By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Youthful celebrity pianists will grace Seoul Arts Center this week ― Kim Sun-wook, 20, who is seen as a future leader of the Korean classical music world, will appear Friday with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; Lim Dong-hyek, the 24-year-old with the following of a rock star, will perform Sunday with the Northern Sinfonia; and Evgeny Kissin, the 37-year-old Russian sensation, will perform a long-awaited recital for local fans on April 2.
Kim Sun-wook will showcase a new repertoire, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3, in the first of the Seoul Philharmonic's serial ``Virtuoso'' concert, Friday.
``This is my first time playing the (Tchaikovsky) piece, so I'm really looking forward to it,'' Kim was quoted as saying by the Seoul Philharmonic. The young virtuoso has so far wowed international crowds with concertos by Brahms, which won him the top award at the 2004 Leeds Competition, and Beethoven, which he showed off here in January with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Radio Symphony Orchestra).
Joining the now London-based pianist is the young Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits, who succeeds world-renowned maestra Marin Alsop in leading Britain's renowned Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the piano concerto, the program features more Russian classics, including Mussorgsky's ``A Night on Bald Mountain'' and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.
Tickets cost from 10,000 won to 50,000 won. Call (02) 3700-6300.