KBS Symphony Orchestra Performs Barber Violin Concerto... Gil Shaham Collaboration

The KBS Symphony Orchestra will hold its 795th regular concert on the 26th and 27th at the Seoul Arts Center and Bucheon Art Center.

Pietari Inkinen, music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the Violin Concerto by 20th-century American composer Samuel Barber (1910?1981) and Symphony No. 1 by British composer William Walton (1902?1983). The violinist Gil Shaham, known for his outstanding technique, will perform as a soloist.

Violinist Gil Shaham [Photo by KBS Symphony Orchestra, (c)Chris Lee]

Gil Shaham debuted at the age of 10 performing with the Jerusalem Symphony. In 1989, he rose to the ranks of world-renowned masters by stepping in for the leading violinist of the time, Itzhak Perlman, to perform with the London Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with top orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and Vienna Philharmonic. Focusing on violin concertos by 20th-century composers like Barber, Britten, and Stravinsky, he has released over 30 albums to date. He has received numerous recording awards including the Grammy Award, Diapason d'Or, and Gramophone Editor's Choice.

In 2015, Gil Shaham received acclaim for performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the KBS Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yoel Levi. The Barber Violin Concerto to be performed this time is a piece he has frequently showcased in performances and recordings. Barber is regarded as a composer who upheld the Romantic tradition while skillfully incorporating American lyricism within intricate harmonies.

Walton's Symphony No. 1, performed in the second half, holds a special significance for Music Director Inkinen. In 2001, while studying conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, he unexpectedly had the opportunity to substitute conduct the Helsinki Philharmonic, and this was the piece he conducted then. Influenced by Sibelius and Beethoven, it is praised as a work that shines with masterful orchestration. This will be its first performance on the stage of the KBS Symphony Orchestra’s regular concert.

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