This year’s Festival brings together over 1,300 international and local artists in some 125 performances covering music, dance, theatre, Chinese and Western opera and much more. The Festival-opening performance, by Italy’s Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by Maestro Donato Renzetti, features classic Italian opera arias. Renowned Chinese conductor Lü Jia and the China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, together with international pianist Zhang Haochen and soprano Song Yuanming, bring the Festival to a close in grand style. Festival PLUS returns, presenting a wealth of artistaudience events, including masterclasses and workshops, backstage visits, guided cultural tours and more. Besides, the Festival’s “Young Friends” programme features school tours, pre-performance talks, arts demonstrations and other special events designed to engage local young people with a world of arts and culture.
The Government is determined to enhance the appeal of Hong Kong’s culture. To further solidify Hong Kong’s position as a vibrant East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges, the Government has launched the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development in November 2024, and has been actively working on the 71 measures under four key strategic directions as outlined in the Blueprint.
I am grateful to the Hong Kong Arts Festival and its dedicated team for their unremitting efforts in promoting arts and culture in Hong Kong, throughout the region and around the world. I am grateful, too, to the many sponsors and donors for their generous support for the Festival.
I wish this year’s Hong Kong Arts Festival another resplendent season of arts and culture, entertainment and memorable community engagement.
John KC LEE Chief Executive Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
A warm welcome to the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival. As a leading international performing arts event, the Festival is continuing its mission of enhancing Hong Kong’s cultural landscape by showcasing over 1,300 exceptional international and local artists in more than 125 performances of over 45 unique programmes, as well as organising about 300 PLUS and educational activities for the community.
I would like to thank the HKSAR Government, acting through the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, for its annual subvention and matching grant which are not only essential to our operations, but also an important recognition of the work we do. I also want to thank The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for its unwavering support during the past 53 years, as well as other corporate sponsors, charitable foundations and donors, whose contributions have enabled us to reach out to different sectors of the community and positively impact society through the performing arts.
My deepest gratitude goes to all participating artists for their dedication and exceptional performances. I also thank all HKAF staff, who worked extremely hard to bring this Festival to life.
Most importantly, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all audience members for your participation and support. May you find joy and inspiration in our programmes and events.
The Hong Kong Arts Festival is made possible with the funding support of:
Promoting international cultural exchange has always been a key objective of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. This year’s Festival continues to invite renowned global masters and internationally recognised young pioneers to present a range of world-class programmes, respecting tradition while encouraging new, innovative initiatives. Many of these works are inspired by classic literature or offer rediscoveries of the original, bringing vibrant artistic experiences to the city.
We will also present a series of programmes centred around “fantasy and adventure”. These include works that seamlessly blend the arts with VR and AR technology, as well as captivating new creations that draw on traditional puppetry and circus performances. The Festival will also continue to support local artists and encourage exchanges to foster a vibrant and diversified platform for the arts.
We also remain dedicated to advancing arts education and audience building. Our PLUS programmes will present a series of thoughtfully curated masterclasses, backstage visits, post-performance artist talks and an exhibition. And our Young Friends and educational activities will continue to offer multi-dimensional arts experiences to students.
We hope that you will enjoy this year’s arts extravaganza prepared by the Hong Kong Arts Festival team.
Flora Yu Executive Director Hong Kong Arts Festival
香港藝術節
HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL
扎根香港的國際藝壇盛事 聯繫中國與世界
An International Arts Festival in Hong Kong Connecting China and the World
The HKAF, launched in 1973, is a major international arts festival committed to enriching the cultural life of the city by presenting leading local and international artists in all genres of the performing arts as well as a diverse range of “PLUS” and educational events in February and March each year.
The HKAF is a non-profit organisation. The total estimated income for FY2024/25 (including the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival and 2025 “No Limits”) is approximately HK$150 million. Current Government annual baseline funding accounts for around 12% of the Festival's total income. Around 23% of the Festival’s income needs to come from the box office, and around 45% from sponsorship and donations made by corporations, individuals and charitable foundations. The remaining 20% is expected to come from other revenue sources including the Government’s matching grant scheme, which matches income generated through private sector sponsorship and donations.
