SPO's new principal guest conductor ready to enrich the orchestra
By Yun Suh-young
Thierry Fischer, newly appointed principal guest conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra/ Courtesy of SPO
"I believe that developing a symphony orchestra is a possibility to make others create harmony," said Thierry Fischer, the newly appointed principal guest conductor (PGC) of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), introducing himself for the first time to the press, Monday.
Fischer is scheduled to hold his first concert in Seoul as the principal guest conductor of the SPO today and Friday. The concert will be held at the Lotte Concert Hall today and at the Seoul Arts Center on Friday.
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra had not had an artistic director since maestro Chung Myung-whun who had led the orchestra for 10 years abruptly resigned from the position in 2015 due to a conflict with its former CEO. Ever since, the orchestra has been stumbling to regain stability and decided to adopt the principal guest conductor system.
"To fill the artistic director vacancy, we adopted the principal guest conductor system and have recruited two conductors _ Thierry Fischer who joined us this year and Markus Stenz who joined us last year as conductor-in-residence. We invited Mr. Fischer to join us because we believe he is the right person to help stabilize the orchestra with not only his artistic excellence but also with his character," said Choe Heung-sik, president and CEO of SPO.
"He is ready to do so much more than we had expected of him. We're thrilled to have him with us."
Fischer, who is performing with the SPO again three years since his first encounter with the orchestra during the Ars Nova concert in 2013, said the SPO had "kept their very high standards."
"We worked on Brahms and Hayden symphonies and in both styles I was comforted and reassured about their artistic excellence," Fisher said.
"With strong motivation I decided to accept this role and help the orchestra build to the next step. The image I have from this vibrant city symbolizes innovation, creativity and the future. I think our common goal is to symbolize these three things with sounds."
His debut concert will feature Hayden's Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107 and Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68.
"I really wanted my first official concert (to have the) symbol of no. 1 being the beginning of a long series of numbers," he said. "Everyone knows Hayden's symphony No. 1 but who has really heard it? So I wanted to express his romanticism."
He praised the flexibility of the orchestra on top of their performance skills.
"When you're a conductor and stand in front of the orchestra, it's essential to feel that people have an open mind and are ready to (realize) ideas. The SPO is ready because they're trained to high standards," he said.
Speaking of his role as PGC, he said he'll be coming regularly to Seoul three to four times a season to "insist, remember, and motivate every single member of the orchestra."
"I take my role and responsibility seriously. I have strong ideas and conviction. My role is to enrich the (orchestra members') way of thinking and creating. We live in a digital age but nothing can ever replace live music. If this way of creating beauty can help people be together all over the world, it's something fantastic I'd like to achieve," he said.