South Korea’s spring classical music season is opening with a run of major festivals, led by the Tongyeong International Music Festival and followed by the Seoul Arts Center Symphony Festival and the Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival.
Industry officials said Thursday that the three events will offer a wide range of programs, from large-scale orchestral concerts to chamber music.
The Tongyeong International Music Festival runs March 27 to April 5 at Tongyeong Concert Hall under the theme “Face the Depth,” presenting 26 performances. British contemporary music composer George Benjamin will serve as composer-in-residence, with five of his major works to be performed.
Violinist Augustin Hadelich will appear in a recital, as a soloist and in a chamber project. Countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski will present works spanning Baroque and Classical music as well as Polish art songs. Both resident artists are set to appear together on April 3 in “Tongyeong Festival Orchestra II.” The festival will also feature contemporary works and premieres, including Unsuk Chin’s “Graffiti,” with leading performers from Korea and abroad, including pianist Seong-Jin Cho.
The Seoul Arts Center Symphony Festival will be held April 1-23 at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall under the theme “Connecting The Notes.” Nineteen symphony orchestras from across the country and one overseas ensemble will present 20 performances. Conductors include Jaap van Zweden with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Roberto Abbado with the National Symphony Orchestra. Women conductors Holly Choi, Yeoja Kyung and Park Seung-yu are also on the roster.
Vincent Ong, a prizewinner at the Chopin Competition, and other emerging musicians will appear as soloists. Programs will pair core repertoire by Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky with large-scale 20th-century works by Shostakovich and Stravinsky. On April 7, the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra is scheduled to perform, highlighting the festival’s international reach.
The Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival runs April 21 to May 3 under the theme “Mozart and Prodigies,” with 13 performances at venues including the Seoul Arts Center and Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. Marking the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, the festival will focus on his late masterpieces while also highlighting works by other prodigy composers such as Saint-Saens, Debussy and Beethoven.
A total of 82 musicians will take part. Performers include young artists such as violinist Kim Yeon-a and cellist Kim Jeong-a, alongside festival mainstays including pianist Kim Young-ho, violist Kim Sang-jin and pianist Lim Hyo-sun.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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