The HKAF has presented top international artists and ensembles across multiple genres, such as*:
• Western opera: Bayerische Staatsoper, Oper Leipzig, The Bolshoi Theatre, The Mariinsky Theatre
• Chinese opera: China National Peking Opera Company, Hebei Clapper Opera Troupe, Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, Shanghai Zhang Jun Kunqu Art Center, Suzhou Kunqu Opera Company of Jiangsu, Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe
• Classical music: Cecilia Bartoli, Riccardo Chailly, Seong-Jin Cho, Gustavo Dudamel, Philip Glass, Bruce Liu, Yo-Yo Ma, Denis Matsuev, Anna Netrebko, Gianandrea Noseda, Seiji Ozawa, Thomas Quasthoff, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Tan Dun, Muhai Tang, Christian Thielemann, Bamberg Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Thomanerchor Leipzig, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Jazz and world music: Bobby McFerrin, Youssou N'Dour, Esperanza Spalding, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, Pink Martini
• Dance: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sylvie Guillem, Akram Khan, Natalia Osipova, American Ballet Theatre, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, The Hamburg Ballet–John Neumeier, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company
• Theatre: Peter Brook, Robert Lepage, Yukio Ninagawa, Robert Wilson, Berliner Ensemble, National Theatre of China, Royal Shakespeare Company
• Large-scale special events: World of WearableArt, Zingaro
• Outdoor events: Power Plant, Super Pool, Chorus
The HKAF actively collaborates with Hong Kong’s own creative talent and showcases emerging local artists. Over the years, the HKAF has commissioned and produced over 250 local productions across genres including Cantonese opera, theatre, chamber opera, music and contemporary dance, many with successful subsequent runs in Hong Kong and overseas. Recent HKAF productions include Miss Julie, Table for Six On Stage, Loveless Romance, We Are Gay, The Plague, Always by Your Side, Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers, A Floating Family—A Trilogy, Hong Kong Odyssey, Danz Up, Datong—The Chinese Utopia, The Amahs and Murder in San Jose, to name a few.
The HKAF frequently partners with renowned international artists and institutions to produce exceptional works, such as Der Fensterputzer (The Window Washer) co-produced by the HKAF, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Richard III
and The Tempest produced by The Old Vic, BAM and Neal Street under “The Bridge Project” with the HKAF as a co-commissioning institution, Green Snake co-commissioned with the Shanghai International Arts Festival, Dream of the Red Chamber co-produced with the San Francisco Opera, and Laila, a co-production of the HKAF and the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.
The HKAF invests heavily in arts education for young people. Over the past 32 years, our “Young Friends” scheme has reached around 836,000 local secondary and tertiary school students. A variety of arts education projects serving primary, secondary, and tertiary school students have been launched in recent years, featuring activities such as student showcases, pre-performance talks, open rehearsals, opportunities to attend Festival performances, as well as in-school workshops and lecture demonstrations led by international and local artists. Donations to the “Student Ticket Scheme” also make available approximately 10,000 half-price student tickets each year.
The HKAF organises a diverse range of “Festival PLUS” activities in community locations each year to enhance engagement between artists and audiences. These include films, lecture demonstrations, masterclasses, workshops, symposia, backstage visits, exhibitions, meet-the-artist sessions, and guided cultural tours.
The HKAF actively promotes inclusion via the arts to every corner of the community. The “No Limits” project, co-presented with The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, was launched in 2019. Through a series of performances and diverse arts experiences for students and the community, “No Limits” strives to create an inclusive space for people with different abilities to share the joy of the arts together.
To provide greater financial security and long-term sustainability for the Festival, the Hong Kong Arts Festival Foundation was officially launched in 2022. Donations to the Foundation will be used towards enabling the Festival to present in the future largescale or special projects which its annual budget cannot cater for.
*有關香港藝術節的過往節目 Details of past HKAF programmes https://www.hk.artsfestival.org/en/about-us/past-programmes/past-programmes-2024.html
誠邀贊助或捐助香港藝術節；詳情請與藝術節發展部聯絡。
To find out more about sponsorship opportunities and donation details for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, please contact the HKAF Development Department.
