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) will present two programmes in mid-May. Renowned German conductor Michael Sanderling returns with Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, while celebrated French pianist François‑Frédéric Guy brings Beethoven’s complete piano concertos over two consecutive evenings. Tickets are now available at URBTIX.
Swire Maestro Series: Michael Sanderling Conducts Also sprach Zarathustra
15 & 16 May
Michael Sanderling returns to the HK Phil for two performances. The programme opens with Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, followed by the world premiere of the Maverick Cello Concerto, featuring the HK Phil’s Principal Cello, Richard Bamping. The work is composed by Hong Kong-born British composer Dani Howard and co-commissioned by the HK Phil. The programme concludes with Richard Strauss‘s symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, a masterpiece inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical novel of the same name. Its opening fanfare, made famous by Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey, has become one of the most iconic passages in classical music.
François-Frédéric Guy’s Beethoven Piano Concertos I & II
22 & 23 May
François-Frédéric Guy will perform and conduct all five Beethoven piano concertos over two consecutive evenings. Deeply connected to the piano, Beethoven expressed his most profound emotions through this instrument. The five concertos trace the composer’s musical journey, from the youthful spirit of the First to the majestic grandeur of the Emperor. Guy will perform the Second, Third, and Fourth concertos on 22 May, followed by the First and Fifth on 23 May.
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