'The Festival of Classics Embroidering Autumn Nights' Mapo M Classic Festival Opens in September

From September 5 to December 7
Experience the tense real stage behind the scenes with 'Open Rehearsal'
'Master Class' for future dreamers available

Renowned classical musicians from Korea and abroad convey a message of peace through beautiful melodies in Mapo.

Mapo Cultural Foundation announced that the 8th M Classic Festival will be held from September 5.
[Photo by Mapo Art Center]

On the 30th, the Mapo Cultural Foundation announced that it will hold the classical music festival "The 8th M Classic Festival" from September 5 to December 7 at venues including the Mapo Art Center in Seoul.

More than 900 domestic and international artists will participate in this festival. Audiences can experience high-quality and diverse programs featuring Korea's leading performers alongside overseas artists.

The most eye-catching stage is the "3 PEACE CONCERT," featuring pianists from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

Kim Dohyun, who won second place at the Busoni Competition (December 5), Taiwanese-American Kit Armstrong (December 6), and Japan's Takezawa Yuto, runner-up of the International Telecom Beethoven Competition (December 7), will consecutively take the stage at the Mapo Art Center to meet local audiences.

On December 6, the three pianists will perform Rachmaninoff's "Romance for Six Hands" on one piano, delivering a message of harmony in East Asia.

The main concert on October 11 will feature a collaboration between conductor Kim Gun leading the M Classic Festival Orchestra and pianist Kim Dohyun. The program begins with Offenbach's opera overture "Orpheus in the Underworld," followed by Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

Performers at the M Classic Festival.
[Photo by Mapo Cultural Foundation]

During the festival, the Mapo Cultural Foundation's classical planned performances, the "M Sonata Series," will also be presented. These include a recital by violinist Guido Santana, winner of the Kreisler Competition (September 6), and the first duo recital of cellist Yang Sungwon and pianist Yoo Seongho (September 26).

Additionally, there will be the "Moon Sonata" recital featuring Kim Dohyun's performance on an autumn night at Sangam World Cup Park (September 8), a concert by the crossover group "La Poem" (September 5), and "Leaning on Time," a concert by world-renowned baritone Ko Seonghyun and his colleagues (September 12).

A representative of the Mapo Cultural Foundation explained, "This M Classic Festival lowers the barrier to enjoying classical music more closely and specially through open rehearsals and masterclasses. For some performances, actual rehearsal scenes will be open to the public, providing opportunities to see communication among performers and the conductor coloring the orchestra up close before going on stage."

They added, "In addition to masterclasses centered on solo performers for aspiring young musicians, we have prepared a special project to invigorate the local economy and help beginners enter classical music. We plan to offer benefits allowing customers of cafes, independent bookstores, and marts affiliated with the Mapo Cultural Foundation to watch classical festival performances for 1,000 won."

For more details, please visit the Mapo Cultural Foundation website.

M Classic Festival Poster. [Photo by Mapo Cultural Foundation]

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