香港藝術節協會2024/25年度預計收入來源（約港幣一億五千萬）
電郵 Email: dev@hkaf.org
直線 Direct Lines: (852) 2828 4911/12
網頁 Website: www.hk.artsfestival.org/en/support-us
Estimated Income Sources for the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society in FY2024/25 (About HK$150 million)
約Around 45%
贊助和捐款 Sponsorship & Donations
約Around 23%
票房收入 Box Office
約Around 12%
政府的年度 恆常撥款 Current Government annual baseline funding
約Around 20%
其他收入 (包括按捐款和贊助收入 可望獲得的政府配對資助) Other Revenues (including possible Government Matching Grant for Sponsorship and Donation Income)
中國國家大劇院管弦樂團
China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra
29.03.2025 / 8:00pm
香港文化中心音樂廳
Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
演出長約 1 小時 45 分鐘，包括一節中場休息
Approximately one hour and 45 minutes including one interval
鳴謝 Acknowledgment:
藝術節加料節目
大師班 Masterclass 張昊辰鋼琴大師班
Zhang Haochen Piano Masterclass
28.03.2025 ( 已舉行 Past event)
演前講座 Pre-Performance Talk
譜寫未來：國家大劇院管弦樂團與中國新音樂的對話
Composing the Future: A Dialogue on the China NCPA Orchestra and New Music
29.03.2025 ( 已舉行 Past event)
工作坊 Workshop
造園：寧靜盆景蠟燭製作工作坊
Creating a Garden: Serene Bonsai Candle-Making Workshop 29.03.2025 ( 已舉行 Past event)
Please switch off mobile phones and all electronic devices so they will not emit sound or light during the performance, disturbing the performers and other audience members.
※ 請勿擅自攝影、錄音或錄影。
Unauthorised photography or recording of any kind is strictly prohibited.
※ 演出期間請保持安靜。
Please keep noise to a minimum during the performance.
※ 本場刊採用環保紙張印刷。
This programme is printed on environmentally friendly paper.
※ 如不欲保留本場刊，請於完場後放回演出場地入口
If you don't wish to keep this booklet, please return it to the admission point 所有作品內容均由創作團隊獨立製作，並不代表贊助機構之立場或意見。
The content of all works is independently produced by the creative team, and does not reflect the views or opinions of the Sponsor.
The content of this programme and the opinions featured in this publication are solely those of the artists/guest writers and do not represent the views or opinions of the Hong Kong Arts Festival (“HKAF”).
Ticket holders are strongly advised to arrive punctually. The HKAF reserves the right to refuse the (a) admission of latecomers (whether at the beginning of the performance or after the intermission) and (b) re-admission of audience members who leave the auditorium during the performance.
本會保留全權決定觀眾（包括遲到和中途離場的觀眾）入場和重新入場的可能 性及方式。
The HKAF also reserves the sole discretion to determine the possibility of admission and re-admission of audience members (which includes latecomers and audience members who have left the auditorium and are seeking readmission), as well as the manner in which they are admitted.
In any case, should the HKAF permit the admission of latecomers, such latecomers shall only be admitted at designated latecomer point(s). No refunds or changes will be offered if ticket holders are refused admission due to late arrival. In the event of any dispute, the HKAF reserves all rights to make the final decision.
The China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the China National Centre for the Performing Arts and led by Music Director Lü Jia. The orchestra has become a national benchmark of the highest standards and to date it has played in more than 60 operatic productions for the NCPA.
On the orchestral side, it programmes and presents performances throughout a full-year season, impressing audiences with its unique vitality. The orchestra has co-operated with world-renowned maestros and artists including Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Myung-Whun Chung, Lang Lang, Wang Jian and Kyung-Wha Chung, among others. Hailed as “a brilliant and first-class orchestra”, it has toured the USA, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, to name a few. Its live recording of The Ring without Words with its creator, Lorin Maazel, was released on Sony Music worldwide, the only recording the great maestro ever made with an orchestra from China. In 2019, the orchestra’s recording of Beethoven's Symphony No 9, conducted by Lü Jia, was named the Best Orchestral Album at the 2018 Chinese Audiophile Vinyl Awards. More recently, the NCPA Orchestra has released recordings of Bruckner’s complete numbered symphonies.
