Vienna Philharmonic’s concertmaster Rainer Kuchl to perform in Korea

Violinist Rainer Kuchl, who held the principal concertmaster post at the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for 45 years, is to perform in Korea this week.

Having started his career at the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera in 1971 at the age of 20, Kuchl has performed with numerous acclaimed conductors, including Bohm, Bernstein, Karajan and Solti.

Kuchl’s recital on Thursday at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul kicks off this year’s “Beautiful Thursday Kumho Art Hall Exclusive.”

Kuchl will open the recital with Mozart Sonata for Violin and Piano No.35, for which he is perhaps best-known. Kuchl received the Mozart Interpretation Award given by the Mozart Society of Vienna in 1973. In the first half of the program, Kuchl will also perform Beethoven Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 7. For the second half, Kuchl has prepared works by Vieuxtemps and Tchaikovsky. Sarasate’s “Carmen Fantasy,” Op. 25 will close the evening.

Kuchl will be accompanied by pianist Hiroshi Kato, who has been regularly performing with the violinist since 1999. He will hold another performance at Tongyeong Concert Hall on Saturday, with the same program.

Meanwhile, Kuchl will also hold master classes for the selected applicants at Tongyeong Concert Hall from Jan. 21 to Jan. 25. Nine selected students will hold their recital on the last day of classes.

After retiring from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016, Kuchl has been continuing his musical career through solo recitals as well as the Vienna Ring Ensemble and the Kuchl-Quartet -- both of which Kuchl founded. In addition, Kuchl released the album “Duo Concertant” with Japanese guitarist Shin-ichi Fukuda in 2017.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)