2011-11-30 16:53
Chung Myung-whun to lead RCO’s Asian tour
Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to highlight 2012 season By Do Je-hae Next February is the most exciting month for local symphonic music lovers. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) of the Netherlands, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra are scheduled to perform in Seoul in February. The forthcoming concerts of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) of the Netherlands are the most anticipated classical music events here in 2012. Orchestras usually embark on foreign tours with their own music directors, as in the case of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle in Seoul last month. For two concerts at Seoul Arts Center in February, however, the RCO will be led by renowned conductor Chung Myung-whun. He will lead the Amsterdam-based ensemble during an Asian tour that will also include Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. The Korean maestro will be leading a program of Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta,” Mendelssohn’s violin concerto and “Concerto for Orchestra” by Bartok. Violinist Janine Jansen will be the soloist in the Mendelssohn piece on Feb. 21 at the Seoul Arts Center. This will be followed by another concert on Feb. 22 with a program of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with the phenomenal young pianist Kim Sun-wook and the Brahms Symphony No. 2, a staple in the RCO’s repertoire. Prior to the Asian tour, Chung will be performing with the RCO in Amsterdam in several concerts, featuring the above program and the soloists. Before he started his tenure with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006, Chung was based in both Italy and France, working on stage and in the recording studios with some of the finest orchestras in Europe. Chung has had a close relationship with RCO since the beginning of his career. Together, they recorded highlights from Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet” for Deutsche Grammophon, which remains one of the most critically-acclaimed recordings of the work. World’s top orchestra Founded in 1888, the RCO surprised the classical music community when it was voted the best symphonic orchestra in the world by UK’s Gramophone music magazine in 2008, ahead of the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. Known for its velvet string sound, golden brass and colorful woodwind, the orchestra enjoyed a close relationship with Gustav Mahler and championed many of his symphonies. It was maestro Bernard Haitink who solidified the RCO’s reputation, particularly increasing its recording profile with many discs for Philips Records, EMI and Columbia Records. Their recording of the four Brahms symphonies for Philips is one of the most popular ever made of the work. Haitink served as chief conductor from 1963 and served in this post until 1988. In 1999, he was named the orchestra’s conductor laureate. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the “Royal” title upon the orchestra. After Haitink came the era of Riccardo Chailly, who is the first non-Dutchman to hold the post of music director. From 1988-2004, Chailly’s tenure is marked by his complete Mahler and Brahms symphony cycle as well as several recording of the Bruckner symphonies. Since 2004, the orchestra is led by one of the world’s most respected conductors, the Latvian maestro Mariss Jansons. Under his leadership, the RCO has released CDs on its own label, the RCO Live. One of the RCO Live CDs features Chung conducting the Saint-Saens’s “Organ Symphony” recorded during a 2005 live performance at the Concertgebouw, the home of the RCO in Amsterdam and one of the best halls in Europe. The RCO has also collaborated with some Korean soloists, including violinists Chung Kyung-wha and Sarah Chang. Chung made a live recording of the Beethoven violin concerto with the RCO, under the direction of Klaus Tennstedt, in the late 1990s. |
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