Acknowledgement
The violin played by the concertmaster of the China NCPA Orchestra is generously loaned by Mr Tai Yau Ting.
Lü Jia is the Artistic Director for Music at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and Music Director of the China NCPA Orchestra, and previously served as Music Director of the Verona Opera House, Artistic Director of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director and Chief Conductor at the Macao Orchestra and Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste.
Lü has conducted nearly 2,000 orchestral concerts and opera performances in Europe and the USA. He has worked with renowned opera houses and symphony orchestras such as La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, the Munich Philharmonic, the Bamberg Symphony, L’Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, and many others. An acclaimed opera conductor, Lü has led more than 50 productions so far internationally. As the first Asian conductor appointed as music director of a national opera house of Italy, he has been praised by critics as “a conductor who has a deeper understanding of Italian operas than the Italians themselves do”.
Song Yuanming obtained a Graduate Artist Diploma and a double Master’s degree in Opera and Light Opera and Art Songs and Cantata at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under the tutelage of Professor Franz Lukasovsky. As a professor of vocalism, Song teaches at the Voice and Opera Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing.
She has won several awards including the first prize at the 48th Concours international de Chant de la ville de Toulouse; the award for Best Soprano at the 13th International Ferruccio Tagliavini Singing Competition in Austria; and the first prize and the award for Best Singer at the 44th Antonín Dvořák International Vocal Competition in the Czech Republic.
She has performed at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the USA, the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Salzburger Festspiele, and has worked with the Vienna Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra as well as renowned conductors including Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev and Yannick NézetSéguin. She has starred in operas including Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Turandot, La bohème, Die lustige Witwe, Il trovatore and Der fliegende Holländer
In 2009, Haochen Zhang became the first Asian gold medallist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and received the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2017.
Zhang has performed with top international orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, with well-known conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Myung-Whun Chung, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Tugan Sokhiev and Long Yu. He has also performed at the Philharmonie Berlin, Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in the USA, Royal Albert Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and Suntory Hall in Japan. He also regularly gives piano recital tours in China.
In 2023, Haochen released his album on BIS, performing Liszt’s Transcendental Études which was awarded Gramophone ’s Recording of the Month, and graced the cover of International Piano. He released his latest album in March 2025, performing Beethoven Piano Sonata No.29 in B-flat major “HammerKlavier” and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor. BIS also released his three other studio albums. In 2022, Zhang’s collection of essays on Classical music titled On the Other Side of Performing was published in Mainland China.
Zhang studied under Professor Dan Zhaoyi at the age of 11 and was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 2005, studying under Professor Gary Graffman.
In Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde , the Prelude and the “Liebestod” are situated at the beginning and end of this several-hour-long work. These two musical sections present and resolve the “Tristan chord” in a mutually responsive manner, demonstrating the composer’s talent and inadvertently opening the door to modern music history.
Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde was inspired by his passionate but unfulfilled love for Mathilde Wesendonck. At the time, the married Wagner became infatuated with the young and beautiful poet and writer Mathilde, an affair that ultimately led to the breakdown of his marriage. As his biographer, Ulrich Drüner, stated: “Before meeting Mathilde Wesendonck, love had already been a powerful artistic force. However, there are many indications that he only realised this after experiencing Mathilde’s quite magical presence.” This unrequited love, which defied societal norms, became a powerful driving force and source of inspiration. Catalysed by this passion, Wagner completed Tristan und Isolde with extraordinary speed, as he himself said: “Although I have never tasted the sweetness of love in my life, I want to erect a monument for the most beautiful of all dreams, a dream in which love is eternally fulfilled.” Wagner used the unresolved “Tristan chord” as the opening of the entire opera and when it is finally resolved in the “Liebestod”, as the German Romantic poet Novalis wrote: “Love has been liberated, and there will never be separation again.”
Richard Wagner “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde
Mild und leise wie er lächelt, wie das Auge hold er öffnet -
Seht ihr’s, Freunde?
