A One-Night-Only Spectacular:
Cello Master Yo-Yo Ma Performs Elgar with the HK Phil in January 2027

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: 
Dennis Wu
Director of Marketing 
Tel: (852) 2721 9035
Email: dennis.wu@hkphil.org 

Emily Hui
Media Relations and Communications Manager
Tel: (852) 2721 1585
Email: emily.hui@hkphil.org

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[4 November 2026, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) welcomes the return of world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma for a one-night-only performance. Led by the HK Phil's Principal Guest Conductor Long Yu, the evening presents an East-meets-West programme of masterpieces.

The evening centres on Elgar's Cello Concerto, widely regarded as one of the greatest works in the cello repertoire. A 20-time Grammy Award winner, Yo-Yo Ma most recently won this year's Best Classical Instrumental Solo award for his Deutsche Grammophon recording of Shostakovich's complete cello concertos. He has recorded more than 120 albums, ranging from iconic interpretations of the Western classical canon to recordings that defy categorisation. Beyond the concert stage, he is celebrated for stretching the boundaries of genre and tradition, exploring how music can help us imagine and build a better future.

Complementing the concerto, Long Yu will lead the orchestra in a programme bringing together music from China and Britain. It includes Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1, whose melody later became Land of Hope and Glory, a beloved fixture of the BBC Proms, and Vaughan Williams's English Folk Song Suite. Having studied under Olivier Messiaen in his youth, Chen Qigang drew on traditional Peking Opera elements and Western orchestral techniques to create Instants d'un Opéra de Pékin, a vivid work inspired by the colours and expressive gestures of Peking Opera.

“Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Proudly Sponsors: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Elgar” will be held on 25 January 2027 (Mon) at 7:30PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at $2,080, $1,480, $880 and $680 will be sold via a real-name registration ballot ticketing arrangement. Online registration for the ballot will be accepted from 30 November 2026 (Mon) to 1 December 2026 (Tue) at URBTIX. Further details will be announced on the URBTIX website.

Exclusive Title Sponsor: Standard Chartered Global Private Bank

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Artists

Long Yu, conductor [full description]

Hailed by The New York Times as “the most powerful figure in China’s classical music scene”, the conductor and impresario Long Yu has devoted his illustrious career to steering China’s growing connection to classical music. Maestro Yu currently holds the top position in the country’s most prominent orchestras: Artistic Director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, in Beijing, and Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Principal Guest Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, co-director of Shanghai’s Music in the Summer Air festival, and Chair of the Artistic Committee of the Beijing Music Festival and the League of China Orchestras.

Yo-Yo Ma, cello [full description]

Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works for cello, bringing us together to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo Ma seeks to foster connections that reinforce our humanity. He and his creative team at Sound Postings collaborate with partners around the globe to develop and produce initiatives that advocate for a world guided by humanity, curiosity, and connection. Their recent projects include a six-continent tour of Bach’s cello suites exploring how culture strengthens communities today, and Our Common Nature, a journey celebrating the ways that culture can reconnect us to the natural world.

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Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Proudly Sponsors:

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Elgar

25 | 1 | 2027

MON 7:30PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$2,080 $1,480 $880 $680

Online ballot registration from 30 Nov 2026 (Mon) to 1 Dec 2026 (Tue) at URBTIX

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme