Violinist Younger Brother Rainer to Collaborate with Gyeonggi Philharmonic on 18th
Conductor Older Brother Manfred to Lead SIMF Closing Concert on 26th
The renowned Honeck brothers in the world of classical music will take the stage at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall with an eight-day interval.
The younger brother, violinist Rainer Honeck, will perform first. He will collaborate with the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra on Beethoven's Violin Concerto on the 17th and 18th. On the 17th, the performance will be at the Gyeonggi Arts Center Grand Theater, and on the 18th, at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. After the concerto, he will also appear in the second part of the program. Joining as a guest concertmaster of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic, he will perform Strauss's symphonic poem "Ein Heldenleben" ("A Hero's Life"). It is rare for a soloist from the first part of a classical concert to return to the stage in the second part. Since "A Hero's Life" features an important solo for the concertmaster, his performance is highly anticipated. The conductor will be Kim Sun-wook, artistic director of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic.
The elder brother, conductor Manfred Honeck, will take the stage at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on the 26th. He will conduct the closing concert of the 2024 Seoul International Music Festival (SIMF), which opens on the 18th. He will perform Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 with the SIMF Orchestra and will premiere "Clarinet Concerto," composed by SIMF artistic director Ryu Jae-jun, as the opening piece.
Manfred Honeck, Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony [Photo by Seoul International Music Festival]
The Honeck brothers are from Austria and are three years apart in age. They are among nine siblings, all of whom learned instruments influenced by their music-loving father.
Both Manfred and Rainer studied violin in their childhood. In the early 1980s, Manfred joined the Vienna Philharmonic as a violist, and Rainer as a violinist. Rainer was promoted to concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1992 and has held the position for 32 years.
Manfred is currently the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In his younger years, he served as principal conductor of the Leipzig MDR Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic, and was music director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also worked as principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic and music director of the Stuttgart State Opera (2007?2011).
In September last year, Manfred conducted the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's regular concert, performing Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 "Path?tique." The opening piece was Dvo??k's Rusalka Fantasy, arranged by Manfred and Czech composer Tom?? Ille in 2016.
Manfred has guest conducted world-renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, and London Symphony Orchestra. When conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, the brothers shared the stage as conductor and concertmaster.
Daniel Ottensamer, principal clarinet of the Vienna Philharmonic, is also known for his musical family. His younger brother, Andreas Ottensamer, three years his junior, is principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic, considered one of the two leading orchestras in the world alongside the Vienna Philharmonic. Andreas served as music director of the classical music festival "Classic Revolution," hosted by the Lotte Cultural Foundation last year. Their father, Ernst Ottensamer, was also principal clarinet of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Paavo J?rvi, who will collaborate with pianist Lim Yunchan at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on December 18, also comes from a famous musical family. J?rvi is from Estonia, and his father, Neeme J?rvi, is a renowned conducting maestro. His younger brother, Christian J?rvi, who is eleven years younger, is also active as a conductor. His younger sister, Marika J?rvi, three years younger, is a flutist.
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