From the tranquility of Beethoven’s countryside to the psychological intensity of Strauss and the virtuosity of Prokofiev and Chopin, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is opening its 2026/27 season with a September program that moves easily between contrasting musical worlds.
Conductor Manfred Honeck returns to Hong Kong to open the season on September 16 and 17, before conductor Yuan Ding and pianist Zitong Wang make their HK Phil debuts later in the month in concerts marking National Day and the Belt and Road Initiative. All three programs will be staged at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.
The new season begins with Honeck leading Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral, a work closely associated with the composer’s love of nature.
Rather than simply portraying a rural landscape, the symphony moves through flowing streams, birdsong and a gathering storm before arriving at a final sense of calm and gratitude.
Honeck pairs Beethoven’s warmth with a far darker work — his orchestral suite from Richard Strauss’s Elektra, co-arranged with Czech composer Tomáš Ille.
Set in Mycenae after the Trojan War, Elektra inhabits a world of vengeance and family trauma. Honeck and Ille distill the opera into a concert suite that brings its psychological tension and dramatic orchestral writing to the foreground.
The contrast gives the season opener an almost cinematic arc: Beethoven looking outward toward nature, followed by Strauss turning inward to a much more turbulent emotional landscape.
Season Opening: Manfred Honeck’s Pastoral and Elektra
Date: September 16 and 17, 2026
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Tickets: HK$340, HK$420, HK$600 and HK$780
Ticketing: URBTIX
A week later, the focus shifts to two artists appearing with the orchestra for the first time.
Yuan Ding, principal resident conductor of the China National Opera House, will lead the National Day Concert, with pianist Zitong Wang making her HK Phil debut in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
Wang, third-prize winner at the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition, takes on one of Prokofiev’s most demanding concertos — a work that combines rhythmic energy, wit and technical brilliance with moments of unexpected lyricism.
The evening opens with Chinese composer Yao Chen’s Garden: Unearthing the Way Home, a contemporary soundscape inspired by the art and idea of the garden.
Rachmaninov’s First Symphony closes the concert, giving the program a distinctly Russian character after Yao’s more reflective opening.
National Day Concert: Zitong Wang Plays Prokofiev
Date: September 24, 2026
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Tickets: HK$220, HK$320, HK$420 and HK$520
Ticketing: URBTIX
Two days later, Wang and Yuan return for the HK Phil’s Belt and Road concert, with the pianist moving from Prokofiev to Chopin.
Wang will perform Chopin’s Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, which begins with an intimate, lyrical introduction before opening into a brilliant polonaise filled with elegance and pianistic flair.
The concert starts with Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave, a work shaped by folk-inspired melodies and a strong sense of national character.
Yao Chen’s Garden: Unearthing the Way Home also returns to the program, before Rachmaninov’s First Symphony brings the evening to a close.
Sponsored by Swire for the third consecutive year, the Belt and Road concert is intended to bring together musicians and repertoire from different cultural backgrounds while reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a meeting point for international arts exchange.
Swire Proudly Sponsors: Belt and Road: Zitong Wang Plays Chopin
Date: September 26, 2026
Time: 5pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Tickets: HK$220, HK$320, HK$420 and HK$520
Ticketing: URBTIX
marco.lam@singtaonewscorp.com
