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Performing arts in Hong Kong
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Review | Tarmo Peltokoski draws precise Prokofiev, mixed Mahler from Hong Kong Philharmonic

  • Orchestra’s music director designate was in full control of Prokofiev piano concerto with Seong-Jin Cho, less so of Mahler’s Symphony No 5

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Tarmo Peltokoski conducts the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in its 2023/24 season finale concert on July 5. The incoming music director was received enthusiastically by the audience at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Photo: Keith Hiro/HK Phil
Ken Smith

The excitement over the July 4 appointment of 24-year-old Tarmo Peltokoski as the next music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra carried through to the following evening’s season finale.

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Ticket holders had to wait in the lobby outside the concert hall for nearly 15 minutes past the scheduled start time for the Finnish conductor’s second appearance in Hong Kong.

The delay was ostensibly to correct “technical problems” with the piano, although its most palpable effect was to heighten the audience’s anticipation.

At the very least, the late start helped compensate for the imbalance in the programme, the first part of which consisted solely of a 30-minute piano concerto; an hour-long symphony followed after the intermission.

Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski and Seong-Jin Cho, soloist in a performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, receive the applause of the audience on July 5. Photo: Desmond Chan/HK Phil
Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski and Seong-Jin Cho, soloist in a performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, receive the applause of the audience on July 5. Photo: Desmond Chan/HK Phil
The Russian flavour of Peltokoski’s debut with the Philharmonic in June 2023, in which he paired Tchaikovsky with Shostakovich, was echoed in the evening’s first work, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Seong-Jin Cho as soloist. Conductor and pianist established an easy rapport as they brought to life a work that mixes old-school Russian romanticism (particularly in the solo piano part) and modernist sonorities.
Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski, music director designate of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, hugs pianist Seong-Jin Cho after their performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on July 5. Photo: Keith Hiro/HK Phil
Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski, music director designate of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, hugs pianist Seong-Jin Cho after their performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on July 5. Photo: Keith Hiro/HK Phil
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