Hong Kong Sinfonietta 2025/2026 season “Living Music, Music Living
Press release by hksl.org
2025/2026 season (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026), united under the theme “Living Music, Music Living”. In the words of Music Director Christoph Poppen, “Our life is limited, but the symphonies which we perform have survived hundreds of years without losing any of their beauty and energy. It is an enormous gift to be inspired, touched, and energised by the power of music.” This season, we invite you to breathe and share the wonders of music through the enriching and inspiring concerts we have on offer – to live in music, and to let music live in you.
Multi-talented composer Anna Lo appointed HKS Artist Associate (2025-2026)
Music, with its unparalleled versatility and emotional power, has always been a catalyst for magic when it meets other art forms. Since 2006, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has been running the “HKS Artist Associate” scheme, inviting outstanding local artists from a wide range of disciplines to collaborate with the orchestra and explore fresh ways of portraying classical music to the community.
This 2025/2026 season, the multi-talented composer Anna Lo has been appointed HKS Artist Associate. In the past decade, the orchestra has already enjoyed numerous successful collaborations with Anna, including The Passage Beyond in Concert (2014 & 2016), Movies, Musicals & More! (2019) etc, where Anna has shone in her roles as composer, arranger and singer. This season, Anna will arrange Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for saxophone quartet and orchestra (12 Jul), as well as design and present a special programme reimagining the boundaries of classical music, as part of the WestK FunFest in March 2026.
Anna says: “To have consistently worked with [Hong Kong Sinfonietta] over the past 10 years really speaks volumes about what I appreciate most about this team: that they are more than willing to defy expectations, and that they are, always, ready to PLAY — such as playing with hybrid artists like myself. I am honoured and more than excited to dip my toes back into my classical music roots with the Sinfonietta, while bringing along my pop and theatre sensibilities for a playful and multifaceted year of collaborations.”
Exceptional artists lead the way for an unforgettable season
With over 40 programmes on offer this new season, Hong Kong Sinfonietta will be joined by leading soloists and conductors celebrated worldwide for their phenomenal artistry. Heralded by pre-eminent German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt’s season-opening performance of Walton’s Cello Concerto with Music Director Christoph Poppen (12 Apr) and solo recital (9 Apr), the season welcomes legendary violinist Midori’s long-awaited return to Hong Kong, playing Mendelssohn’s luminous Violin Concerto under the baton of Daniel Raiskin (29 Nov) as well as a recital of timeless classics by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann etc (27 Nov). Three-time winner of Best Instrumental Ensemble of the Year at the prestigious French Victoire de la Musique Classique, the renowned piano trio Trio Wanderer will make their Hong Kong début in the French May Arts Festival, collaborating with Music Director Designate of Prague Symphony Orchestra Tomáš Netopil to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (17 May), on top of a recital of exquisite trios by Debussy, Ravel and Mendelssohn (14 May). Acclaimed French conductor Pascal Rophé will bring Ravel’s quintessentially French masterpiece Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose) to the same festival, joined by French rising star violinist Alexandra Soumm who will play Bruch’s iconic Violin Concerto in G minor (31 May).
Under the baton of Music Director Christoph Poppen, some of the best-loved piano concertos will highlight this season: distinguished German pianist Martin Helmchen will perform Schumann’s fantastic Piano Concerto (21 Jun), while Rachmaninov’s unparalleled favourites – his Piano Concerto No 2 and No 3 – will be showcased by 2nd Prize winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition Alexander Gadjiev (8 Nov) and 1st Prize winner of the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition Denis Kozhukhin (25 Oct) respectively.
Other much-anticipated débuts of phenomenal new stars in today’s classical music scene include German cellist Raphaela Gromes who will play Dvořák’s Cello Concerto (27 Sep); flautist and 1st Prize winner of the 2023 Geneva International Music Competition Elizaveta Ivanova who will present Reinecke’s Flute Concerto (7 Feb 2026); as well as must-see percussion supernova Marianna Bednarska who will share her enthralling rendition of Peter Eötvös’ Speaking Drums (24 Jan 2026).
