Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra to perform in Korea

The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by music director Jacek Kaspszyk, will perform Thursday at Lotte Concert Hall in southern Seoul.

In 2016, the WPO performed in Korea along with the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition prize winners, including the competition’s first-prize winner Cho Seong-Jin. 

This time, the Polish orchestra will perform with Austrian pianist Ingolf Wunder, a prize winner at the Chopin Competition in 2010. Well-known for his energetic and disciplined performance of Chopin, Wunder will perform his signature repertoire, Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1.

Other works featured in the evening performance include Beethoven Symphony No. 7, as well as Polish pianist Paderewski’s orchestral work “Overture.”

The orchestral works will all be conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk, who won the third award at the Herbert van Karajan Conducting Competition in West Berlin in 1977, which led to his debuts with the Berlin and New York Philharmonic orchestras. Kaspszyk has performed with many leading orchestras around the world, including the Vienna Symphony, La Scala Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

In 2013, Kaspszyk became the music director of the WPO, making his debut with the “Warsaw Autumn” festival concert in the same year, which featured pianist Krystian Zimerman.

The WPO, which gave its first concert in 1901, is regarded as one of Poland’s oldest, as well as most prestigious orchestras. The Polish orchestra is also well-known for performing at the Chopin Piano Competition. The orchestra performed at the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927, and has maintained its association with the acclaimed event ever since.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)