The 1st Busan Classic Music Festival Kicks Off on the 2nd of Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The 1st Busan Classic Music Festival (BCMF) will be held from March 2 to 17 at the Geumjeong Cultural Center in Busan.

The theme of BCMF is "Coexistence? Opening Time." It aims to explore solutions for coexistence through music in the era of the COVID-19 crisis. The opening concert will take place on March 2 at the Geumbitnuri Hall of the Geumjeong Cultural Center. Artistic Director Oh Chung-geun selected Mozart's Symphony No. 25 as the first piece. The BCMF Orchestra, led by leader Professor Lim Jae-hong of Dong-A University, will open the performance. Following this, flutist Cho Sung-hyun, former principal flute of the Cologne Philharmonic, will perform Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 as a soloist. In the second half, violinist Han Su-jin, who won 2nd place at the Wieniawski Competition, will perform Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Piazzolla's birth.

On March 5, at the Eunbit Saem Hall, a unique stage featuring two harps and woodwind instruments will be presented. The harp duo "HarpSis," consisting of harpists Hwang Se-hee and Hwang Ri-ha, who have won the French International Competition and the Vienna Competition, will perform alongside the BCMF Woodwind Quintet, composed of flutist Cho Sung-hyun, oboist No Ji-yeon (1st place at the IDRS Competition), BCMF artistic deputy director clarinetist Baek Dong-hoon, KBS Symphony Orchestra principal bassoonist Park Jun-tae, and Incheon Philharmonic principal horn player Joo Hong-jin, delivering a beautiful ensemble.

On March 6, at Eunbit Saem Hall, "Four (4) Cellos Song Young-hoon and Friends" will showcase the cello, the instrument most resembling the human voice, in various facets. The ensemble consists of top cellist Song Young-hoon, former principal cellist of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra Shim Jun-ho, semifinalist of the Prague Spring International Competition Kim Dae-yeon, and first prize winner of the Lithuania Klaipeda International Competition Lee Kyung-jun.

On March 12, at Eunbit Saem Hall, top violin and piano artists will meet on stage. Kim Jae-won, second concertmaster of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and BCMF artistic deputy director, and YouTube star Yoon Ain, well known as "Tomo," will perform masterpieces such as Chausson's "Po?me" and Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 3.

On March 13, at Eunbit Saem Hall, two performing groups preserving Busan's identity can be experienced. The Busan Piano Trio, composed of violinist Baek Jae-jin, professor at Dong-Eui University, pianist Kwon Jun, professor at Kosin University, and Busan Philharmonic principal cellist Lee Il-se, will decorate the first half with Dvo??k's "Dumky." In the second half, String Adesso, consisting of violinist Kim Joo-young, concertmaster of the Busan Symphony Orchestra, violinist Lee Jong-eun, professor at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, violist Kim Kyu, graduate of New England Conservatory, cellist Lee Ho-chan, winner of the Osaka International Competition, and Busan Philharmonic cellist Kim Min-seung, will perform Schubert's String Quintet.

On March 16, at Eunbit Saem Hall, two chamber masterpieces by the Eurasia Ocean Philharmonic Orchestra (EOPO) ensemble will be heard. First, EOPO principal clarinetist Baek Dong-hoon, violinists Lim Jae-hong and Kim Jae-won, violist Lee Seung-won, associate professor at Leipzig University of Music in Germany, and cellist Shim Jun-ho will present Brahms' Clarinet Quintet Op. 115. In the second half, pianist Yoon Ain, violinist Kim Jae-won, violist Lee Seung-won, cellist Shim Jun-ho, and bassist Jo Yong-woo will perform Schubert's Piano Quintet "Trout."

The closing concert on March 17 will be held at Geumbitnuri Hall. Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Busan Sinfonietta will start its 100th concert and the first step of the 2021 Busan Classic Music Festival. In the first half, cellist Shim Jun-ho will perform Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 as a soloist. In the second half, the dazzling performance of string instruments will be highlighted with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Britten's "Simple Symphony" Op. 4.

Oh Chung-geun, Artistic Director of the Busan Classic Music Festival, expressed his expectation that "the audience visiting the Geumjeong Cultural Center in Busan will have elevated attention through this festival featuring a large number of world-class performers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.