Live, Video: Kritiken zu klassischen Konzerten, Opern, Ballett und Tanz finden | Hong Kong City Hall: Concert Hall

French clarinettist Raphaël Sévère unearths beauty in Nielsen’s concerto and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta impress in two settings of Pan’s antics at the French May Festival.

A memorable evening with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, who are joined by pianist Alexandre Tharaud for Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major. 

The Hong Kong Sinfonietta intrigues with the world premiere of Lam Lai's There is no place like home (beta), impresses in Shostakovich’s brooding Chamber Symphony, while Pavel Kolesnikov proves a fine soloist in Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic's performances of Brahms' Second and Fourth symphonies at City Hall prove acoustically problematic under chief conductor Jaap van Zweden. 

A showcase of works from the past century by Clyne, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Barber allow the Hong Kong Sinfonietta to shine under Ken Lam's baton at Hong Kong's City Hall. 

Jason Lai returns to Hong Kong with French oboist Gabriel Pidoux in an emotionally fulfilling rendition of Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto. 

Hong Kong Sinfonietta's Cellomania program showcased the young Turkish cellist's towering talent with a potpourri of show-stoppers.

The Israeli clarinetist captivated in Mozart's Cello Concerto and a Sergei Abir premiere under the baton of UK-born conductor Jason Lai. 

Structurally intricate and riddled with personal undercurrents, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 5 was handled with a deft touch by conductor Daniel Raiskin. 

In a long-awaited return to City Hall, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta prove their mettle in works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Daniel Lo Ting-cheung

A forced programme change by Hong Kong Sinfonietta proves beneficial, lightening up the evening with Mozart’s overture to Le nozze di Figaro before a pair of Beethoven works. 

The Soldier’s Story illustrated a thematic integration of ideas in a programme that was as diverse as it was bold.

The Canadian-born Frenchman is known for his boldness in programming, often presenting both the timely and the timeless in a single offering.

A giant step in Hong Kong's Sinfonietta's journey to musical maturity with this programme of Webern, Beethoven and Mozart.

A mixed evening, where Mozart's concerto lacked melancholy and Debussy's Faune inspired neither curiosity nor otherworldliness.

Variations of tension, energy and contrast with Long Yu and the Hong Kong Phil.

Stravinsky and Arvo Pärt’s modernism trumps Rachmaninov’s romanticism with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. 

Dignified and intellectual Wagner, Schumann and Mendelssohn with the Hong Kong Phil.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta in a mixed bag of Messiaen, Mozart and Beethoven. 

Fazıl Say dazzles as both composer and soloist with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. 

The Hong Kong Sinfonietta charmed, cajoled and astounded with Haydn, Strauss and Brahms.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta's refreshing reading of Sibelius' 6th Symphony in "Le French May"

A valiant attempt by Hong Kong Sinfonietta at Sibelius' demanding Fourth Symphony.

An evening of delights and bonuses with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Nareh Arghamanyan.

Thursday December 22nd, 1808 was a bitterly cold day in Vienna. Beethoven took the stage in what was to be his last public performance as soloist with orchestra. The crammed programme lasted some four hours. Due to lack of rehearsal time, the evening didn’t go smoothly, with the final Choral Fantasy having to be stopped and started again.

Benjamin Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge is not a work often heard in concert halls but deserves to be performed more often, Hong Kong Sinfonietta conductor Yip Wing-sie said at the start of the concert last night at the City Hall. The orchestra’s rendering of this moving musical tribute vindicated her statement.

It has been a few years since the Academy of Ancient Music pioneered the programme The Four Seasons: Nature’s Voice and Verse. Its debut at Hong Kong City Hall on Sunday was the start of a China tour covering Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin.

Over the years, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta has made laudable efforts in bringing classical music to the masses and recruiting new audiences. Of necessity, it sticks to a well-trodden repertoire of evergreens which challenges musicians to bring a fresh perspective.The first half of programme on Wednesday evening was devoted to Mozart.

120 years after the Metropolitan Opera in New York paired Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in a single performance, the tradition of staging these representative works of verismo opera in a double bill continued this weekend with a production under the direction of Lo Kingman, Hong Kong’s home-grown doyen of opera.

“Music from three centuries comes together in tonight’s concert,” declare the programme notes to the Hong Kong Sinfonietta performance at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Indeed it surveyed the best and most famous in the classical canon. What caught my attention, however, was the opening work: Frates by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

To celebrate the 50th birthday of the City Hall Concert Hall on March 2nd, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra chose a programme of short but diverse works with undulating emotional appeal. Star soloist for the evening was cellist Yo-Yo Ma, returning three and a half decades after his debut here.Under the baton of Lan Shui, the evening began with Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture.

Giving its concert on April 9th the subtitle “Sing Mozart Sing” and promoting it with a tongue-in-cheek portrait of the mischievous genius with his mouth half open in a wry smile, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra probably intended the audience to expect an evening of cheerful and light entertainment. The programming suited this intention down to a tee.