A feast of classical music

March looks set to be another memorable month for classical music fans in Korea, with big-name musicians such as legendary pianist Evgeny Kissin set to return.

Kicking off this spring feast of music is the London Symphony Orchestra, which will perform March 10-11 at Seoul Arts Center.

Although the orchestra itself is familiar to local fans ― it has performed eight times here in total, and every year since 2011 ― the upcoming concerts are still among the most anticipated of the season.

Holding the baton will be Daniel Harding, one of the world’s most sought-after conductors. The British conductor, who performed here in 2006, is enjoying a stellar career since he started as a teenage assistant to Simon Rattle.

The programs include works by Mussorgsky, Stravinsky and Schubert on March 10 and Prokofiev and Mahler on March 11. Korean pianist Kim Sun-wook will play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 as a soloist. 

Ticket prices range from 60,000 won to 300,000 won. For more information, call (02) 599-5743.

Virtuoso pianist, pedagogue and lecturer Andras Schiff will hold a recital on March 25 at Seoul Arts Center.

Although he is known here for his interpretations of the music of Beethoven and Bach, the Hungarian-born musician’s repertoire covers Mozart, Schubert and Schumann. At the Seoul concert, he will play works by two Romantic Era composers, Mendelssohn and Schumann.

Tickets range from 50,000 won to 130,000 won. For details, call (02) 541-3184.

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Eliahu Inbal will play Russian composer Dimitry Shostakovich’s masterpiece Symphony No. 11 at Seoul Arts Center on March 28.

The Israeli conductor is known as a Mahler and Shostakovich specialist.

The program also includes Swiss composer Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo,” better known as “A Hebraic Rhapsody,” featuring Korean-German Cellist Isang Enders.

Tickets start from 10,000 won. For more information, call 1588-1210.

On March 30, celebrated pianist Evgeny Kissin will return for yet another sold-out concert at Seoul Arts Center. 

Indicative of his fame here, tickets sold out just a week after sales began in November. In his two previous performances here, in 2006 and 2008, fans who couldn’t get hold of the tickets sat outside the doors of the concert hall to listen to him play. The 2008 concert set a record in ticket sales at Seoul Arts Center, with all 2,500 seats sold within just five minutes. At the concert, the Russian piano prodigy delighted his fans with dozens of encore performances.

At the upcoming concert, he will present Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Major, Scriabin’s Sonata No. 2 in G Sharp Minor and “Four Sea Interludes” from Benjamin Britten’s “Peter Grimes.”

For more information, call 1544-1555 or (02) 580-1300.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)