Classical concert highlights of 2013
Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra will perform at Seoul Arts Center from Feb. 28 to March 1. / Courtesy of Vincero
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is expected to bring her own 15-member orchestra, “Mutter’s Virtuosi,” to Seoul Arts Center on June 14. / Courtesy of Credia
By Do Je-hae
In the last few years, the world’s most prestigious orchestras and soloists have visited Korea and this year is no exception.
Here is a preview of concerts and recitals to be held in the coming months.
Symphonic concerts
This year will be very special year for local admirers of the legendary Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink, who will be visiting Korea for the first time in 36 years on Feb. 28-March 1.
He will be bringing the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) for two dates at Seoul Arts Center with Portuguese piano virtuoso Maria Joao Pires.
One Feb. 28, the LSO will perform Beethoven’s popular seventh Symphony and Bruckner’s ninth Symphony on March 1
The last time Haitink was in Korea was with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1977.
Formerly a principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony, the 83-year-old continues to work with the finest orchestras in the United States and Europe.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its music director Riccardo Muti will perform at Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 6 and 7. / Courtesy of Credia
Born in 1929, the Amsterdam native was initially an orchestra violinist, but switched to conducting in his early 20s. His first major conducting was with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) of the Netherlands in 1964, leading the ensemble for almost 25 years.
Haitink is often associated with the likes of Mahler, Shostakovich, Schumann and Beethoven. In particular, Haitink recorded the entire cycle of Beethoven’s nine symphonies several times with different top orchestras, the most recent one being the recording with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), released in 2008. Besides Haitink, is among a very select few in music history to have been able to record full cycles of major symphonists like Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Shostakovich and Mahler.
Another symphonic highlight of this year is the local debut of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), led by Italian maestro Riccardo Muti.
It is the first time for the iconic ensemble to visit Korea in its 121-year history. The two dates on Feb. 6 and 7 are part of the Hyundai Card Super Concert Series, organized jointly by Hyundai Card and Credia.
On Feb. 6, the orchestra will play Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D major. The concert on Feb. 7 will feature Verdi’s overture to “I Vespri Siciliani,” Mendolssohn’s Symphony No. 4 “Italian” and Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony No. 3 in E flat major.
The CSO took the classical music community by surprise when it was named the top U.S. orchestra in the latest U.K. Gramophone magazine critics’ poll, ahead of the New York Philharmonic.
Under Muti, who has a formidable background in opera, the CSO has programmed more operas, like Verdi’s “Othello."
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will be returning to Seoul on Nov. 11-12, after an all-Bruckner program two years ago. Sir Simon Rattle will lead the orchestra in a program of Stravinsky and Beethoven.
Also, U.S. maestro Lorin Maazel will bring the Munich Philharmonic on April 21-22 for an all-Beethoven program with Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin.
The Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra and its music director Chung Myung-whun will perform Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique" and Saint-Saens’ third symphony on Sept. 24-25 at Seoul Arts Center.
Soloists and recitals
Polish pianist Rafael Blechacz will give his first recital in Korea on Feb. 28, with a program of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin at Seoul Arts Center.
He is the 2005 winner of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw and currently records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon.
German violinist Julia Fischer will make her local debut with the Dresden Philharmonic on Oct. 27 at Seoul Arts Center, performing the Brahms violin concerto in D major. The 29-year-old is not only one of the top violinists of her generation, but also a talented pianist.
Chinese pianist Yuja Wang will also make her first Seoul appearance this year, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of maestro Charles Dutoit on June 29-30 at Seoul Arts Center. She will be performing Chopin’s first piano concerto. While attending the Curtis Institute of Music, the 25-year-old studied with Gary Graffman, who also taught fellow Chinese piano sensation Lang Lang.
Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman will give a recital at Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 14.
German violinist Anne Sophie-Mutter will bring her own 15-member orchestra, “Mutter’s Virtuosi,” to Seoul Arts Center on June 14. Korean violinist Choi Ye-eun, Mutter’s protege, will collaborate in the concert.
For more information, visit www.credia.co.kr or www.vincero.co.kr.