The Hong Kong Philharmonic opens its new season by pairing two of the most vivid storytellers in the orchestral repertoire. Season Opening: Manfred Honeck's Pastoral and Elektra puts Beethoven's countryside idyll next to Strauss's psychological inferno, conducted by the man who arranged the second piece himself.
In This Guide
What is this concert about?
It is the HK Phil's season-opening gala, built around one conductor's very personal pairing of light and dark. Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck opens the 2026/27 season with Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony — the piece that first gave orchestral music a vivid narrative voice, tracing flowing streams and birdsong through to a thunderstorm and radiant thanksgiving. He follows it with his own suite drawn from Richard Strauss's opera Elektra, co-arranged with Tomás Ille.
The pairing is deliberate: where the Beethoven evokes nature's calm and its fury, the Strauss distils the opera's world of psychological violence and obsession, set against the mythic backdrop of Mycenae after the Trojan War. It is a season opener that trades a safe, celebratory programme for genuine dramatic contrast.
What's on the programme?
Two works, one interval, built around a single emotional arc from pastoral calm to operatic violence.
Season Opening: the programme
| Composer | Work |
|---|---|
| Beethoven | Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, Pastoral |
| Strauss (arr. Honeck & Ille) | Elektra Suite |
Programme as published by the HK Phil, August 2026. The concert runs approximately two hours including one intermission.
There is no vocal soloist on this programme — Honeck and Ille's Elektra Suite distils the opera's orchestral writing alone, without singers, so newcomers to Strauss's opera can experience its intensity in a single concentrated movement rather than a full three-hour staged work.
How do you get tickets and get there?
Tickets have been on sale via URBTIX since 6 August 2026, priced HK$340, $420, $600 and $780. Concession discounts apply for full-time students, people aged 60 and above, people with disabilities and CSSA recipients (50% off), and Club Bravo members get 15% off. Ticketing enquiries go through URBTIX on 3166 1100; programme enquiries are on 2721 2332.
The Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall (香港文化中心音樂厅) sits on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront at 10 Salisbury Road, right by the Star Ferry pier. It is a short walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station (Exit E) or Tsim Sha Tsui East Station (Exit J), and the harbour view on the way in is worth arriving a little early for.
Season Opening: the essentials
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Dates | 16 & 17 September 2026 (Wed & Thu), 7:30pm |
| Venue | HK Cultural Centre Concert Hall (香港文化中心音樂厅) |
| Address | 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui |
| Nearest MTR | Tsim Sha Tsui Station, Exit E (or Tsim Sha Tsui East, Exit J) |
| Conductor | Manfred Honeck |
| Tickets | HK$340 / $420 / $600 / $780 (URBTIX, on sale since 6 Aug) |
| Running time | About 2 hours with one intermission; ages 6+ |
Details as published by the HK Phil, August 2026. Confirm on the orchestra's site before booking.
Building a fuller night of classical music this season? See our guides to the BBC Planet Earth III Live in Concert, Eric Lu playing Chopin with the HK Phil, and the wider best concerts in Hong Kong in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Book before the cheaper tiers sell out
Two performances, one dramatic pairing of light and dark. Season Opening: Manfred Honeck's Pastoral and Elektra is on sale now via URBTIX — grab a seat for 16 or 17 September.