Van Zweden is Phil's new conductor

After a two-year search, the Hong Kong Philharmonic announced yesterday the appointment of Dutch maestro Jaap van Zweden as its eighth music director since it turned professional in 1974.

He will succeed his compatriot Edo de Waart, who for eight years has steered the orchestra to artistic acclaim and popularity.

Speaking via a video link from Amsterdam, van Zweden said he was 'extremely proud' of the appointment. He called his collaboration in the past two seasons with the Phil 'very intense'.

The orchestra, he said, 'has the opportunity and possibility to become the Berlin Philharmonic of the East'.

Van Zweden's four-year appointment, which begins this August, will be his first in Asia. After an initial year of just six weeks, owing to previous commitments, he will take the Phil to Europe and South America.

'International tours are the way to acquire international status and sound for the orchestra,' he said.