The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) has unveiled its 2025–26 season, marking the first curated by Tarmo Peltokoski as Music Director Designate ahead of his official tenure beginning in September 2026. The new season comprises 26 mainstage programmes and features an extensive international roster of artists, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Leila Josefowicz, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Daniel Harding, Daniele Gatti, and Tan Dun.
Esa-Pekka Salonen joins as composer-in-residence
One of the season’s central figures is Esa-Pekka Salonen, who will serve as Composer-in-Residence. Known for his dual career as conductor and composer, Salonen will have five of his works featured throughout the season. These include Castor, Pollux, Violin Concerto, Horn Concerto, and Gambit. The Asia premiere of the Horn Concerto, conducted by Salonen himself and performed by Stefan Dohr of the Berlin Philharmonic, will take place on 1 & 2 May 2026.
Three programmes led by Peltokoski
Peltokoski will conduct three major programmes this season:
- A Nordic-themed concert (11 & 13 December 2025) featuring Salonen’s Castor, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Lang Lang, and Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite.
- A pairing of Salonen’s Violin Concerto (with Leila Josefowicz) and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 (24 April 2026).
- A season finale that includes Salonen’s Pollux and Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony, with Chen Reiss, Andrè Schuen, the HK Phil Chorus, and the London Philharmonic Choir (3 & 4 July 2026).
International artists and guest conductors
Among the many guests this season are:
- Renée Fleming, presenting her multimedia project Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene with visuals from National Geographic (24 & 25 October 2025).
- Anne-Sophie Mutter, performing an all–John Williams programme including the Violin Concerto No. 2 (29 & 30 January 2026).
- Emanuel Ax, in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, conducted by Ruth Reinhardt, who also leads Salonen’s Gambit and Hindemith’s Symphony: Mathis der Maler (5 & 6 December 2025).
- Daniele Gatti, returning for Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 (23 & 24 January 2026) and later touring with it to Guangzhou (25 January 2026).
- Jaap van Zweden, leading Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony, Debussy’s La Mer, and Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Hai-Kyung Suh (16 & 17 January 2026).
- Daniel Harding, opening the season with Paul Lewis in a Mozart concerto and Strauss’s Don Quixote, featuring HK Phil principals Richard Bamping and Andrew Ling (18 & 19 September 2025).
Other notable performances
- Tan Dun will conduct his Violin Concerto “Hero” with Jing Wang and Feng Tianshi, alongside Elliot Leung’s Wuxia and Shostakovich’s Festive Overture (26 September 2025).
- Long Yu leads three programmes, including Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Behzod Abduraimov, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (27 September 2025); a programme of works by Joe Hisaishi and Brahms with Diyang Mei (19 & 20 June 2026).
- François-Frédéric Guy will perform and conduct all five Beethoven piano concertos over two evenings (22 & 23 May 2026).
Tours and outreach
The HK Phil will embark on international tours to Europe, Japan, Korea, and Mainland China. Highlights include debuts at Het Concertgebouw, Merano Festival, and Grafenegg Festival under Jaap van Zweden, with soloists such as Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Alexandre Kantorow, and Rudolf Buchbinder.
Domestically, the orchestra will continue community outreach through its Swire Music for Everyone, Jockey Club TUTTI Programme, and Young Audience Scheme, ensuring broader access to classical music across Hong Kong.
For full details on programming, subscription offers, and ticketing, visit hkphil.org.
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