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Renowned German pianist Martin Helmchen returns to Hong Kong
for concert with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and solo recital

For immediate release
4 June 2025

German pianist Martin Helmchen, acclaimed worldwide for his masterful command of the piano and captivating musicality, returns to Hong Kong under the invitation of Hong Kong Sinfonietta for two eagerly awaited concerts at the Hong Kong City Hall. First presenting a solo recital on 18 Jun (Wed), featuring works by Schubert, Sofia Gubaidulina and Schumann, he will then join Hong Kong Sinfonietta under the baton of Music Director Christoph Poppen on 21 Jun (Sat) to perform Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, a cornerstone of German Romantic repertoire. Tickets are now on sale, with discount packages of up to 30% off available.

Wherever Helmchen performed, laudatory reviews followed, with Boston Globe praising his ability to “exquisitely shape the contours of both the sweet melody and twinkling backdrop to the orchestra”. Since winning the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in 2001, he has performed with numerous renowned orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra etc, and has frequented leading festivals such as the BBC Proms, Tanglewood, Schubertiade, and the Lockenhaus, Lucerne, Marlboro and Aspen music festivals.

On 21 Jun (Sat), Helmchen will present Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor – a passionate and vibrant masterpiece lauded by Liszt as “a noble, deeply felt composition – free from empty virtuosity”. It is one of the fruits of Schumann’s years of manic creativity fuelled by his marriage with Clara Wieck, who encouraged him to try his hand at larger-scale works than just songs and solo piano works. The concerto now stands testament to Schumann’s great musical imagination and vision, and in this concert it is complemented by the Third Symphony of Brahms – a lifelong friend of the Schumanns. Opening with a bold three-note motif representing Brahms’ personal motto “Frei aber froh” (“Free but happy”) – a defiant response to his close friend and legendary violinist Joseph Joachim’s motto, “Frei aber einsam” (“Free but lonely”) – the colourful and heartfelt work bears the composer’s personal philosophy on freedom and love. Preceding these two great German Romantic works is the Asian première of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s Nymphéa Reflection, a mesmerising work for string orchestra dedicated to celebrated pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach.

In his solo recital on 18 Jun (Wed), Helmchen will present a fascinating exploration of Schubert’s musical evolution through his regrettably short life, pairing the composer’s youthful Sonata in B (D575) with his mature Sonata in A minor (D845), separated by just eight years. The Sonata in B is full of playful vigour and musical experimentation, while the Sonata in A minor encompasses “suppressed but sometimes violently erupting sombre passion, alternating with melancholy seriousness”, as described in an early review by the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung. Between these two sonatas, Helmchen will perform a selection of Schumann’s Novelletten – charming character pieces which unfold into “little stories” of his love with his wife Clara – as well as Sofia Gubaidulina’s Chaconne, which modernises the traditional Chaconne form through chordal variations and heightened virtuosity.

HKS Recital Series:

Martin Helmchen Piano Recital

18 Jun 2025 (Wednesday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$450, $320, $180

Piano: Martin Helmchen

Programme
Schubert – Piano Sonata in B, D575
Sofia Gubaidulina – Chaconne (1962)
Schumann – Novelletten, Op 21: Nos 1, 4 & 2
Schubert – Piano Sonata in A minor, D845

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Great Piano Concertos: Martin Helmchen plays Schumann

21 Jun 2025 (Saturday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$500, $360, $220

Music Director/Conductor: Christoph Poppen
Piano: Martin Helmchen

Programme
Kaija Saariaho – Nymphéa Reflection (2001) (Asian première)
Schumann – Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 54
Brahms – Symphony No 3 in F, Op 90

Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minder, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group bookings of 4 or more standard tickets
Discount packages
Suitable for 6 years old or above
Tickets at URBTIX
Tickets online at POPTICKET (no handling fee)

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Christoph Poppen Music Director/Conductor

Conductor, soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue, Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in diverse roles in the international musical world. As Music Director of Hong Kong Sinfonietta from the 2023/2024 season, he works closely with Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie and Associate Conductor Vivian Ip on the artistic development of the orchestra, creating inspiring and innovative programmes which bring music closer to the community. His 2025/2026 season with the orchestra is highlighted by collaborations with such illustrious artists as Nicolas Altstaedt, Martin Helmchen, Denis Kozhukhin, Alexander Gadjiev and more.

As Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s Principal Guest Conductor between 2015-2023, Poppen has presented to the Hong Kong audience a rich repertoire ranging from Austro-German masterpieces to contemporary works, brought the orchestra on tour to Germany and Portugal, and taken up the position of Co-chair of the Hong Kong International Conducting Competition. Away from Hong Kong, he continues his highly successful collaborations with Cologne Chamber Orchestra as Principal Conductor and Israel Chamber Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor, while being the Artistic Director of the Marvão International Music Festival. Highlights in recent seasons included bringing the WDR Rundfunkchor Köln to Hong Kong for Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, the Asian première of William Kentridge’s Oh, To Believe In Another World, and the continuation of his recorded cycle of the complete Mozart Masses with Cologne Chamber Orchestra for Naxos.

From 1995-2006, Poppen was Artistic Director of Munich Chamber Orchestra, establishing the ensemble’s new profile in a short period of time. His distinctive programmes, often contrasting classical and contemporary styles with numerous commissioned works, were highly successful. In 2006, he was appointed Music Director of Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrücken and from 2007-2011, he was Music Director of the newly formed Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. He has appeared with orchestras such as Vienna Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Detroit Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Bamberg Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Indianapolis Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He also has a strong presence in Italy, performing regularly with the country’s leading orchestras and at festivals such as the Venice Biennale, as well as giving masterclasses. As an opera conductor, he has enjoyed acclaimed collaborations with Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Opera Köln, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen and the RuhrTriennale.

Founded by Poppen in 2014, the Marvão International Music Festival has grown to become a highly successful and award-winning musical event featuring soloists such as Jörg Widmann, Augustin Hadelich, Javier Perianes and Clara-Jumi Kang. He also founded the International Academy for Music, Arts and Science in Marvão in 2019, and was the Artistic Director of the Classic Revolution Festival in Seoul, South Korea between 2020-2022, for which he curated highly inventive programmes.

As a prize-winning violinist, Poppen co-founded the Cherubini Quartet in 1978. He was appointed Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and later at Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he was President from 1996 to 2000. From 2001 to 2005, he was Artistic Director of the renowned ARD International Music Competition. Since 2003, he has been Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. Since the 2021/2022 academic year, he has been Chair Professor of Violin at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.

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Martin Helmchen Piano

German pianist Martin Helmchen has been performing on the world’s most prestigious stages for two decades and is one of the most sought-after pianists of today. His originality and intensity of interpretation, which he presents with impressive tonal sensitivity and technical finesse, sets him apart as a musician. In 2020, he was honoured with the prestigious Gramophone Classical Music Award.

Highlights of Helmchen’s 2024/2025 season include being Artist in Residence with the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, and performing with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra. His solo recitals took him to the Konzerthaus Berlin, Prague Rudolfinum, Beethovenfest Bonn and SWR Kultur Internationale Pianisten in Mainz.

Helmchen has performed with numerous renowned international orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Orchestre de Paris, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra. He has regularly collaborated with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnányi, Alan Gilbert, Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrůša, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Fabio Luisi, Andrew Manze, Klaus Mäkelä, Andris Nelsons, Sakari Oramo, Tarmo Peltokoski and Kazuki Yamada.

Chamber music is something Helmchen holds dear – a passion for which Boris Pergamenschikow provided significant inspiration. Helmchen’s close chamber music partners include Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Julian Prégardien, Augustin Hadelich and Antje Weithaas.

Helmchen is a guest at renowned festivals such as the BBC Proms, Tanglewood, Schubertiade, and the Lockenhaus, Lucerne, Marlboro and Aspen music festivals. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Fliessen International Chamber Music Festival alongside Marie-Elisabeth Hecker.

Helmchen records for the label Alpha Classics. His most recent release, in 2024, was a recording of the Six Partitas by Bach, for which he received a Critics’ Choice from Gramophone. In 2022, his highly praised album Schumann: Novelletten & Gesänge der Frühe featuring piano works by Robert Schumann was released. His previous recordings include, among others, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, and albums with Marie-Elisabeth Hecker featuring works by Schubert and Brahms.

Born in Berlin in 1982, Helmchen initially studied with Galina Iwanzowa at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin before moving to study with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik Hannover. Other mentors include William Grant Naboré and Alfred Brendel. His career was significantly shaped by winning the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in 2001 and the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2006. Since 2010, he has been an Associate Professor of Chamber Music at the Kronberg Academy. He lives in Germany with his wife, cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and their four daughters.

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