HK Phil: Season Finale: Jukka-Pekka Saraste & Igor Levit

About the show

A blaze of sunshine descends as Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's "Midnight Sun Variations" opens the HK Phil's season finale concert—a piece inspired by the Arctic summer night and the birth of her first child. Pianist Igor Levit, hailed by The New Yorker as "a pianist of unique calibre," delivers Prokofiev's daring Second Piano Concerto with fearless intensity and lucid rationality; the work, which drew boos at its premiere yet was hailed as a stroke of genius for its originality, was written by the composer in memory of a friend who tragically took his own life at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. After a well-received debut with the HK Phil in 2024, conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste returns to lead Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, guiding audiences through the composer's struggle against fate—from inner turmoil to self-affirmation—bringing the season to a close. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is a professional ensemble funded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and a venue partner of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. This season finale concert, featuring conductor Saraste and pianist Levit, is ideal for classical music lovers with an interest in Nordic contemporary works, Russian piano concertos, and Romantic-era symphonies.

Synopsis translated by KinoHK — the performance itself is not in English unless stated above.