Award-winning orchestra's new album comes full circle

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra announced the release of its debut album on Deutsche Grammophon on Friday, featuring Richard Wagner's The Ring — An Orchestral Adventure, arranged by Dutch composer Henk de Vlieger and conducted by its incoming music director, Tarmo Peltokoski.

This landmark collaboration with the world's most historic classical label marks a new chapter in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's international recording profile.

The Ring — An Orchestral Adventure is a condensed yet thrilling symphonic journey that captures the drama and grandeur of Wagner's monumental work. It was recorded live at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on June 28, 2025.

In 2019, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra became the first orchestra in Asia to receive Gramophone Magazine's Orchestra of the Year Award, in recognition of its recordings of Wagner's Ring Cycle.

"I'm honored to present the Hong Kong Philharmonic's first album on Deutsche Grammophon, with The Ring — An Orchestral Adventure by De Vlieger, who has combined the infamous bleeding chunks into a symphonic journey from the depths of the Rhine to the burning Valhalla," said Peltokoski.

"The orchestra specializes in Wagner, and we are also excited to embark on the European tour in November and December to play this piece, and we are happy to share our music-making with audiences overseas."

Clemens Trautmann, president of Deutsche Grammophon and New Business Strategy Global Classics, said: "I am thrilled that the decade-long devotion of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra to Wagner's Ring Cycle now culminates in the release of an impressive symphonic version on Deutsche Grammophon. In the 150th anniversary year of the tetralogy, music director Tarmo Peltokoski leads the ensemble to a new dimension of intensity and nuance, and he showcases the strengths of the rarely performed arrangement by De Vlieger, shaping a huge arch over an hour of music in which detail is still finely executed."

This symphonic Ring journey can also be experienced on Deutsche Grammophon's streaming platform STAGE+ in the highest resolution with the highest immersive quality.