Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma
Programme Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - RomaConductor: Daniel HardingPiano: Aristo Sham (20 Nov only)Vocal Solos (21 Nov only)TicketingPre-concert TalkPiano Masterclass by Beatrice Rana
【Change of Performer】
Pianist Beatrice Rana is unable to come to Hong Kong to perform as planned at the first "Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma" concert to be held on November 20 (Thursday) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The piano solo part of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, which was originally to be played by Rana, will be replaced by Aristo Sham.
【Announcement on refund arrangement】
For ticket holders who have purchased the ticket(s) of the 20 November 2025 performance of Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma on or before 13 November 2025, 10 am and wish to be refunded due to the change of performer, are advised to keep their original intact tickets (with stubs) for refunds, and email cp2@lcsd.gov.hk on or before 5 December 2025. Tickets with admission record is not eligible for refund.
Attention : Patrons who selected picking up the ticket at urbtix outlets or self-service ticketing kiosks must retrieve the ticket.
For enquiries, please email cp2@lcsd.gov.hk or contact us at 2268 7321 during office hours.
Cultural Presentation, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Conductor: Daniel Harding
Piano: Aristo Sham (20 Nov only)
Soprano: Miina-Liisa Värelä (21 Nov only)
Tenor: Klaus Florian Vogt (21 Nov only)
Bass: Kwangchul Youn (21 Nov only)
20 Nov (Thu)
Verdi: Overture to Les vêpres siciliennes
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
21 Nov (Fri)
Verdi: Overture to Les vêpres siciliennes
Rossini: Overture to William Tell
Verdi: Overture to La forza del destino
Wagner: Die Walküre, Act I
Each performance will run for about 2 hours including a 20-minute intermission.
Members of the audience are strongly advised to arrive punctually. Latecomers and those who leave their seats during the performance will only be admitted and allowed to return to their seats respectively during the intermission or at a suitable break. The presenter reserves the right to refuse admission of latecomers, or determine the time and manner of admission of latecomers.
The programme does not represent the views of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme and substitute artists.
The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma was the first in Italy to dedicate itself exclusively to the symphonic repertoire, promoting premieres of 20th-century masterpieces, including Fontane di Roma and Pini di Roma by Ottorino Respighi. Since 1908, the Orchestra has collaborated with some of the greatest musicians of the century and has been conducted by figures such as Mahler, Debussy, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Hindemith, Toscanini and more. Its chief conductors have included Bernardino Molinari, Franco Ferrara, Fernando Previtali, Igor Markevitch, Thomas Schippers, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Daniele Gatti, Myung-Whun Chung and Sir Antonio Pappano (2005 to 2023). Since 2024, the British conductor Daniel Harding has become the Music Director of the Orchestra. From 1983 to 1990, Leonard Bernstein was the Honorary President.
The Orchestra has performed at major festivals such as the BBC Proms in London, the Lucerne Festival, the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg and the Salzburg Festival, as well as in prestigious concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Semperoper Dresden, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg , the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in London, Salle Pleyel in Paris and more. In March 2024, the Orchestra and Choir were resident guests at the Salzburg Easter Festival.
In recent years, the Orchestra's extensive recording activities have garnered prestigious international awards. Among the recordings, Puccini's Turandot with Sondra Radvanovsky and Jonas Kaufmann, has won the International Classical Music Awards for “Best Opera”. The Orchestra has also released a box set of 27 CDs, compiling the sacred and symphonic repertoire recorded under the baton of Pappano in the eighteen years. The latest recording of the Orchestra conducted by Daniel Harding was Puccini's Tosca, released in March 2025 by Deutsche Grammophon.
Information provided by the Orchestra
Daniel Harding took up the Music Director position of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in 2024. He was the Music and Artistic Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2025, the Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris from 2016 to 2019 and the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2017. He is honoured with the lifetime title of Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has worked for over 20 years. In 2024, he took up the position of the Music Director of the Youth Music Culture, The Greater Bay Area for a five-year term.
He is a regular visitor to the world's foremost orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and more.
In 2005, he opened the season at La Scala, Milan, conducting a new production of Idomeneo. He has also conducted Salome, Il Prigioniero, Cavalleria Rusticana,Falstaff and Le nozze di Figaro and Pagliacci, for which he was awarded the prestigious Premio della Critica Musicale “Franco Abbiati”. He has conducted Ariadne auf Naxos and Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; The Turn of the Screw and Wozzeck at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has also conducted new productions of Così fan tutte, La Traviata, Eugene Onegin and more with the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
His recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Mahler's Symphony No. 10 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Orff's Carmina Burana with the Bavarian Radio Symphony both received widespread critical acclaim. He has also recorded Billy Budd with the London Symphony Orchestra, which has won Grammy Award for “Best Opera Recording”. His latest recording with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma was Puccini's Tosca, released in March 2025 by Deutsche Grammophon.
In 2002, Harding was awarded the title Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government and in 2017 nominated to the position Officier Arts et Lettres. Beyond being a conductor, he is also a qualified airline pilot.
