Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra appoints new guest conductors

By Yun Suh-young

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) appointed two new guest conductors for their artistic leadership, the organization said Thursday. This is the first time the orchestra has adopted honorary guest conductors.

The new members are Thierry Fischer, principal guest conductor, and Markus Stenz, conductor-in-residence, who will begin their terms in January next year on a three-year contract. They will fill the position that has remained vacant since former SPO principal conductor Chung Myung-whun stepped down last year.

The two conductors were appointed by the SPO based on the recommendation of a committee consisting of seven members, including the SPO's CEO, musicians from in and outside the orchestra and a music critic, conductor and manager.

Fischer is a Swiss conductor highly regarded in Asia and internationally. He served as chief conductor and honorary guest conductor of Japan’s Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra and is music director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra in the United States _ a position he will hold concurrently with his SPO role. In the first season with the SPO, he will present a wide range of repertoires including works by Haydn, Brahms, Berlioz, Mahler, Shostakovich, Ravel, Berg, Dutilleux and newly commissioned work by Anders Hillborg. He will also direct the season's closing concert with Bruckner’s Te Deum and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

“I am thrilled to be appointed principal guest conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra,” he said. “I first conducted the orchestra in two modern music programs in the Ars Nova series, and I was immediately struck by the very high level of musicianship, the total commitment from the players and the flexibility of the ensemble.”

German conductor Stenz has served 11 years as principal conductor of the Gurzenich Orchestra, Cologne, specializing in contemporary music and German symphonic repertoires. His recent recording of Schoenberg’s “Gurrelieder” won the 2016 Gramophone Award for Choral Music. His strengths will complement Fischer, and he will conduct works by Berlioz, Liszt, Schumann and Bruckner next year, collaborating with pianist Deszo Ranki and cellist Alban Gerhardt.

“It is an honor and privilege to be associated with the SPO as conductor-in-residence,” he said. “When performing Mahler together, I felt such openness from the orchestra for being flexible and living the music with their full hearts and minds. The orchestra has a wonderful care for sound and a skillful, vibrant and intense way of playing. I am looking forward to exploring the orchestra's refinement and tailoring it to the various eras of music.”