Seoul Spring Festival to celebrate 20th anniversary with special lineup
Musicians perform during the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music in 2024. Captured from the festival's Instagram
Kang Dong-suk, Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music's artistic director, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music
The Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music returns next week, celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special program.
“I am thrilled to announce the 20th edition of the festival. I’m grateful that we’ve come this far despite many challenges,” Kang Dong-suk, the festival’s artistic director and the founder, said Monday during a press conference in Seoul.
Founded in 2004 under the leadership of violinist Kang, the festival has become one of the prominent classical music festivals in Korea. It has hosted renowned classical musicians from around the world, as well as promising young Korean artists, including pianist Cho Sung-jin.
“Over the past 20 years, I’ve seen audiences enjoy the music and musicians enjoy playing. That makes me happy,” Kang said. “The festival has made a humble contribution to raising awareness of chamber music in Korea, where it still remains relatively unfamiliar. It’s a venue for sharing music and receiving good energy from performers. Even if chamber music is new to you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it once you hear it. Please come and experience it.”
Chamber music is a form of classical music composed for small ensembles — between two and 10 musicians — with each performer playing a different part.
This year's 13-day festival, themed "20 Candles" in celebration of its 20th anniversary, evokes the image of a birthday cake glowing with candlelight. In honor of the milestone, the festival will present a series of specially curated concerts that pay tribute to its past and look ahead to its future.
On April 25, the "Early Days" concert will bring four pieces that were performed during the festival’s first two years.
"All-Time Favorites" on April 29 will highlight four of the most popular works from the past two decades: Trio for Piano, Flute and Cello in G Minor, Op. 63 by Carl Maria von Weber; Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 32 by Anton Arensky; Fantaisie Brillante for Trumpet and Piano by Jean-Baptiste Arban; and Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44 by Robert Schumann.
On April 26, the French group Les Bons Becs — featuring clarinet, contrabass, soprano, alto and bass — will present a comic musical performance for family audiences titled "Crazy Wind." Having previously performed at the festival in 2008 and 2010, the group returns this year to mark the anniversary.
The festival's iconic house concert at former Korean President Yun Po-sun's House in Anguk-dong, central Seoul, will be held on April 26 with the title of "Spirituality," featuring Antonin Dvorak's Biblical Songs Op. 99 and Florence Price's Piano Quintet in A Minor.
Poster for the 20th edition of Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music, running from April 22 to May 4 / Courtesy of Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music
On May 3, the "Sweet 20s" concert will shed light on a group of young musicians in their 20s, performing chamber works composed by Ludwig Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf and Johannes Brahms during their own youth.
The festival traditionally spotlighted lesser-known chamber pieces, and this year's list will include Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jules Demersseman, Walter Rabl, Sergey Yuferov, August Klughardt and Joachim Raff.
Among the lineup, Kang selected Ukrainian composer Yuferov to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.
“People there are suffering at the moment,” the artistic director said.
Audiences will also have the chance to hear from leading Korean musicians, including bass-baritone Ahn Min-soo, a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and soprano Lee Hye-jung, who took part in the Opera album "Girls of the Golden West" with John Adams and is nominated for a Grammy Award.
The festival will run from April 22 to May 4. The full program and ticket information are available at www.seoulspring.org.