Cover Tarmo Peltokoski and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo: courtesy of Keith Hiro and the HKPhil)
Tarmo Peltokoski and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo: courtesy of Keith Hiro and the HKPhil)
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The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s coming season will feature a strong line-up of cinema music by Oscar-winning composers James Horner and John Williams
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s (the HKPhil) line-up for the 2025/26 season has been announced, which will feature a strong line-up of cinema music from Oscar-winning productions.
The season will begin in September this year. Marking the 10th anniversary of the death of James Horner, the Oscar-winning composer known for Braveheart (1995), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009), the orchestra will perform pieces from his Hollywood compositions in a concert on September 12 and 13. Crisel Consunji will sing My Heart Will Go On at this concert.
Above A still from ‘Titanic’ (Image: courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
A still from ‘Titanic’ (Image: courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
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Families and children can look forward to Frozen, Live in Concert as a Christmas activity this December. According to Timothy Tsukamoto, HKPhil’s director of artistic planning, this decision was made “by popular vote”.
In January, the HKPhil will feature another Hollywood maestro, John Williams, alongside violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Mutter will bring beloved pieces from Harry Potter (2001-2004) and Star Wars (1977-2019) to the stage. Mutter will also perform Violin Concerto No. 2, which Williams specifically wrote for her.
Above John Williams (Photo: Instagram/@johnwilliams.music)
John Williams (Photo: Instagram/@johnwilliams.music)
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On the Eastern front, the HKPhil’s National Day concert will be dedicated to wuxia heroes. It will feature Chinese composer Tan Dun’s violin concerto Hero, from the original soundtrack of Zhang Yimou’s film of the same name. The concert will also include the local premiere of Hong Kong rising composer Elliot Leung’s Wuxia, inspired by renowned Hong Kong wuxia novelist Jin Yong’s work. Chinese dizi player Feng Tianshi will join the HKPhil in an evening concert conducted by maestro Long Yu, bringing together Chinese and Western musical elements.
Above Tarmo Peltokoski (Photo: courtesy of Peter Rigaud the HKPhil)
Tarmo Peltokoski (Photo: courtesy of Peter Rigaud the HKPhil)
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There is much speculation as to whether the 25-year-old Finnish music director designate Tarmo Peltokoski, who succeeded Jaap van Zweden, will introduce music from his home country. (Peltokoski will officially become the music director in the 2026/27 season.) In a pre-recorded video, he enthusiastically announced that Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will lead a programme in May 2026. This programme will include Sibelius No. 5, Strauss’s Don Juan, op 20, and Salonen’s own Horn Concerto.
On Sibelius’s piece, Peltokoski commented that it is an early masterpiece not often played, but it’s “fantastic epic music”. He described it as being from the Finnish national epic Kalevala, telling the story of the hero Väinämöinen, a “young, dumb boy, a bit like the German Siegfried”. He humorously recounted how Väinämöinen “in the first movement, runs after some girls on an island, then goes to the mythical underworld and tries to kill a holy swan—that’s the famous movement. But then he dies and is resurrected by his mom, and then he returns home”. He highly recommends the piece.
More famous names are in the pipeline, including piano superstar Lang Lang, who will perform with Peltokoski for the first time, and American soprano and actress Renée Lynn Fleming. The HKPhil will announce details of the rest of its coming season in due course.
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