Our life is limited, but the symphonies which we perform have survived hundreds of years without losing any of their beauty and energy. It is an enormous gift to be inspired, touched, and energised by the power of music.
Classical concerts at its most dynamic and charming
Two of the most exciting, upbeat and refreshing concerts this season, both helmed by Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie, will display classical music in its most energetic and alluring light. The charismatic Polish saxophone quartet The WHOOP Group will land in Hong Kong for the first time to perform HKS Artist Associate Anna Lo’s virtuosic arrangement of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (12 Jul), before going all out in a recital showcasing their rule-breaking musical imagination and mastery (13 Jul).
Expecting sold-out concerts every time, Taiwanese violin sensation Richard Lin will return to the spotlight for an eclectic programme featuring some of the most well-loved works written for the violin (15 Nov), promising heartwarming melodies and astonishing pyrotechnics alike.
Keeping music living through new commissions
Having commissioned over 90 new works from local and overseas composers in the past, Hong Kong Sinfonietta continues its mission to keep music living and thriving this season. Having recently been commissioned by the 2025 Lucerne Festival, leading Hong Kong composer Charles Kwong‘s Piano Concerto “Hereafters”, commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta and written for star pianist Colleen Lee, will see its world première under the baton of German conductor and Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec Clemens Schuldt (26 Apr). Esteemed violinist Ilya Gringolts will perform the Asian première of Chaya Czernowin’s fascinating Moths of Hunger and Awe, co-commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Musikkollegium Winterthur, under the baton of Bas Wiegers (13 Sep). Two other commissioned works by up-and-coming talents So Ho-chi and Jing Wang will see their world premières this season (8 Nov & 25 Oct respectively); award-winning Japanese composer Dai Fujikura’s captivating work for orchestra and electronics, Ritual, will make its Hong Kong première under the baton of Taiwanese conductor Chien Wen-pin (7 Feb 2026).
Always within reach, always for all
Hong Kong Sinfonietta has ceaselessly strived to bring classical music closer to audiences of all ages, all tastes and from all walks of life. As part of the International Arts Carnival 2025, the orchestra has invited revered French illustrator and animator Grégoire Pont to bring his signature Cinesthetics performance concept to Hong Kong, where he will combine his charming live-drawings and animation with live orchestral performances of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Ravel’s Mother Goose for a spectacular audiovisual feast, under the baton of Jason Lai (2 & 3 Aug). Lai will also conduct the educational programme “The Other Side of Schumann” which delves into the life and works of the German Romantic great, featuring pianist Colleen Lee (8 & 9 Aug).
In the summer, the orchestra’s long-term friend and local cartoon icon McDull is revisiting the orchestra for “McDull．Pictures at a Concert” conducted by Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie (22-24 Aug), a fantastical exploration of the beauty in common between extraordinary works of music and visual art, where you will learn to “see” the music and “hear” the paintings. McDull will also go on tour with the orchestra for the first time to the Shenzhen Concert Hall (6 Sep), bringing to mainland Chinese audiences a fun-filled programme titled “McDull．The Pig is Coming!”.
In response to overwhelming acclaim and demand, Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s “Short-cut to Classical Music: The Instruments of an Orchestra” concert is returning for two shows at Yuen Long Theatre Auditorium (7 & 8 Mar 2026). The ever-popular Good Music for Kids and Good Music for Babies concert series will see new iterations presented by Associate Conductor Vivian Ip and Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie (6-8 Jun & 13-15 Feb 2026 respectively). The start of 2026 is also poised to see the return of the most outrageously fun and best-selling family concert of the year devised by the amazing British concert presenter Alasdair Malloy, who will lead you on a hair-raising adventure through a spooktacular imaginary haunted house this year (9-11 Jan 2026)!
Integrating good music into the hustle and bustle of everyday living
Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s crowd-favourite Panasonic Proudly Sponsors: Good Music This Lunch free lunchtime chamber concert series continues this season with 10 performances to provide some mid-day musical invigoration for all members of the public. As the Artists-in-residence of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Music Department for the second year running, Hong Kong Sinfonietta will again present the Chamber Gems concert series at the university’s Lee Hysan Concert Hall.
CHRISTOPH POPPEN
CONDUCTOR