Listen to classical concerts all summer long

A number of classical music festivals are set to take place through the month of August in Seoul.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-China diplomatic relations, the Culture Ministry is holding a special concert, bringing together renowned classical musicians from Korea and China, at the Lotte Concert Hall on Aug. 24.

Led by conductor Chung Chi-yong, the Korean Symphony Orchestra will open the stage with Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, Op. 92. Joined by Chinese violinist Ning Feng and cellist Jian Wang, the program includes Barber’s Violin Concerto Op. 14, and Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33.

Tickets can be reserved via the Lotte Concert Hall’s website. Admission is free. Up to two tickets can be reserved per person.

“Classic Revolution,” a 10-part concert series marking its third anniversary with artistic director Christoph Poppen, is scheduled to go on at Lotte Concert Hall and will run from Friday to Aug. 21.

The unique classical music festival highlights different combinations of composers annually. This year, the concert centers around Felix Mendelssohn and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. 

Pianist Lim Yun-chan, winner of this year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will perform with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, on Aug. 20.

Other performers include pianists Kim Tae-hyung and Lee Hyuk, violinists Clara-Jumi Kang and Lee Ji-yoon.

The Seoul Arts Center’s second edition of “Summer Music Festival” will run from Aug. 24 to 28.

Sixteen Korean classical music groups jointly selected through the competition by the center and the Performing Arts Management Association of Korea, will take part in the performance. Conductor Kim Yu-won will join the orchestra, while Shin Jeong-eun acts as concertmaster.

The Sejong Soloists’ “Hic et Nunc,” is returning for the fifth time this summer.

Meaning “here and now” in Latin, the festival which runs from Aug. 16 to Sept. 6., brings together unconventional and experimental programs on stage.

Violist Lee Hwa-yoon will be playing scores composed by female composers Unsuk Chin and Lera Auerbach, at the Ilshin Hall in central Seoul.

Two vocal music pieces, “The Korean Meal Table” and “Regimen Sanitatis Salerni,” each inspired by works of two of the nation’s most beloved poets, Sister Claudia and Ahn Do-hyun, will be premiered on Aug. 22.

By Hwang Dong-hee (hwangdh@heraldcorp.com)