Berliner Philharmoniker’s Philharmonia Quartett prepares a chamber musical menu of Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann for Hong Kong

When I first contacted the Berliner Philharmoniker to speak to one of the musicians in their string quartet, the first email I received asked: “Which quartet are you talking about?”

The Berlin Quartett, Das Philharmonia Quartett Berlin, I answered, which is playing in Hong Kong on November 19.

“I had to ask, as we have eight different quartets in the orchestra,” replied the head of public relations, Elisabeth Hilsdorf. She added that there were 34 chamber music groups “which is a big number”, and that they didn’t usually know about all the bookings, which would be managed by different management companies.

Its second life as a home for chamber music could be one of the many secrets of the

Berliner Philharmoniker, which is one of the most sold-out orchestras in the world. The tickets (from HK$680 in the cheapest seats, to HK$2,980 in the best) for its Hong Kong performances on November 10 and 11 were snapped up months ago – although anyone can hear its music live from the Cultural Centre Piazza, Sha Tin Park and Yuen Long Theatre free of charge, where the performances will be relayed electronically.

“It’s important for our orchestra musicians to play chamber music and the orchestra looks for good chamber musicians, when they search for new colleagues,” Hilsdorf said.