Programme Overview
Chopin Gold: A Return in E Minor
Under the baton of HK Phil Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman, the concert opens with Yao Chen's newest commissioned work Waltz of the Rolling Giants, inspired by the beloved Sichuan giant panda, offering a warm musical greeting to the Chengdu audience. 2025 International Chopin Competition Gold Medallist Eric Lu performs Chopin's Concerto no. 1, and the evening concludes with Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, whose rich orchestral colour brings the concert to a brilliant close.
Programme
Programme:
Waltz of the Rolling Giants (HK Phil Commission) – Yao Chen
Piano Concerto no. 1 in E minor, op. 11 – Chopin
The Firebird Suite (1919) – Stravinsky
Arts Group Introduction
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil)
HK Phil is regarded as one of the leading orchestras in Asia. Presenting more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season, the HK Phil attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually. Tarmo Peltokoski starts his tenure as Music Director in the 2026/27 season. Currently, Long Yu serves as Principal Guest Conductor and Lio Kuokman is Resident Conductor. In 2019, the HK Phil won the prestigious Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award – the first orchestra in Asia to receive this accolade from the UK classical music magazine.
HK Phil releases its debut album on Deutsche Grammophon in March 2026, featuring Richard Wagner's The Ring – An Orchestral Adventure (arranged by Henk de Vlieger), conducted by Tarmo Peltokoski. This landmark collaboration with the world's most historic classical label marks a new chapter in the HK Phil's international recording profile.
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Cast & Key Artistic Personnel
© Jane Chiang
Conductor: Lio Kuokman, JP
Currently Resident Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra, Programme Director of the Macao International Music Festival, Chief Conductor of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Partner of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, Lio is praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "a startling conducting talent". He was the second prize winner of the third Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris with Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize, and he has served as the first Chinese Assistant Conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
He has successfully collaborated with many leading orchestras across the globe. Recently he was invited as the first Chinese conductor to conduct a subscription concert with the Vienna Symphony, and he also received an invitation by the French government to lead the first Saudi Arabia performance tour with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.
© Rajchert Lukasz
Piano: Eric Lu
Born in Massachusetts in 1997 and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music. Eric Lu is the First Prize Winner of the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition 2025. Lu has also won the First Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018, and is the Winner and Audience Awardee of International German Piano Award in 2017 and a Laureate of the 2015 Chopin International Competition. Orchestral collaborations include the London Symphony, Chicago Symphony, NHK Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, etc. Active as a recitalist, Lu has performed at Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Wigmore Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Symphony Hall, etc.
Lu was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2019 to 2022. His 2022 Schubert album won BBC Music Magazine’s Instrumental Choice while his previous Brahms-Chopin-Schumann album was hailed "truly magical" by International Piano.
Fringe Activity
(To be announced)
