Michael Sanderling and François-Frédéric Guy Headline HK Phil’s May Programmes
8 MAY 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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[8 May 2026, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) presents two programmes in mid-May. Renowned German conductor Michael Sanderling returns with Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, while celebrated French pianist François-Frédéric Guy brings Beethoven’s complete piano concertos over two consecutive evenings. Tickets are now available at URBTIX.
Swire Maestro Series: Michael Sanderling Conducts Also sprach Zarathustra (15 & 16 May)
Michael Sanderling returns to the HK Phil for two performances. The programme opens with Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, followed by the world premiere of the Maverick Cello Concerto, featuring the HK Phil’s Principal Cello, Richard Bamping. The work is composed by Hong Kong-born British composer Dani Howard and co-commissioned by the HK Phil. The programme concludes with Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, a masterpiece inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical novel of the same name. Its opening fanfare, made famous by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, has become one of the most iconic passages in classical music.
“Swire Maestro Series: Michael Sanderling Conducts Also sprach Zarathustra” will be held on 15 May 2026 (Fri) at 7:30PM and 16 May 2026 (Sat) at 5PM at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$520, $420, $320 and $220 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management Proudly Sponsors: François-Frédéric Guy's Beethoven Piano Concertos I & II (22 & 23 May)
François-Frédéric Guy will perform and conduct all five Beethoven piano concertos over two consecutive evenings. Deeply connected to the piano, Beethoven expressed his most profound emotions through this instrument. The five concertos trace the composer’s musical journey, from the youthful spirit of the First to the majestic grandeur of the Emperor. Praised by Gramophone as a “highly persuasive Beethovenian”, Guy will perform the Second, Third, and Fourth concertos on 22 May, followed by the First and Fifth on 23 May.
“BNP Paribas Wealth Management Proudly Sponsors: François-Frédéric Guy's Beethoven Piano Concertos I” will be held on 22 May 2026 (Fri) at 7:30PM. “BNP Paribas Wealth Management Proudly Sponsors: François-Frédéric Guy's Beethoven Piano Concertos II” will be held on 23 May 2026 (Sat) at 5PM. Both performances will take place at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Tickets priced at HK$520, $420 $320 and $220 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.
Title sponsor: BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Cultural partner: French May Arts Festival
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Artists
Michael Sanderling, conductor [full description]
Since the 2021/22 season, Michael Sanderling has served as Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. This appointment marked the logical continuation of a long-standing, close partnership aimed at further establishing the orchestra’s international reputation in the late Romantic repertoire — particularly with works by Bruckner, Mahler, and Strauss. Tours throughout Europe, Asia, and South America, as well as innovative projects, attest to the impact of this collaboration. Particular attention was drawn to the multimedia production of Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 10 featuring artist William Kentridge, which, following its premiere at the KKL Lucerne and in Pompeii, enjoyed triumphant performances at the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Philharmonie de Paris.
Richard Bamping, cello [full description]
Richard Bamping has been Principal Cellist of the HK Phil since 1993. He has performed with many of the finest musicians of recent history — Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Leonidas Kavakos, Mstislav Rostropovich, Carlo Maria Guilini, Valery Gergiev, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Sir Colin Davis and Claudio Abbado, to name but a few.
François-Frédéric Guy, conductor and piano [full description]
As an outstanding interpreter of the music of German Romantics and their forebears as well as contemporary compositions, François-Frédéric Guy is pursuing a steady international career as both a soloist and as an orchestral conductor from the piano. Alongside great conductors such as Kent Nagano, Daniel Harding and Esa-Pekka Salonen, he has worked with renowned orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
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Swire Maestro Series: Michael Sanderling Conducts Also sprach Zarathustra
15 & 16 | 5 | 2026
FRI 7:30PM & SAT 5PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$520 $420 $320 $220
Tickets now available at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above
Artists
conductor | |
cello |
Programme
BRAHMS | Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, op. 56a |
Dani HOWARD | Cello Concerto, Maverick (World Premiere, HK Phil Co-commission) |
STRAUSS | Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30 |
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BNP Paribas Wealth Management Proudly Sponsors: François-Frédéric Guy's Beethoven Piano Concertos I
22 | 5 | 2026
FRI 7:30PM
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
HK$520 $420 $320 $220
Tickets now available at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above
Artist
conductor/piano |
Programme
BEETHOVEN | Piano Concerto no. 2 in B flat major, op. 19 |
BEETHOVEN | Piano Concerto no. 3 in C minor, op. 37 |
BEETHOVEN | Piano Concerto no. 4 in G major, op. 58 |
BNP Paribas Wealth Management Proudly Sponsors: François-Frédéric Guy's Beethoven Piano Concertos II
23 | 5 | 2026
SAT 5PM
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
HK$520 $420 $320 $220
Tickets now available at URBTIX
For ages 6 and above
Artist
conductor/piano |
Programme
BEETHOVEN | Piano Concerto no. 1 in C major, op. 15 |
BEETHOVEN | Piano Concerto no. 5 in E flat major, op. 73, Emperor |