The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), which will take place from February 27 to March 30, invites award-winning organist Cameron Carpenter and pianist Chiyan Wong to join the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for a special concert on March 3 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The showstopper event features two rare works: Richard Strauss’s Burleske and Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante.
They will be backed by the HK Phil under the baton of Lin Daye, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will also perform Chinese composer Wang Danhong’s Southern Radiance.
Cameron Carpenter, A Pioneering Organist
Cameron Carpenter is one of the world’s most renowned and pioneering organists from the United States, known for a daringly flamboyant approach that has rewritten expectations of classical organ performance. He was the first organist nominated for a Grammy Award for a solo album.
On this special occasion, he appears with the HK Phil as the soloist in Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante, a large-scale work written for organ and orchestra.
Hong Kong-Born Pianist Chiyan Wong
Born in Hong Kong and now based in Berlin, Chiyan Wong is a bold and brilliant pianist known for his technical mastery with a sensitive, elegant touch. He has performed at major venues in Europe, including Wigmore Hall in London, the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
In this concert, he plays Strauss’s Burleske, one of the great German Romantic composer’s innovative works, famous for its demands on both soloist and ensemble.
A Night of Piano, Organ, and Orchestra at HKAF
The concert features two technically challenging and explosive works with orchestra. Wong plays Richard Strauss’s Burleske, a burgeoning piano gem whose innovative writing shows the clearest influence of Brahms, while Carpenter takes the solo part in Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante, a monumental organ symphony often called the composer’s magnum opus.
Lin Daye, the first Chinese winner of the prestigious Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition, leads the HK Phil in supporting the two soloists, while also adding a contrast in era and culture with a performance of Wang Danhong’s Southern Radiance.
In addition to this concert, Carpenter also headlines Organist Cameron Carpenter at the Movies: Sports Queen and hosts the Cameron Carpenter Organ Masterclass this HKAF season, while Wong returns in Chiyan Wong and Friends: Reflections on a Sampan, which received overwhelming support.
Tickets are now available via URBTIX.
| Event: | The “Music Without Borders” Series: Cameron Carpenter, Chiyan Wong and the HK Phil |
| When: | March 3, 2026(Approximately 1 hr 35 mins including one interval) |
| Where: | Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui |
| Tickets: | HK$280, HK$380, HK$480. HK$580, HK$680. Student discount available. Tickets available now via URBTIX |
| Website: | https://visit.hkaf.org/p5nfpi |
Image credits: Hong Kong Arts Festival, Dovile Sermokas 2021, Felix SC Wong