HK Phil Announces Beethoven 250th Series

2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. To celebrate this momentous year, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) launches a special "Beethoven 250th" series with complete cycles of the composer's symphonies and concertos all conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden across two concert seasons from 2019/20. Five programmes will be first presented in the 2019/20 season, featuring great pianists Lang Lang, Rudolf Buchbinder, Rachel Cheung, Víkingur Ólafsson and Nobuyuki Tsujii. Tickets for these five programmes are available at URTIX from today. BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Jaap's Beethoven 1 | Lang Lang (16 & 18 January 2020, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall)

Launching the series, "the hottest artist on the classical music planet" (New York Times), superstar pianist Lang Lang, returns to the stage of the HK Phil after four years, performing the work which Beethoven himself played as his public debut in Vienna - Piano Concerto no. 2. The same programme also features the Egmont Overture and Beethoven's tribute to his teacher Haydn, Symphony no. 1 (16 & 18 January 2020).

Tickets are HK$1,880, $1,480, $980 and $580 and are available at URBTIX. A maximum of TWO tickets can be purchased on the first day of ticket sale.

Jaap's Beethoven 2 | Rudolf Buchbinder (31 January & 1 February 2020, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall)

"Although my doctor had forbidden me to work, I sat down to do something for those mustachios who are genuinely fond of me." So wrote Beethoven in 1811 as he started on a commission for the theatre in the Hungarian city of Pest. Those "mustachios" received Ruins of Athens Overture. Our second Beethoven anniversary concert also follows his growing fame back in Vienna with his Second Symphony and his Piano Concerto No. 4 featuring Rudolf Buchbinder, described by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "one of today's most important and competent Beethoven performers".

Tickets are HK$680, $580, $480 and $380 and are available at URBTIX. A maximum of 2 tickets can be purchased on the first day of ticket sale.

At the request of the soloist, Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 1 will be replaced by Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 4. Other pieces remain unchanged.

Jaap's Beethoven 5 | Rachel Cheung (26 & 27 February 2020, Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium)

The HK Phil captivates the audience with Beethoven's most famous and popular work, Symphony no. 5, as well as the impressive Leonore Overture no.2. The concert also features two Hong Kong musicians - pianist Rachel Cheung in the lively Rondo for piano and orchestra, originally intended for Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto, and soprano Louise Kwong in "Ah perfido!"

Tickets are HK$680, $580, $480 and $380 and are available at URBTIX. A maximum of 2 tickets can be purchased on the first day of ticket sale.

Jaap's Beethoven 3 | Víkingur Ólafsson (20 & 21 March 2020, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall)

With the Fidelio Overture and Symphony no. 3, Eroica, this concert celebrates heroic deeds in the face of tyranny. Alongside these, "Iceland's Glenn Gould", Víkingur Ólafsson, performs Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 3, which sees the piano in a heroic struggle for dominance against the orchestra.

Tickets are HK$580, $480, $380 and $280 and are available at URBTIX. A maximum of 2 tickets can be purchased on the first day of ticket sale.

Jaap's Beethoven 4 | Nobuyuki Tsujii (22 & 23 May 2020, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall)

Remarkable Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, who has been blind from birth and won the joint Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, when he was praised by Van Cliburn as "absolutely miraculous", will exert his miraculous powers over Beethoven's majestic Piano Concerto no. 5, Emperor, while the HK Phil continues its Beethoven celebrations with Symphony no. 4.

Tickets are HK$680, $580, $480 and $380 and are available at URBTIX. A maximum of 2 tickets can be purchased on the first day of ticket sale.

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