Whether you are a seasoned concertgoer or just starting to discover the wonders of classical music, you are in for many treats this November with Hong Kong Sinfonietta!

The city’s flagship orchestra will welcome prominent artists for three fantastic concerts at Hong Kong City Hall: Great Violin Concertos – Dan Zhu Plays Szymanowski on 16 November, HKS Recital Series: Michiaki Ueno Cello Recital on 27 November, and Cellomania: Michiaki Ueno Plays Lalo on 30 November.

Ahead of the concerts, we had the chance to chat with violinist Dan Zhu and cellist Michiaki Ueno about their musical journey and their collaboration with Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

Dan Zhu by Antonio Nieddu, Festival Etruscan Bloom 2023

Born in Beijing, China, Dan Zhu started playing the violin at 4 years old. “My parents were not musicians but music lovers, so I grew up in a musical environment where I listened to a lot of music. My parents often took me to classical music concerts, and also to ballets. When I was very young, they took me to a live concert of Yehudi Menuhin in Beijing, and the sound struck me. This was so close to my heart. This is when I started to believe that I could become a violinist,” Zhu remembers.

The violinist made his first public appearance at the age of 9, performing Mendelssohn’s violin concerto with the China Youth Chamber Orchestra. At 12, he entered the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Four years later, he was awarded full scholarship to study at Mannes College of Music in New York, where he made his Carnegie Hall debut with Tchaikovsky violin concerto at the age of 18.

Dan Zhu and Christoph Eschenbach in recital, Kennedy Center

Zhu has appeared with world class orchestras under the direction of Maestros Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jacek Kaspszyk, Uroš Lajovic, Alexander Rahbari, En Shao, Carl St.Clair, Muhai Tang, Ralf Weikert, Long Yu among many others, and has been invited to perform at renowned festivals, such as the Tanglewood, Salzburg Festspiele, Verbier, Kuhmo, Marlboro, Enescu, Schleiswig-Holstein, Pablo Casals, Ravinia, and Spoleto festivals. In 2021, he founded the Festival Etruscan Bloom in Florence, Italy.

For him, every kid should be exposed to classical music when they grow up, because classical music is the food for the soul. “We constantly emphasise on eating healthily and practicing sports. But for our spirit, music is the food, and I think everyone should have the opportunity to be surrounded by classical music,” Zhu explains. The violinist also advises young musicians to stay true to themselves because music can speak the truth in the most sincere way.

In his début with Hong Kong Sinfonietta under the baton of Music Director Christoph Poppen, Zhu will play a piece very close to his heart, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 2 – a beautifully lyrical, rhapsodic and virtuosic work with enchanting folk undertones, originally written for legendary violinist Paul Kochanski. The concert will open with the Hong Kong première of acclaimed composer Valentin Silvestrov’s atmospheric Stille Musik, and conclude with Tchaikovsky’s timelessly captivating Symphony No 5.

Michiaki Ueno by Seiji Okumiya

Born in Paraguay in 1995, Japanese cellist Michiaki Ueno started playing the cello at 5 years old.  “I grew up in a musical family — my mother is a pianist, and my two older sisters play the piano and violin. I loved singing when I was little and often watched videos of the Three Tenors. I used to play with my sister’s violin like it was a toy until one day, I saw Yo-Yo Ma performing Bach. I told my parents that I wanted to play the cello, and after a year of begging, I finally started learning it at the age of 5,” Ueno remembers.

Ueno spent his childhood in Spain and, after moving to Japan, he made his debut as a soloist at the prestigious Suntory Hall at just 11 years old, performing the Lalo Cello Concerto. This led him to winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians and catapulted him onto the international scene.

He attracted the world’s attention in 2021 at the Geneva International Music Competition with his sensational performance of the Lutosławski Cello Concerto, winning the first prize with three special awards.

Michiaki Ueno at the finale of Geneva International Music Competition, 2021

As a soloist, Ueno has collaborated with leading orchestras including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Warsaw Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared in numerous festivals, such as the Verbier Music Festival and the Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar, La Folle Journée de Nantes, the Montpellier Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival, and the Takefu International Music Festival. ​

When asked about the role of classical music in education, Ueno explains that exposure to classical music from a young age can help to develop creativity and emotional sensitivity, just as any other art form does. “For young aspiring musicians, I’d say the most important thing is to have fun and always remember why you love music, even when facing challenges,” he says.

In his Hong Kong début, Ueno will perform Lalo’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, under the baton of Venezuelan conductor Rodolfo Barráez.

He will also present a delightful recital programme starting with a composer he feels deeply connected to, Bach, with the iconic Suite No 1 in G for Unaccompanied Cello. He will also perform works by Schubert, Liszt and Chopin, joined by leading Hong Kong pianist Colleen Lee. “I came across a video of Ms. Colleen Lee playing Chopin beautifully online, which inspired me to include Chopin as a main piece,” he explains.

Rodolfo Barráez

Ueno’s concert with Hong Kong Sinfonietta will be conducted by Venezuelan conductor Rodolfo Barráez, who won the first prize at the 2nd Hong Kong International Conducting Competition in 2023. Now based in Berlin, he has been Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as Associate Conductor of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Singapore Symphony Orchestra, since 2022.

Recent guest conducting appearances include the Appassionato Orchestra at the 2022 Verbier Festival, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, The Hallé, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán, Orquesta Sinfónica de Querétaro, Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM and Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, among others.

Conductor Rodolfo Barráez

In his highly anticipated official début with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Barráez will also conduct Tchaikovsky’s thrilling Symphony No 4, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s sparkling Capriccio Espagnol in an evening of fireworks and enchantment.

It goes without saying that all artists are very much looking forward to performing for the Hong Kong audience!

More details on the concerts can be found here:

Great Violin Concertos – Dan Zhu Plays Szymanowski – 16 November – Tickets here

HKS Recital Series: Michiaki Ueno Cello Recital – 27 November – Tickets here

Cellomania: Michiaki Ueno Plays Lalo – 30 November – Tickets here