From March 28, Tongyeong International Music Festival
Yunchan Lim Participates as "Resident Musician"
Next Month, Symphony Orchestra Festival at Seoul Arts Center
Abundant Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival
Classical music festivals that will convey the full spirit of spring through beautiful melodies are being held one after another.
Starting with the Tongyeong International Music Festival (March 28?April 6) on the 28th, followed by the Seoul Arts Center Symphony Orchestra Festival (April 1?20) and the Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival (SSF, April 22?May 4) will be held consecutively. All are representative domestic music festivals boasting over 20 years of history, with a total of 61 performances scheduled.
The Tongyeong International Music Festival, which began in 2002 to honor the world-renowned composer Isang Yun, is celebrating its 23rd edition this year. This year, pianist Yunchan Lim draws attention as the resident musician. He will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in collaboration with the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra conducted by Fabien Gabel at the opening concert, and then hold a solo recital on the 30th. He will present a newly commissioned work titled '…Round and velvety-smooth blend…' by composer Lee Han-eul, as well as Bach's 'Goldberg Variations.' Tickets for Yunchan Lim's recital sold out in just 58 seconds after going on sale last December, creating a sensation.
In a situation where obtaining tickets is as difficult as picking stars from the sky, Yunchan Lim announced a surprise three-day performance plan at the end of last month, exciting classical music fans. Before Tongyeong, he is scheduled to perform the Goldberg Variations at the Goyang Aram Nuri Aram Music Hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from April 23 to 25. Tickets for the three-day performances at Goyang Aram Music Hall also sold out immediately after sales began.
The Seoul Arts Center Symphony Orchestra Festival opens on April 1 with a performance by the Changwon City Symphony Orchestra. Until April 20, 18 domestic symphony orchestras will present concerts every day except Mondays at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. The Seoul Arts Center reported that performances by the KBS Symphony Orchestra (April 6), National Symphony Orchestra (April 10), Seoul Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (April 18), and Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra (April 20) sold out quickly.
Started in 1989, the Symphony Orchestra Festival is the world's only orchestra festival celebrating its 37th edition this year. From this year, the festival's name has been changed to 'Seoul Arts Center Symphony Orchestra Festival' as it seeks to leap forward as a global festival. The subtitle for this year is 'The New Beginning.' The 18 symphony orchestras will first perform the same program in their respective regions before appearing on the festival stage.
Pianist Moon Ji-young to perform Ravel's 'Piano Concerto for the Left Hand' with Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra at the opening concert of the Seoul Arts Center Symphony Festival [Photo by Seoul Arts Center, (c) Grzedzinski]
The Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra (April 2) and Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra (April 11) have prepared stages to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Ravel's birth, while the Cheongju Philharmonic Orchestra (April 9) and Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra (April 12) will honor the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich's death. The opening performance by the Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra will pay tribute to both composers by performing Ravel's 'Piano Concerto for the Left Hand' and Shostakovich's 'Symphony No. 10.'
It is also noteworthy that Korean or Korean-descendant winners of the Busoni International Competition?Ji-Young Moon (2015), Jae-Hong Park (2021), and Arseni Moon (2023)?will all appear on the symphony festival stage. Ji-Young Moon will perform Ravel's concerto with the Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra, Jae-Hong Park will collaborate with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra (April 17) on Bart?k's 'Piano Concerto No. 3,' and Arseni Moon, who has a Korean father, will perform Chopin's 'Piano Concerto No. 1' with the Jeonju Philharmonic Orchestra (April 13).
Additionally, world-class performers such as violinist Chao-Wen Luo, winner of last year's Isang Yun International Competition (April 4 with Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra), Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji (April 6 with KBS Symphony Orchestra), cellist Isang Enders, former youngest principal cellist of the Dresden Staatskapelle (April 28 with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra), concertmaster of Radio France Philharmonic Park Ji-yoon (April 11 with Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra), and principal bassoonist of Hamburg Philharmonic Kim Min-ju (April 16 with Jinju Philharmonic Orchestra) will participate. The Seoul Arts Center plans to broadcast all performances live for free through the performance video platform 'Digital Stage.'
Following this, the SSF will open on April 22. Founded in 2006 with the motto 'Friendship through Music,' SSF celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Selected as a 'Seoul Representative Arts Festival' by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, SSF will present a total of 14 performances at the Seoul Arts Center IBK Chamber Hall (9 performances), Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Sejong Chamber Hall (4 performances), and Yun Boseon Old House (1 performance). The Yun Boseon Old House concert, a hallmark of SSF, will be held at 4 p.m. on April 26.
Sixty-nine artists active worldwide will appear on the SSF stage. The 2024 ArtSilvia Chamber Music Competition-winning team, the Risus Quartet; bass-baritone Minsoo Ahn, the first Asian vocal instructor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna; and soprano Hyejeong Lee, who participated in John Adams' Grammy-nominated album 'Girls of the Golden West,' will all make their SSF debuts this year.
After this year's performances, SSF will have recorded a total of 298 performances and 403 artists (including teams) on stage over 20 years. Pianist Seong-Jin Cho, who won the Chopin Competition in 2015 as the first Korean, also appeared on the SSF stage in 2009 during his middle school years with his teacher, Professor Sujeong Shin.
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