Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates Liberation Day

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will be celebrating the upcoming 71st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan with a free public performance.

This year’s performance will be held at Seoul Plaza in Jung-gu, where guests can enjoy the music in an open field.

Conducted by Choi Soo-yeoul, the orchestra will open the concert with the Korean national anthem, followed by popular works by well-known composers and musicians, including Bruch, Mozart and Brahms.

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will be accompanied by award-winning German-born violinist Kim Su-yeon -- whose rendition of Hartmann’s “Concerto Funebre” was described as “the best available recording of this concerto” by BBC Radio 3 -- and critically acclaimed baritone Chung Locky.

Founded in 1948, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has received global recognition in recent years, including winning the 2015 International Classical Music Award for best contemporary music and the 2015 BBC Music Magazine Award in the Premiere Recording category -- both for composer Chin Un-suk’s piano and cello concertos.

The concert will take place on Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.seoulphil.or.kr.

By Kim Yu-young (ivykim@heraldcorp.com)