Seht ihr’s nicht?
Immer lichter wie er leuchtet, stern-umstrahlet hoch sich hebt?
Seht ihr’s nicht?
Wie das Herz ihm mutig schwillt, voll und hehr im Busen ihm quillt?
Wie den Lippen, wonnig mild, süsser Atem sanft entwehtFreunde! Seht!
Fühlt und seht ihr’s nicht?
Hör’ ich nur diese Weise, die so wundervoll und leise, Wonne klagend, alles sagend, mild versöhnend aus ihm tönend, in mich dringet, auf sich schwinget, hold erhallend um mich klinget?
Heller schallend, mich umwallendSind es Wellen sanfter Lüfte?
Sind es Wogen wonniger Düfte?
Wie sie schwellen, mich umrauschen, soll ich atmen, soll ich lauschen?
Soll ich schlürfen, untertauchen?
Süss in Düften mich verhauchen? In dem wogenden Schwall, in dem tönenden Schall, in des Welt-Atems wehendem Allertrinken, versinkenunbewussthöchste Lust!
中文歌詞由中國國家大劇院管弦樂團提供 Chinese lyrics supplied by China NCPA Orchestra
Richard Wagner “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde
How softly and gently he smiles, How sweetly his eyes open
Can you see, my friends,
Do you not see it?
How he glows ever brighter, Raising himself high amidst the stars?
Do you not see it?
How his heart swells with courage, Gushing full and majestic in his breast?
How in tender bliss, sweet breath,
Gently wafts from his lipsFriends! Look!
Do you not feel and see it?
Do I alone hear this melody, So wondrously and gently
In bliss lamenting, all-expressing, Gently reconciling, sounding from him, Piercing me, soaring aloft, Its sweet echoes resounding about me?
Resounding yet more clearly -
Wafting about me in the air?
Are they billows of blissful fragrance?
As they seethe and roar about me, Shall I breathe, shall I listen?
Among Liszt’s vast body of piano works, those written for piano and orchestra represent only a relatively small portion. The most notable piano works are his two concertos (with one unfinished). Both were composed after Liszt had retired from his illustrious career as a virtuoso pianist. Having toured extensively throughout Europe as a musical superstar, the 36-year-old Liszt opted for a more settled life, dedicating himself to composition, teaching and his role as a Kapellmeister to the court in Weimar.
His Piano Concerto No 1 had been a longgestating work, with its thematic material dating back to 1830, but the full composition was not completed until 1849. Unlike traditional concertos where the piano soloist and orchestra alternate, this work features a more integrated approach, with the piano and orchestra blending for most of the piece. Many instruments in the orchestra also have their own solo passages.
The work’s structure is highly innovative, essentially consisting of a single movement divided into four sections. The thematic material is developed and varied throughout these sections, a form known as a “cycle form” or “cyclic form”. Twentieth-century composer Béla Bartók noted that Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 1 represented the first perfect realisation of the cycle-sonata form. The four sections are interconnected and share musical materials, creating an organic and cyclical whole. The concerto showcases Liszt’s signature virtuosity while demonstrating his mastery of compositional technique, making it a standout work of the Romantic era.
The creation of gardens is a cultural pursuit in China, with literati seeking to emulate nature. The practice is a manifestation of the traditional Chinese philosophy of seeking harmony between humanity and nature. The relationship between the garden creator, the garden dweller and the garden itself reflects the delicate balance between human beings and the natural world. As a spiritual sanctuary for literati, the garden mirrors the Chinese people’s resilience in the face of life’s complexities. In essence, the creation of a garden represents a quest to find a spiritual home, a journey towards an inner sanctuary.
These insights provided me with cultural inspiration for my musical composition, Garden: Unearthing the Way Home . In the realm of sound, I have created worlds from nothing, arranged mountains and water, and planted flowers and trees. Through the creation of melodies and harmonies, I have experienced the cyclical fortunes of gardens amid societal changes. The sonic expressions in this composition are not merely symbolic or impressionistic, but rather emphasise the joy and dynamism of creation, as well as the yearning for a return home. Just as individuals are transformed by the act of creating a garden, so too are composers, performers and listeners reborn and renewed through their engagement with music.
