Why is it so important to have a great hall? Because high-profile international soloists and conductors always like to go to an orchestra which has a marriage with a great hall.
This [concert hall in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre] is not a very bad hall. But we need to be attractive, and a new hall will attract new audiences.
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra [where van Zweden is the new music director] has two great halls. The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France [which van Zweden is joining in 2026] has a great new hall.
It is very important for young conductors to realise that they have to tell the orchestra what they don’t like and why they don’t like it
If you look at the Sydney Opera House, what an icon on the outside. It is not an incredible sounding hall, but the visual aspect of it makes sure it is always a full house. So if you are making a new hall in [the West Kowloon Cultural District], make it attractive.
Now, will the Hong Kong Philharmonic play seven concerts a week in a new hall? No. So I think it is possible to share it with [another group]. If you are very smart in planning, there is nothing wrong with two orchestras sharing the same hall. But first, get it built.
Q: What do you think about all the buzz around young conductors?
Van Zweden: The musical world has changed, and it is extremely positive because more and more orchestras are opening their doors for young talented conductors.
The only thing is that we need to be very careful that sometimes, very young conductors would come in and it looks great. But when I close my eyes, I would think: be careful. Don’t go too fast. Don’t be too early with things that need time.
And I think it is very important for young conductors to realise that they have to tell the orchestra what they don’t like and why they don’t like it. When you stop the orchestra [in rehearsal] you have to tell the players how you think about a certain phrase, how they can improve it.
When conductors are very young and when they have not had that experience, they need to learn very fast how each instrument works. I would say to them, learn, learn and learn. Take your time, because there are managers who want to launch you into the big world.
So don’t go from school to the Hong Kong Philharmonic. That’s dangerous, and that is not healthy also for the players although maybe it looks very nice. And we live in a time that people listen with their eyes.
Q: The orchestra’s recordings of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle released in 2018 won it rave reviews. How important were they to the HK Phil?
The previous chief executive, Michael MacLeod, and I thought that if you wanted to give this orchestra one more colour that was not actually under their belt yet, it was that dark, Wagner sound.
The Hong Kong players pick up new music extremely fast
Wagner gives the orchestra, especially after we did the Ring Cycle, the step to become the world class orchestra that we are today, I think.
If you have the Wagner operas in your system as a player, you are a more complete player. It’s very hard. Then, you need to work with singers. Singers are never the same from one day to another. So what does that mean? That orchestra needs to be extremely flexible.
You know, like, it’s driving, you are driving like a Ferrari sports car and you don’t know if you need to go to the right or to the left. If you are that flexible and you get those different sounds, then you are a top orchestra.
Q: Some reviewers have said that the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra tends to play new music better under you than the New York Philharmonic, even though the latter, where you are also stepping down as artistic director, is a much older and more well-established orchestra. Do you agree?
New York is a place where you are always under really high pressure. So when you do a new piece it needs to be done really fast. Here, sometimes we have a little bit more time.
It’s like flower seeds. You put them in the ground, it takes some time before the flowers come. In New York you put the seeds in the ground and then the next day you pull the flowers out of the ground! In Hong Kong, having more rehearsal time is a luxury that serves new music really well.
At the same time, the Hong Kong players pick up new music extremely fast. With the new piece, Dragon Factors, by James [Boznos] that we premiered in my farewell concerts, I would say that 12 years ago, this piece would not have been ready in two days. Now it is.
Q: How much of the orchestra have you changed since you arrived?
There have been some changes. When I came here there were some places free, and I took [concertmaster] Jing Wang with me [from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra]. It was a young orchestra when I arrived.
I think that for a music director to replace people, it is a weak thing to do. The strongest part of a music director is to make the people who are maybe not the strongest better. Replacing people is easy. That we can all do. I never fired anybody.
Q: Any regrets?
If there is a wish of me, let’s say when I come back for a week or two weeks, then my big wish is that I will do a Mozart opera. Because that is something we did not do. And I would love to do a Mozart opera because at the end of the day, that is where my heart is the most.
The live recording of “Farewell to Our Music Director”, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, from June 26 will be broadcast on July 5 at 8pm and July 11 at 3pm on RTHK Radio 4.