https://www.scmp.com/rss/510228/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Dirk Luiten Dirk Luiten Three days after the devastating fire in Tai Po broke out, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra prefaced its concert with a moment of silence, followed by a subdued rendering of Elgar’s Nimrod. From this sombre stillness, 27-year-old pianist Mao Fujita emerged on stage to confront Rachmaninov’s monumental Piano Concerto No 3. His diminutive frame and gentle disposition made him seem an unlikely vessel for the concerto’s formidable physical and emotional demands. He introduced the primary theme... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3334839/pianist-mao-fujita-delivers-technical-masterclass-alongside-hk-phil-poignant-concert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3334839/pianist-mao-fujita-delivers-technical-masterclass-alongside-hk-phil-poignant-concert?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:35:05 +0000 Dirk Luiten Dirk Luiten Artists find inspiration in places both profound and pedestrian, a creative spectrum vividly illustrated by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s latest concert. The featured composers drew from sources as diverse as quantum physics, Beethoven’s explosive contrasts, Ukrainian folk melodies and the humble street cry of a sausage vendor. But it was the sound of water that set the evening in motion. The world premiere of Charles Kwong Chin-wai’s Festina lente opened not with a grand statement, but... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3328780/hong-kong-philharmonic-and-pianist-kyohei-sorita-put-lively-concert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3328780/hong-kong-philharmonic-and-pianist-kyohei-sorita-put-lively-concert?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 07:15:08 +0000 Dirk Luiten Dirk Luiten In the rarefied world of orchestral performance, few debates are as enduring or as divisive as the question of leadership. Does transcendent artistry emerge from the iron will of a single visionary, or through the alchemy of collective insight? This question has resurfaced with fresh urgency in light of a recent documentary examining the methods of Jaap van Zweden, a Dutch conductor and former music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra whose exacting, often fiery rehearsals defined... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3317190/jaap-van-zweden-returns-hong-kong-philharmonic-concert-featuring-augustin-hadelich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3317190/jaap-van-zweden-returns-hong-kong-philharmonic-concert-featuring-augustin-hadelich?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 09:15:09 +0000 Strict, conservative definitions of Western classical music would not be sufficient to encapsulate the repertoire in harmonica player Cy Leo’s concert with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Each of the pieces they performed relies heavily on influences from other musical styles. French composer Ravel draws upon Spanish folk traditions, the American Gershwin infuses jazz elements in his compositions, and Canadian Robert Farnon references music of a lighter vein in his work for harmonica. Hearing their... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3274153/harmonica-player-cy-leo-and-hong-kong-sinfoniettas-eclectic-concert-mixed-bag?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3274153/harmonica-player-cy-leo-and-hong-kong-sinfoniettas-eclectic-concert-mixed-bag?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:15:09 +0000 By the time Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca was premiered in 1900, approaches to singing in Europe were varied. The old Italian operatic style of bel canto had had a mini resurgence, which contrasted with the Wagnerian sprechgesang. The verismo (realist) style of Puccini and his contemporaries, which offered greater fluidity, accessible characters, and great vocal strength given the frequently dense orchestral scores, further contributed to a diverging vocal landscape. Opera Hong Kong’s new... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3237781/opera-hong-kongs-new-tosca-claudio-sgura-steals-show-scarpia-staging-clever-and-oksana-dyka-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3237781/opera-hong-kongs-new-tosca-claudio-sgura-steals-show-scarpia-staging-clever-and-oksana-dyka-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Oct 2023 05:45:14 +0000 It is not uncommon for composers to re-orchestrate earlier works to be featured in larger multi-movement pieces, or extract highlights from lengthier pieces to form symphonic suites. Both adapted forms were on display in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s sold-out Joe Hisaishi concerts, with the Japanese composer, best known for writing soundtracks for Studio Ghibli movies, leading a triptych of Hong Kong premieres from the podium himself. In the opening Symphony No. 2, each of the three... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3225360/studio-ghibli-composer-joe-hisaishis-hong-kong-philharmonic-orchestra-concerts-delightful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3225360/studio-ghibli-composer-joe-hisaishis-hong-kong-philharmonic-orchestra-concerts-delightful?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jun 2023 09:15:09 +0000 Before the fifth wave of the Covid-19 outbreak in Hong Kong forced the cancellation of all live performances for the 50th Hong Kong Arts Festival, Shanghai Opera House was scheduled to present a production of 19th century French composer Gounod’s opera Roméo et Juliette to close it out. Instead, the opera house ended up streaming a pre-recorded double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci as the festival’s grand finale. The performances were recorded in September... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3172964/shanghai-opera-houses-cavalleria-rusticana-and-pagliacci?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3172964/shanghai-opera-houses-cavalleria-rusticana-and-pagliacci?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Apr 2022 09:15:13 +0000 In Scott Hick’s 1996 film Shine, the late Sir John Gielgud’s character posits that “no one’s ever been mad enough to attempt the Rach 3”, to which Noah Taylor, as the pianist David Helfgott, replies: “Am I mad enough professor? Am I?” The film popularised anew Sergei Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto while highlighting the work’s profound technical challenges and overwhelming emotional drive. The 30-year-old British pianist Alexander Ullman is among the latest to be “mad enough” to take it on.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3156949/pianist-alexander-ullmans-rach-3-hong-kong-sinfonietta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3156949/pianist-alexander-ullmans-rach-3-hong-kong-sinfonietta?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Nov 2021 09:15:22 +0000 Place two objects side by side, invite comparison, and connections will invariably arise. Such was the exercise of Israeli pianist David Greilsammer who, by alternating between the sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti and John Cage without pausing, challenged his Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall audience to explore the relationship between these two rather different, yet exceptionally innovative composers. Greilsammer has this to say about the 70-minute programme: “It was just a juxtaposition between... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3147726/recital-scarlatti-and-john-cage-piano-sonatas-david?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3147726/recital-scarlatti-and-john-cage-piano-sonatas-david?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Sep 2021 03:15:18 +0000 Live concerts last year to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. And so the Hong Kong Philharmonic continues to acknowledge the German composer’s legacy, albeit belatedly – opening its 2012/22 season with a Beethoven programme that also saw music director Jaap van Zweden’s long-awaited return to the rostrum. The concert began with Old Bei (an affectionate name for Beethoven in China), a new commission by composer Raymond Yiu... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3147714/hong-kong-philharmonics-uplifting-beethoven-7th-symphony?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3147714/hong-kong-philharmonics-uplifting-beethoven-7th-symphony?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Sep 2021 07:41:23 +0000 Treacherous and malevolent at times, poignant and reflective at others, Norma is a role that requires a gamut of human emotions unparalleled in the operatic canon. It calls for a voice with remarkable vocal agility and fluctuation in tone quality, and any attempt nowadays invites comparison with the great Normas that came before: Montserrat Caballé, Joan Sutherland and, of course, Maria Callas. As such, Meryl Dominguez – the Cuban-American soprano who replaced Laura Alonso Padín on opening night... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3139823/musica-vivas-compelling-norma-opening-night-hong-kong-needed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3139823/musica-vivas-compelling-norma-opening-night-hong-kong-needed?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2021 07:15:04 +0000