Information provided by the Orchestra
Aristo Sham exudes astounding intellect and a deep emotional resonance alongside a cultivated sophistication and an immediately engaging presence. He has a penchant to take on the great monuments of the piano repertoire and a natural, infectious spontaneity. This unique makeup is fueled by his fascination with the world and its rich cultures. As an international prodigy, he is a voracious student of wide-ranging interests, and currently splits his time between three continents.
At the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Sham found his breakthrough moment, taking home both the gold medal and the audience award at “one of the most prestigious contests in classical music” (The New York Times). The critics showered him with imaginative praise, calling him “a marvel of deft characterisation,” “consistently authoritative,” “a card-carrying risk taker,” “a dapper, aristocratic figure on stage,” “a pianist I look forward to hearing again” (The Dallas Morning News, Gramophone, Texas Classical Voice). In just two months’ time, he was mentioned in more than 800 news articles, and his Cliburn performance videos were streamed 2 million times across 125 countries.
Sham was featured in the 2009 documentary The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, and has performed for royalty including King Charles, and was hailed by The New York Times in 2020 as an artist “whose playing combines clarity, elegance and abundant technique.” He has concertised across Asia, Europe, and the United States, with major highlights including the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Edo de Waart, English Chamber Orchestra under the late Sir Raymond Leppard, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Minnesota Orchestra.
Sham’s 2025-2026 debut season as Cliburn winner includes a major tour of Asia through South Korea and China, and U.S. recitals for Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society/The Conrad, UCSB Arts and Lectures, and the Skyline Piano Artist Series at Northwestern University.
Information provided by the Orchestra
Soprano: Miina-Liisa Värelä
Hailed as one of the most promising sopranos in the dramatic field by Opernmagazin, Miina-Liisa Värelä “was pearly-voiced and intimate in a way one rarely hears in this role” in Wagner's monumental Tristan und Isolde in which she has appeared with Los Angeles Phil-harmonic with Gustavo Dudamel and with Robin Ticciati at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and at BBC Proms in London.
Tenor: Klaus Florian Vogt
Klaus Florian Vogt is one of the finest Wagner tenors of our time. His repertoire covers mostly dramatic roles including Lohengrin, Parsifal and Siegmund. Vogt's Lohengrin (Knight of the Grail), a role of Wagner's Lohengrin, takes him to the most important opera stages all over the world including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera and more. He was awarded “Best Male Singer” in the OPER! Awards 2025.
Bass: Kwangchul Youn
Kwangchul Youn is widely recognised in the international operatic and concert world. Youn has performed Gurnemanz and King Henry at the Opéra de Paris, Gurnemanz at the Vienna State Opera and Abimélech at the Berlin State Opera in a new production of Samson et Dalila conducted by Daniel Barenboim. He is also a much sought-after interpreter of Sarastro of The Magic Flute. In 2018, Youn was awarded “Kammersänger” from the Berlin State Opera.
Information provided by the Orchestra
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma
Tickets available from 23 July at all URBTIX outlets, self-service ticketing kiosks, on internet, by mobile app and telephone.
Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients available on a first come, first served basis).
For each purchase of standard tickets for 'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma', 'Piano Recital by Nikolai Lugansky', 'Makedonissimo by Simon Trpčeski and Friends', 'Piano Recital by Dang Thai Son' and 'Duo Recital by Mischa Maisky (Cello) and Lily Maisky (Piano)', the following concession applies:
10% off for any 2 performances, 15% off for any 3 performances, 25% off for any 4 or more performances.
“Great Music” Group Booking Discount
For each purchase of standard tickets for 'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma', 'Piano Recital by Nikolai Lugansky', 'Makedonissimo by Simon Trpčeski and Friends', 'Piano Recital by Dang Thai Son' and 'Duo Recital by Mischa Maisky (Cello) and Lily Maisky (Piano)', the following concession applies:
10% off for 4 – 9 tickets, 15% off for 10 – 19 tickets, 20% off for 20 or more tickets.
Exclusive Offer to Museum Pass Holders
Museum Pass Holders can enjoy 10% off discount for each purchase of 1 or more standard tickets. Please present valid physical or electronic Museum Pass upon purchase tickets at URBTIX outlets.
Patrons can enjoy only one of the above discount offers.
A Tale of Two Worlds: Rachmaninov's Romance and Ravel's Jazz
Date: 20 Nov 2025 (Thu)
Time: 6:45pm
Venue: Level 4 Foyer, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Speaker: Calvin Lai (Music Educator)
IG Opera
Date: 21 Nov 2025 (Fri)
Time: 6:45pm
Venue: Level 4 Foyer, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Speaker: Chan Siu-kwan (Voice Pedagogue)
Conducted in Cantonese. The talk will run for about 1 hour.
Admission free on a first come, first served basis.
Since the performer is unable to perform in Hong Kong as planned, "Piano Masterclass by Beatrice Rana" scheduled for 21 November (Friday) at The Society of APA Recital Hall, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts has been cancelled.
For programme enquiry, please contact at 2268 7321 during office hours or email to cp2@lcsd.gov.hk.
Piano Masterclass by Beatrice Rana
Date: 21 Nov 2025 (Fri)
Time: 11am
Venue: The Society of APA Recital Hall, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Conducted in English. The masterclass will run for about 2 hours.
Free Admission. Online registration available from 23 Oct at 10am on a first come, first served basis.
Co-organised by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
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