HK Phil Performs with World-Class Pianists
Mao Fujita, Emanuel Ax and Lang Lang in November and December

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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[17 November 2025, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is excited to present three remarkable programmes this November and December, featuring world-renowned pianists Mao Fujita, Emanuel Ax and Lang Lang at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall.

Mao Fujita Plays Rachmaninov (29 November)

Following his acclaimed HK Phil debut last season, Japanese pianist Mao Fujita returns with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no. 3 – a work celebrated for its emotional depth and technical brilliance. Fujita’s artistry combines innate musical sensitivity with natural elegance, equally at home in Mozart and the Romantic repertoire. Joining him is Spanish conductor Roberto González-Monjas, known for his vivid musicality and insightful interpretations.  Completing the programme are two of Respighi’s most evocative tone poems, Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome, depicting the shimmering fountains and majestic pines of Rome.

“Mao Fujita Plays Rachmaninov” will be held on 29 November 2025 (Sat) at 5PM at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$680, $540, $400 and $260 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Emanuel Ax Plays Beethoven (5 & 6 December)

After 11 years, the legendary Emanuel Ax, an eight-time Grammy winner, makes his long-awaited return to perform Beethoven’s powerful Third Piano Concerto, a masterpiece of emotional depth and brilliance. Conducted by rising star Ruth Reinhardt, the concert opens with Gambit, a vibrant work by HK Phil’s Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen, followed by Brahms’s poignant Nänie, a heartfelt tribute to friendship and loss, featuring the HK Phil Chorus. The programme culminates with Hindemith’s bold and dramatic Symphony: Mathis der Maler, composed during the turbulent years of Nazi Germany yet resonating powerfully today.

“Emanuel Ax Plays Beethoven” will be held on 5 December 2025 (Fri) at 7:30PM and 6 December 2025 (Sat) at 5PM at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$880, $700, $520 and $380 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Proudly Sponsors: Tarmo Peltokoski & Lang Lang

(11 & 13 December)

Tarmo Peltokoski, Music Director Designate of the HK Phil, leads a Nordic-inspired programme that showcases Finland in both its traditional and cosmopolitan forms. The evening opens with Castor, a dazzling orchestral work by Esa-Pekka Salonen, a compatriot and mentor of Peltokoski. The piece is inspired by the twin brothers of Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux. Superstar pianist Lang Lang then brings radiant virtuosity to Grieg’s lyrical Piano Concerto, before the concert concludes with Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite. Inspired by the Finnish epic Kalevala with its tales of the hero Lemminkäinen, Sibelius weaves four symphonic legends into a vivid musical tapestry of myth and heroism.

“Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Proudly Sponsors: Tarmo Peltokoski & Lang Lang” will be held on 11 December 2025 (Thu) at 7:30PM and 13 December 2025 (Sat) at 5PM at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$1,480, $1,080, $780 and $480 have been sold out. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Exclusive Title Sponsor: Standard Chartered Global Private Bank

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Artists

Roberto González-Monjas, conductor [full description]

Highly sought-after as a conductor and violinist, Roberto González-Monjas is rapidly making his mark on the international scene. He has built a strong reputation as a natural music leader, distinguished by his compelling artistic vision, remarkable charisma, boundless energy and enthusiasm, and sharp musical intellect. He is Chief Conductor of the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland (since August 2021), Music Director of the Galicia Symphony Orchestra in Spain (since August 2023), Chief Conductor of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg (since September 2024), and Artistic Director of Iberacademy in Colombia.

Mao Fujita, piano [full description]

With an innate musical sensitivity and naturalness to his artistry, Mao Fujita has already impressed many leading musicians as one of those special talents which come along only rarely, equally at home in Mozart as the major romantic repertoire, with The New York Times writing, "As soon as his fingers touched the keys, waves of airy filigree, beautifully shaped and accomplished, emerged in almost continuous streams” on the occasion of his US debut at Carnegie Hall in January 2023.

Ruth Reinhardt, conductor [full description]

German conductor Ruth Reinhardt is building a reputation for her keen musical intelligence, programmatic imagination, and elegant performances. The 2025/26 season marks the beginning of Reinhardt’s term as Music Director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, leading seven programmes across the season. In the summer of 2025, she made debuts with the Seoul Philharmonic and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. Other significant debuts in the 2025/26 season include the Staatskapelle Dresden, Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Bruckner Orchester Linz, SWR Symphonieorchester, the Folkwang Kammerorchester in Essen, and the Sinfonieorchester St Gallen in Switzerland.

Emanuel Ax, piano [full description]

Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize. 

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus [full description]

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus (HK Phil Chorus) has been delighting audiences since its inception in 1980. Over the years, it has showcased a diverse range of choral masterpieces in exclusive collaboration with the HK Phil. In 2013, the chorus launched an extensive recruitment campaign that attracted over 450 singers to audition. The newly formed ensemble debuted with a performance of Handel’s Messiah and has gone on to sing major works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Britten, Haydn and Mahler, under the direction of renowned conductors like Lorin Maazel, Jaap van Zweden and Nicholas McGegan. Notably, the Chorus’ Fellowship programme was inaugurated during the 2020/21 season, setting the stage for aspiring professional singers to join this distinguished ensemble.

Tarmo Peltokoski, conductor [full description]

Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski will become Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2026/27 season following his tenure as Music Director Designate in 2025/26. He currently serves as Music Director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Principal Guest Conductor of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. He is Conductor Laureate of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, where he held his first Music Director position from 2022 to 2025.

Lang Lang, piano [full description]

Lang Lang is a leading figure in classical music today – as a pianist, educator and philanthropist he has become one of the world’s most influential and committed ambassadors for the arts in the 21^st century. Equally happy playing for billions of viewers at the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing or a few hundred children in the public schools, he is a master of communicating through music. 

Esa-Pekka Salonen, composer [full description]

Esa-Pekka Salonen is renowned as both a composer and conductor. He was recently named Creative Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, effective from the 2026/27 season, and Creativity and Innovation Chair of the Philharmonie de Paris and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre de Paris, effective from 2027/28. He is the Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, all of which he has led as Music Director or Principal Conductor, and formerly served as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony. He is the founder of the Colburn School’s Negaunee Conducting Program, which he directs as a member of the faculty. Salonen co-founded, and until 2018 served as the Artistic Director of, the annual Baltic Sea Festival.

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Mao Fujita Plays Rachmaninov

29 | 11 | 2025

SAT 5PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall 

HK$680 $540 $400 $260

Tickets now available at URBTIX

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme

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Emanuel Ax Plays Beethoven

5 & 6 | 12 | 2025

FRI 7:30PM

SAT 5PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall 

HK$880 $700 $520 $380

Tickets now available at URBTIX

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme

***

Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Proudly Sponsors:

Tarmo Peltokoski & Lang Lang

11 & 13 | 12 | 2025

THU 7:30PM

SAT 5PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall 

HK$1,480 $1,080 $780 $480

Sold Out

For ages 6 and above

Artists

Programme