ProgrammeGewandhausorchester LeipzigMusic Director / Conductor: Andris NelsonsPiano: Yulianna AvdeevaTicketingPre-concert Talks
Music Director / Conductor: Andris Nelsons
Piano: Yulianna Avdeeva
2 Jun (Tue)
Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 73, "Emperor"
Schumann
Symphony No. 1 in B-flat, Op. 38, "Spring"
3 Jun (Wed)
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Shostakovich
Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
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 Gewandhausorchester Leipzig is the oldest civic symphony orchestra in the world. The orchestra’s nucleus was the concert society Das Große Concert, founded in 1743 by a group of 16 musical philanthropists, comprising noblemen and burghers alike. The ensemble took residence in its first genuine concert hall – adopting the name Gewandhausorchester – on moving to an upper hall of the textile merchants’ trading house in 1781.
The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig is revered for its highly individual, warm, dark sound palette that clearly distinguishes it from other elite orchestras. This unique sound identity, along with the extraordinarily rich diversity of the repertoire which the Gewandhausorchester performs, is cultivated in almost 300 performances each year in the orchestra’s three ‘homes’: as concert orchestra in the Gewandhaus, orchestra of the Leipzig Opera and orchestra for the weekly performances of the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach with the Thomanerchor in St Thomas Church.
Few other orchestras have contributed as much to the development of the symphonic musical tradition as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. For example, it performed all of Beethoven’s symphonies during the composer’s lifetime. The Orchestra also presented the world’s first complete Bruckner cycle as well as the first Shostakovich cycle during the 1970s.
Many celebrated musicians have been appointed to the office of Gewandhauskapellmeister (Music Director and Principal Conductor), including Johann Adam Hiller, Felix Mendelssohn, Arthur Nikisch, Kurt Masur and Riccardo Chailly. Andris Nelsons assumed the position of Gewandhauskapellmeister since the 2017-18 season.
Information provided by the Orchestra
Andris Nelsons is Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. These two positions – combined with his leadership of a pioneering alliance between the two institutions – have firmly established the Grammy Award-winning conductor as one of the most sought-after artists today.
Nelsons began his tenure in Boston with the 2014-15 season and in Leipzig in February 2018. A landmark moment in the orchestral alliance between the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig – which includes joint programming, commissions, recordings, touring projects, musicians’ exchange, and educational initiatives – occurred in May 2025 with the Shostakovich Festival Leipzig, a historic celebration of the composer’s complete symphonic oeuvre.
Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig opened their 2025-26 season with a European tour alongside violinist Isabelle Faust, including a return to the BBC Proms and culminating in the season’s opening concert at the Gewandhaus. A further tour in November 2025 featured celebrated soloists Seong-Jin Cho and Augustin Hadelich in performances across Europe.
Nelsons’s recording projects with Deutsche Grammophon, where he is an exclusive artist, reflect the depth and breadths of his musical vision. With the Boston Symphony Orchestra he recorded the complete symphonies and concertos of Shostakovich as well as the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, earning four Grammy Awards for "Best Orchestral Performance" and "Best Engineered Album, Classical". With the Gewandhausorchester, Nelsons completed a Bruckner symphonic cycle marking the composer’s bicentenary in 2024. His Beethoven cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was released in 2019.
Information provided by the Orchestra
A pianist of fiery temperament and virtuosity, Yulianna Avdeeva is the First Prize Winner of the 16th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2010, which launched her to international fame for “consistently [leading] the field, in terms of sheer passion and musicianship, not to mention technical security,” and for her “spontaneous and volatile” performances, “full of depth and colour” (The Telegraph). Yulianna plays with power, conviction and sensibility, winning over audiences all over the world.
A favorite artist in Europe, Yulianna has recurring concert engagements at the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Rudolfinum in Prague, Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Highlights of 2025-26 season include the “Chopin and his Europe” Festival in Warsaw, recital debuts at Vienna‘s Musikverein Wien, the Berliner Philharmonie and more.
Orchestral performances, as soloist, include the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and more. Her recent appearance at the Shostakovich Festival Leipzig followed by a European tour with Andris Nelsons and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
Yulianna recently released three albums on Pentatone: Resilience (2023), Chopin: Voyage (2024), and a complete recording of Shostakovich: Preludes & Fugues Op. 87 (2025).
In 2025 Yulianna launched the online project #AvdeevaShostakovichProject, discussing and playing each of the 24 Preludes and Fugues. The project accompanied #YuliannasMusicalDialogues, an open space for her followers to share their passion for music. Piano aficionados also enjoyed Yulianna’s online educational project #AvdeevaBachProject, gaining over half a million views.
Tickets available from 30 March 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).
“Great Music” Early Bird Discount (from 30 Mar 10:00am to 12 Apr 11:59pm)
30% off for each purchase of standard tickets for 2 or more different performances (which should include 'Gewandhausorchester Leipzig').
“Great Music” Package Discount
For each purchase of standard tickets for different performances under "Great Music", 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 programmes under "Great Music", the following concession applies:
10% off for 4 – 9 tickets, 15% off for 10 – 19 tickets, 20% off for 20 or more tickets.
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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. Other programmes under "Great Music" will be announced soon.
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From the Classical Period to the Romantic Period
Date: 2 Jun 2026 (Tue)
Time: 6:45pm
Venue: Level 4 Foyer, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Speaker: Jimmy Shiu (Music Practitioner)
Echoes of Russia – The Sound of Leipzig
Date: 3 Jun 2026 (Wed)
Time: 6:45pm
Venue: Level 4 Foyer, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Speaker: Savio Lau (Music Critic)
In Cantonese. Each talk will run for about 1 hour.
Admission free on a first come, first served basis.
