Tarmo Peltokoski launches his first season as Music Director of the HK Phil with Mahler’s colossal Symphony no. 8 – a score he believes “should be saved for the most special, rare occasions.” This landmark programme also marks the HK Phil premiere of Mahler’s Eighth, completing the orchestra’s long‑awaited journey through all of Mahler’s symphonies. Few works rival the scale and ambition of this masterpiece, which Peltokoski describes as “cosmic, universal, heavenly, uniting,” and filled with “some of the deepest, most primitive aspects of our existence.” A stellar lineup of international and HK artists powers this vibrant inauguration of the “Finnish conducting miracle” – a triumphant new chapter for the HK Phil under its new Music Director.

Tarmo Peltokoski Conducts Mahler 8

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

“The whole thing sounds as though it came to us from some other world… one is battered to the ground and then raised on angel’s wings to the highest heights.” So Mahler described his Second Symphony. Seeking to embrace the whole of human existence – life and death, doubt and faith, punishment and reward – the Resurrection Symphony begins at the graveside of a “well-loved man”, as innocence and irony give way to the cry of faith in Primeval Light. The symphony’s apocalyptic final movement stands among the greatest visions of redemption and renewal in all music. Inspired by (Fri)edrich Gottlieb Klopstock’s Die Auferstehung, which Mahler heard at Hans von Bülow’s funeral, it affirms a world beyond judgment, illuminated by love. Join Music Director Tarmo Peltokoski, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus, and a distinguished cast of soloists for a truly transcendental experience.

Tarmo Peltokoski Conducts Mahler 2

“The whole thing sounds as though it came to us from some other world… one is battered to the ground and then raised on angel’s wings to the highest heights.” So Mahler described his Second Symphony. Seeking to embrace the whole of human existence – life and death, doubt and faith, punishment and reward – the Resurrection Symphony begins at the graveside of a “well-loved man”, as innocence and irony give way to the cry of faith in Primeval Light. The symphony’s apocalyptic final movement stands among the greatest visions of redemption and renewal in all music. Inspired by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’s Die Auferstehung, which Mahler heard at Hans von Bülow’s funeral, it affirms a world beyond judgment, illuminated by love. Join Music Director Tarmo Peltokoski, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus, and a distinguished cast of soloists for a truly transcendental experience.

Louise Kwong

Events

Upcoming events

7 - 8 Nov, 2026

Tarmo Peltokoski Conducts Mahler 8 · Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

2 - 3 Apr, 2027

Tarmo Peltokoski Conducts Mahler 2 · Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

7 - 9 Apr, 2027

Beijing Concert – Mahler’s Second and Vaughan Williams’s Fourth · Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Lohengrin by Wagner

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Singer in Tristan und Isolde by Wagner

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Mater Gloriosa in Symphony No. 8 by Mahler

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

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