At the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on the 17th
Conductor Myung-Whun Chung, who will take on the role of music director for the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra starting in 2027, will perform with the orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on the 17th.
The La Scala Philharmonic is the resident orchestra of La Scala, Italy's most prestigious and world-renowned opera house, which opened in 1778 and boasts a 247-year tradition. In May, La Scala announced that Myung-Whun Chung would succeed current music director Riccardo Chailly, leading the opera house from 2027. Chung will become the first Asian music director in La Scala's history.
This performance marks the first tour featuring Myung-Whun Chung and the La Scala Philharmonic together since the announcement of his appointment as music director.
The concert will open with the overture to "La forza del destino" by Giuseppe Verdi, Italy's representative opera composer. The piece depicts the intertwined lives and tragedies of three young people entangled by fate. This will be followed by Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, regarded as the pinnacle of Eastern European Romanticism, performed with world-renowned Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky.
The final piece will be Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Path?tique." As Tchaikovsky's last work, he personally conducted its premiere and passed away nine days later. The piece captures Tchaikovsky's emotional journey through life and death.
La Scala is a historic theater where numerous masterpieces premiered, including Verdi's "Nabucco" (1842) and "Otello" (1887), as well as Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" (1904).
Except for conductors who have served as music director, Myung-Whun Chung has conducted the most performances at La Scala, maintaining a long-standing relationship with the institution. In March 2023, he was also named the first honorary conductor of the La Scala Philharmonic.
Since 1989, Chung has conducted nine opera productions, 84 performances, and 141 concerts at La Scala. At a press conference held at the Busan Concert Hall immediately after his appointment, Chung expressed his overwhelming emotions, saying, "It feels like marrying someone you have loved for 36 years."
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