Hanwha to sponsor orchestra festival
The Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra performs during the annual Orchestra Festival Concert sponsored by Hanwha Group at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong in this file photo taken last year. / Courtesy of Hanwha Group
By Yi Whan-woo
Hanwha Group will sponsor the annual Orchestra Festival Concert that will kick off on Tuesday for an 18-day run at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) in Seocho-dong, the company said, Sunday.
A total of 18 orchestras nationwide will perform during the festival that will last through April 18 at the Concert Hall.
They include Yodel Levi-led KBS Symphony Orchestra, Scott Yoo-led Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Gum Nan-se-led Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Lee Byung-wook-led Korean Symphony Orchestra, and Lim Hun-jung led-Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra.
Each of them will be accompanied by one or more classical musicians, including violinists Choi Ye-eun, Kim Nam-yun and Shin A-ra; pianists Choi Hie-yon, You Yung-wok and Boris Giltburg; violist Choi Eun-sik; and flutist Son Yoo-bin.
“This year’s concert will bring a chance to enjoy performance of the country’s recognized instrumental ensembles together with internationally-acclaimed classical musicians,” Hanwha Group said.
KBS Symphony Orchestra, the country’s one of the esteemed instrumental ensembles, will perform on the opening day under its new Israeli conductor Levi, who was named to lead the group this year. It will perform Beethoven’s Overtureto “The Creatures of Prometheus” in C major, Op.43 with Choi Ye-eun, the recipient of the 2013 European Culture Award of New Artists.
Lim will give his farewell performance with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra on April 18.
The country’s 10th largest conglomerate said it gave financial support to the festival for the 15 consecutive years. It added some 228 orchestras performed at the event since 2000, attracting over 320,000 people in total.
“We had difficulty in getting a sponsor until 2000 because it was very unusual for a conglomerate to give financial support for an art and cultural event back then,” said Tae Seung-jin, a senior a senior official at the SAC. “Hanwha Group then made a big decision and has supported us continuously for years. Such long-term sponsorship from a commercial firm is still rare in the art and culture industry.”
The SAC named Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn as its permanent member in 2009 to recognize the firm’s support.