Come 2025, one of the youngest conductors in the world will officially take his place as the music director designate of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) at just 25 years old. To open the orchestra’s 51st season, Tarmo Peltokoski and young violin virtuoso Daniel Lozakovich, 23, will headline two performances at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on 5 and 6 September.

It is an exciting time for the HK Phil, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and released the headline-worthy news revealing its next maestro’s identity. With global interest rising since the news broke, the musical institution maintains itself as one of the most reputable in the world, its young blood making for a leap in interest among music lovers of all ages, inspiring aspiring musicians and making classical music accessible to multiple generations.

Its upcoming season’s programme is set to attract over 200,000 music lovers to a whopping 150 concerts over a 44-week period. A diverse array of classical celebrated gems as well as Chinese composers of historical significance are among the symphonies that the HK Phil has in store. Composers soon to be revived in concerto include, among others, Brahms, Haydn, Bruckner, Grieg, Stravinsky, and Sibelius. Adding to the mix, Huang Ruo and Erkegali Rakhmadiyev’s creations will inject more contemporary compositions to the harmony.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, the 2024/2025 season opening is marked by Daniel Lozakovich’s Hong Kong debut. Lozakovich, who has already received several awards, including first prize at the 2016 Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition, gets to prove his mettle for the first time in the region. Renowned for being one of today’s most remarkable violinists, Lozakovich regularly performs with eminent conductors and promises to inspire audiences like never before as he brings to life Sibelius’s ethereal Violin Concerto.

In honour of Anton Bruckner’s bicentenary, Tarmo Peltokoski will also lead the HK Phil to the notes of the Austrian composer’s Ninth Symphony, an unfinished masterpiece that stands witness to the musician’s devotion to the arts, a portentous sign of the night’s grandeur.

Just a few weeks later, and in anticipation of its region-wide celebrations, it will be time for National Day concerts. For the occasion, the HK Phil will welcome guest conductor Vasily Petrenko—who was honoured with the Artist of the Year Award at the prestigious Gramophone Awards in 2017—and cellist Li-Wei Qin, who remains one of the most sought-after musicians of his generation. As they bring Huang Ruo’s Folk Songs for Orchestra to the hall, Petrenko’s baton will direct Qin as he performs Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1, a composition by Delius, and Stravinsky’s complex The Rite of Spring. 

September ends with another concert conducted by Vasily Petrenko, joined by the famed pianist Anna Fedorova. Fedorova’s mass appeal is a towering testament to her fine talents; her live recording of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto has over 42 million views on YouTube, and she has collaborated with the greatest orchestras in the world. Theshow kicks off with an orchestral showpiece by Kazakhstani composer Rakhmadiyev. Although it’s only at its dawn, Fedorova’s highly anticipated Piano Concerto with the HK Phil within the Hong Kong Concert Hall promises to be one of the highlights of the entire season. 

Best of all, the above-mentioned shows are but the tip of the iceberg as the calendar year ahead promises great symphonies, and great evidence why the HK Phil was deemed Orchestra of the Year at the 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony, continuing the Hong Kong institution’s grand legacy of music and maestros.

Season Opening: Tarmo Peltokoski & Daniel Lozakovich 

5 & 6 September 2024, 8 pm

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Tickets from HK$50, $380, $520, $700, and here.

For enquiries, please call (+852) 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.