In 2nd year under van Zweden, SPO's 2025 season to focus on collaboration

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, led by music director Jaap van Zweden, will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year under the theme “Collaboration.”

Building on the 2024 season’s focus on "Exploration" and strengthening its core repertoire during the conductor's inaugural year, the SPO’s 2025 season will broaden its scope across genres through first-time collaborations with renowned global artists and institutions.

Among the 2025 season’s highlights, the SPO will present a full production of Wagner's “Tristan und Isolde” in collaboration with the Korea National Opera. Korean composer Jung Jae-il, acclaimed for his work on “Parasite” and “Squid Game,” will debut a newly commissioned piece.

The 2025 season features 27 performances, including 15 orchestral concerts and a mix of classical and modern works spanning Romantic to contemporary. The season will feature prominent symphonies, including Mahler’s Symphony Nos. 2 and 7, Brahms’ Symphony Nos. 1, 3 and 4, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.

SPO will continue its Mahler cycle with live recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection," and Symphony No. 7, following the success of its recent release of Symphony No. 1 on Apple Music Classical.

The concerto repertoire includes Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Prokofiev’s violin concertos, along with Beethoven’s and Brahms’ piano concertos. Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto and Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” are among the anticipated highlights.

In 2025, 14 international artists will make their SPO debuts, including six conductors: Long Yu, Edward Gardner, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Ruth Reinhardt, Mei-Ann Chen and rising Korean conductor and composer Yoon Han-gyeol. Yoon will also present the Asian premiere of his symphonic work, “Grium.”

The orchestra will also premiere works by several contemporary composers, including John Adams, Jimmy Lopez Bellido and Detlev Glanert, alongside new compositions by emerging Korean composers.

Soloists joining SPO for the first time include violinists Ning Feng and Alena Baeva, horn player Yun Zeng, pianists Kit Armstrong and Emanuel Ax, soprano Hanna-Elisabeth Muller and mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford.

Korea’s promising young musicians, such as violinist Kim Bomsori and cellist Lim Ji-young will be part of SPO's 2025 season. Pianist Park Jae-hong will return to perform Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” with the SPO under Jaap van Zweden’s baton.

The season’s finale, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, “Choral,” will showcase esteemed Korean vocalists, including soprano Seo Sun-young and mezzo-soprano Lee Ah-kyung.

Tickets for the 2025 season will be available starting Nov. 21, with discounts for package purchases. Single ticket sales will start Nov. 29.