As the world undergoes profound changes unseen in a century, we ponder the future of our shared home. What would this Chinese garden, imbued with the spirit of the Chinese people, mean to those from different cultures? If music is a bridge across cultures and a bond between hearts, I hope my composition Garden: Unearthing the Way Home can serve as a spiritual sanctuary for all.
Yao Chen embarked on his lifelong musical journey in Mainland China, where he received training in composition at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music’s High School and then at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He gained his Ph.D in Music Composition from the University of Chicago.
Yao’s work spans various dimensions and reaches for transcendence. His music, always ritual in nature, eschews contemporary trends and aims for a timelessness and an otherness that exists beyond the standard categories— music for the moment, but also music for what lies ahead. Whether his work is brittle or forceful, or both at the same time, it’s always full of melancholy and a sense of wonder, with an internationalist orientation grounded in a quest for maximal musical meaning.
His works include the orchestral works Garden: Unearthing the Way Home, From the Vessel of Ancient Souls and Sentiments: Autumn , the instrumental theatre piece PARAMITA and Pipa Plays Opera: Three Scenes .
隨着旋律層層推進，狂喜的高潮一波接一 波，但聽眾的耳朵始終慾求不滿，直到音樂 升騰至壯麗輝煌的 C 大調，達到炫人耳目的 頂峰。難怪史克里亞賓曾說，聆聽《狂喜之 詩》應該同時「直視太陽的光芒」。
撰文：湯瑪士．梅
“There, under the rays of its dream, emerges a magical world of heavenly forms and feelings emerge” from the creative spirit: so wrote Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin in a poem that recorded his intensely sexual vision of the artist’s work as a “union of the cosmic Eros”. That text, Le Poème de l’extase (“The Poem of Ecstasy”), served as a kind of preparation for the composition to which he gave the same title—and which has become Scriabin’s best-known orchestral piece. Art, for this Russian musical mystic, was a vehicle that could transport humanity into the highest spheres by revealing the truth of the human condition. Le Poème de l’extase burns with the unlimited fuel of the creative spirit.
“The Cosmos, i.e., Spirit, is Eternal Creation without External Motivation, a Divine Play of Worlds,” explained the programme notes for the premiere in December 1908. Le Poème de l’extase is a symphonic poem that synthesises the ravishing language of longing which Wagner introduced in Tristan und Isolde with dreamlike sonic images; it even foreshadows the radical atonality of Arnold Schoenberg.
Particular instruments play key roles in Scriabin’s complex network of themes. The violin sings a “feminine” theme suggesting birth, while the trumpet pronounces an idea that is associated with the “masculine” will of the artist as well as another that soars toward “victory”.
The piece unfolds in a series of ecstatic climaxes, yet leaves our ears craving more—until the music culminates in a glorious C Major. Listening to Le Poème de l’extase , according to Scriabin, should be accompanied by the act of staring “straight into the eye of the sun”.
Text: Thomas May
中國古典音樂界新氣象
中國國家大劇院管弦樂團
The China NCPA Orchestra: a New Vision for China’s Classical Music Scene
The National Centre for the Performing Arts casts an imposing presence over Xicheng district in Beijing, and the building (known locally as “The Giant Egg”) represents “the backbone of the cultural life force of the city”, according to Music Director Lü Jia. “It represents a new vision for China’s classical music and arts scene. The China NCPA Orchestra is proud to call it our home,” Lü said in an interview in 2017.
The China NCPA Orchestra swiftly won the hearts of audiences across China after it was established in 2010. With a global vision and a dynamic style, the centre’s resident orchestra frequently performs concerts onstage and provides accompaniment for operas from the pit. Despite its brief history and youthful lineup, with its musicians averaging just over 30 years old on average, the orchestra has developed a striking sound all of its own.
The newly completed National Centre for the Performing Arts was looking for a resident orchestra to accompany its original operas. Within just two months, the centre had gathered 62 instrumentalists from 27 countries, many of whom had previously worked with some of the most celebrated orchestras in the world, including the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.
