Lotte Concert Hall Cancels Lucerne String Festival Performance Over 'COVID-19' Concerns

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Lucerne String Festival performance, scheduled to be held at Lotte Concert Hall at 8 p.m. on the 17th of next month, has been canceled due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to Lotte Concert Hall on the 17th, the Lucerne String Festival organizers conveyed their decision to cancel the performance due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Hans-Christoph Maurshat, Managing Director of the Lucerne String Festival, stated in an official statement on the same day, "On behalf of all the performers of the Lucerne String Festival and Artistic Director Daniel Dodds, we express our deep regret that we will not be able to share wonderful music with the audience through the scheduled Korea tour next month. We thank the organizers and audience for understanding this decision during these difficult times."

The Lucerne String Festival had planned performances to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, featuring Japanese-American violinist Midori Goto, with concerts scheduled for the 10th in Singapore, 12th in Hong Kong, 13th in Shanghai, 14th in Changsha, 15th in Zhuhai, and the 17th at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. Australian-born violinist and conductor Daniel Dodds was to conduct, with Midori as soloist, performing Beethoven's "Violin Concerto," "Romances No. 1 and 2 for Violin and Orchestra," and "Symphony No. 4," among others.

This was also to be the first concert in the "Beethoven Addict" series prepared by Lotte Concert Hall in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

Lotte Concert Hall announced that all purchased tickets will be fully refunded and that they will contact ticket holders sequentially starting from the 18th to proceed with the cancellation process. Additionally, to prevent COVID-19 infection, they are implementing measures including ▲house managers and ushers wearing masks ▲hand sanitizers placed at the ticket box, cloakroom, and main gates on each floor ▲professional disinfection of all concert hall areas, including inside the auditorium, performers' waiting rooms, backstage, and ticket offices.

They also conduct frequent disinfection of the concert hall's dedicated elevators and facilities, have temporarily suspended the blanket rental service to ensure strict personal hygiene management, and have prepared and are operating a separate isolation space to accommodate audience members exhibiting symptoms until medical personnel arrive in case of emergencies.