Seoul International Music Festival Opens in October... 'About Romance'

19th Century Romantic Era Wagner and Brahms Spotlight
300 Performers Including Petrenko and Samuel Yoon

The 15th anniversary of the Seoul International Music Festival will present seven performances under the theme "About Romance" from October 6 to 14.

The Seoul International Music Festival will present seven performances under the theme "About Romance" from October 6 to 14.
[Photo by Seoul International Music Festival]

This year's festival focuses on the musical worlds of two great masters of the 19th-century Romantic era, Wagner and Brahms. Around 300 musicians from around the world, including the world-renowned conductor Vasily Petrenko, Samuel Youn, Yoon Jong Kook, and Lee Myung-joo, will gather in Seoul.

Focusing on "romantic beauty," this festival will feature Wagner's operas such as "Lohengrin," "Tristan und Isolde," "Tannh?user," and "Die Walk?re," as well as Brahms' "Tragic Overture" and "Symphony No. 1." The world premiere of Artistic Director Ryu Jae-jun's "Trumpet Concerto" will also be presented.

The opening concert will be held on October 6 at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, titled "Wagner Gala." Leading the stage is Samuel Youn, a principal singer of the Bayreuth Festival, along with tenor Yoon Jong Kook, known for his outstanding vocal power and brilliant high notes, and soprano Lee Myung-joo, who possesses a deeply appealing voice. Conductor Paolo Bortolameolli will collaborate with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, the National Chorus of Korea, and the Seoul Boys and Girls Choir.

The chamber music series will take place four times on October 7, 8, 10, and 12 at the IBK Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. Outstanding performers from around the world will perform representative works of Brahms.

Elina V?h?l? (violin, Finland), Jakub Haufa (violin, Poland), Claudio Boh?rquez (cello, Germany), Kim Subin (violin, USA), V?tor Fernandes (clarinet, Spain), Itamar Golan (piano, France), Ricardo Silva (horn, Greece), Ilya Rashkovsky (piano, Russia), Huang Yuhui (horn, Taiwan), and Hartmut Rohde (viola, Germany) will meet the audience.

Baek Ju-young, Song Ji-won, Park Gyu-min, Ok Yu-ah, Kim Sang-jin, Kim Se-jun, Lee Hanna, Park Ha-yang, Kim Min-ji, Lee Kyung-jun, Hong Eun-sun, Jo In-hyuk, Chae Jae-il, Kim Hong-bak, Yoo Sung-kwon, and Park Jung-ho will also participate on stage.

The concert on the 10th will commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Finland, featuring Magnus Lindberg's Clarinet Quintet and Sibelius' "Legend," alongside Brahms' Piano Quintet. On the 12th, the focus will be on Brahms' piano works performed by Moon Ji-young, Kim Kyu-yeon, Ilya Rashkovsky, and Itamar Golan.

The closing concert on the 14th will feature Vasily Petrenko, who has served as music director and principal conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and is currently the artistic director and principal conductor of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Detailed performance schedules can be found on the official website of the 2023 Seoul International Music Festival.

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