Conductor Zuohuang Chen served as the orchestra’s inaugural Music Director for two years, before passing the baton to Lü Jia, who specialises in conducting operas. The orchestra is now known for its mastery of both operatic and concert repertoires, and as it developed its performance style during the past 15 years, it started adding Asian flavours to the Classical works it performed at home and abroad. Its clear renditions of challenging works have helped audiences further appreciate the glamour of Classical music.
The orchestra has had the privilege of working with some of the most iconic names in Classical music, including Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Maazel, in particular, fostered a close relationship with the orchestra before his passing, lauding its "amazing professionalism and great passion for music".
Eschenbach echoed this sentiment, declaring the orchestra to be "one of the finest orchestras in Asia".
One of the orchestra’s crowning achievements came with the live recording of The Ring without Words , a distilled version of Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen conducted by its creator, Lorin Maazel. Released globally by Sony Music, this recording holds a special place in history as the only one Maazel ever made with a Chinese orchestra. In 2021, the NCPAO etched its
樂團將於 2025 年訪港，與女高音宋元明合 作演繹華格納不朽名作《崔斯坦與伊索爾 德》中的前奏曲及終曲〈愛之死〉。而鋼琴 家張昊辰則將以他獨特的詮釋，為李斯特的 降 E 大調第一鋼琴協奏曲注入新生命。
name into the annals of Classical music once again, becoming the first Chinese orchestra to record Beethoven’s Egmont . In 2024, the orchestra continued to push boundaries with the release of Bruckner's complete numbered symphonies—an ambitious project that further cemented its place as a pioneering force in the world of Classical music. Today, the China NCPA Orchestra comprises 128 musicians and has seen significant growth since its founding 15 years ago, developing into a more mature and cohesive ensemble and earning a solid reputation on the international stage.
At the 2025 HKAF, the China NCPA Orchestra will present a performance of the bestknown Prelude and “Liebestod” from Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde , with soprano Song Yuanming. And piano star Haochen Zhang will also join forces with the orchestra to showcase his unique bravura in Franz Liszt’s electrifying Piano Concerto No 1 in E-flat Major, S124.
The programme also includes Yao Chen’s Garden: Unearthing the Way Home , inspired by the aesthetics of traditional Chinese literati gardens. In the piece, Chen depicts Chinese philosophy, and allusions to mountains, water, flowers and forests, in Western symphonic form. The orchestra will conclude the programme with Alexander Scriabin’s stirring and passionate Le Poème de l’extase , known for its rich emotions and striking contrasts in layers.
Chinese text: Trista Yeung
English translation: Amadeus Cheung
This article was originally published on the HKAF’s News & Features website in December 2024
製作主任 王子蕙* 技術統籌 張詠宜*、范文恩*、李浩賢*、彭家達*、曾以德* Head of Artist Coordinators Eleanor Chu* Artist Coordinators Haynes Cheung*, Viola Chong*, Cassandra Heung*, Kelvin Ho*, Kitty Leung*, Joyce Lo*, Giacomo Matelloni*, Jan Pang*, Renee Tsang*, Blanche Wu*, Jiajia Yang*, Bonnie Yung* Production Officer Anissa Wong* Technical Coordinators Jess Cheung*, Yan Fan*, Lawrence Lee*, Pang Ka-tat*, Joyi Tsang*
Production Officer Anissa Wong*
Technical Coordinators Jess Cheung*, Yan Fan*, Lawrence Lee*, Pang Ka-tat*, Joyi Tsang*
*合約職員 Contract Staff 按英文姓氏首字母排列 In alphabetical order # 藝術人才見習配對計劃2023/24 及2024/25 由香港藝術發展局資助 # 2023/24 and 2024/25 The Arts Talents Internship Matching Programme is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council 2025年2月更新 Updated February 2025
*合約職員 Contract Staff 按英文姓氏首字母排列 In alphabetical order # 藝術人才見習配對計劃2023/24 及2024/25 由香港藝術發展局資助 # 2023/24 and 2024/25 The Arts Talents Internship Matching Programme is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council 2025年2月更新 Updated February 2025
