HK Phil named 2019 Orchestra of the Year by Gramophone magazine; Jaap van Zweden, music director, hails history makers

The first Asian orchestra to be voted winner, HK Phil owes its victory to its recording of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, made live over four years starting in 2015

Recording ‘a magnificent achievement’, says magazine’s editor in chief, while HK Phil’s chief executive says the accolade shows its ‘truly world-class quality’

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Hong Kong Philharmonic principal viola Andrew Ling (left), principal clarinet Andrew Simon (second from left), and chief executive Benedikt Fohr (second from right), and Y. S. Liu, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society, receive the Orchestra of the Year Award at the 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony on behalf of the orchestra. Photo: Gem Rey/HK Phil

Published: 11:00am, 17 Oct 2019Updated: 9:50pm, 17 Oct 2019

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has been named Orchestra of the Year 2019 by Gramophone, making it the first in Asia to win the title since the prestigious classical music magazine introduced it a year ago.

The 45-year-old professional orchestra trumped nine others, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, thanks to its live recordings of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle under music director Jaap van Zweden.

A 14-disc set, Wagner Der Ring Des Nibelungen, was released by the Naxos label in November 2018. The orchestra gave concert performances of the four parts of The Ring from 2015 to 2018.

Of the Gramophone accolade, van Zweden said: “The HK Phil is especially proud since we are making history by being the first orchestra in Asia to receive this prestigious and highly acclaimed honour.”

Jaap van Zweden conducts the Hong Kong Philharmonic. It is “the perfect example of an ensemble galvanised by an inspirational music director to give of its best”, says Gramophone editor in chief James Jolly.

The orchestra’s chief executive, Benedikt Fohr, said the accomplishment “is a powerful demonstration of the HK Phil's truly world-class quality”. He acknowledged all those involved in the recordings “who realised this enormous project with great energy and supreme artistry”.

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