Finnish music festival comes to Seoul

From left are Kim Yong-yeon, vice president of the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, Vladimir Mendelssohn, artistic director of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and Eero Suominen, Finnish Ambassador to Korea, posing for a photo after a press conference held at the Finnish Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Kumho Art Hall

By Yun Suh-young

The Kumho & Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival kicked off Thursday, marking the first musical exchange between the Seoul-based Kumho Art Hall and the Finnish Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. It will be held from Feb. 9 to 11 at the Kumho Art Hall in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.

The festival is one of the world’s largest chamber music festivals. Started in 1970 in the small Finnish town of Kuhmo, 600 kilometers from Helsinki, the festival has survived for over 40 years attracting 50,000 visitors annually. It runs every July for 14 days in Kuhmo which has now become a summer vacation destination, thanks to the music festival's success. Around 200 musicians and 100 music students participate in the annual event.

This event will be the first in a series of cultural exchanges between the two countries. The Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival decided to take its act to Korea for the first time this year, and moving onwards the two countries will continue to exchange musicians for future co-organized events.

"Kumho Art Hall and the Finnish Embassy began planning the festival in Seoul four years ago," said Kim Yong-yeon, vice president of the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, during a press conference Wednesday. “Starting this year, Finnish musicians will be coming to Seoul to perform. Next year, Korean musicians will visit Finland to take part in the festival there. We'll continue to exchange musicians back and forth like this.”

This year is especially meaningful for the Finnish festival as it marks the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence from Russia in 1917.

As a tribute and dedication to the iconic Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, often identified as a symbol of the country, the music festival will begin Thursday at 8 p.m. The repertoire includes "Finlandia, Tone Poem for Orchestra, Op. 26" and "Valse Triste from Kuolema, Op. 44" under the theme, "The Time of Sibelius."

"The heart of Finnish culture, the symbol of Finland is Jean Siberius. He was born before the Finnish independent state was born and started music when Verdi and Brahms were flourishing. Nothing can move Sibelius away from Europe. It is why the first program of this weekend of concerts is called The Time of Sibelius," said Vladimir Mendelssohn, artistic director of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival.

On Friday, Feb. 10, more Sibelius is to come, but the focus shifts onto French composers such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud and Cesar Franck. Under the theme "Paris by Night," the program will offer pieces such as Sonata for Cello and Piano, L. 135 by Debussy and Tzigane, Rhapsodie de Concert for Violin and Piano by Ravel.

On Saturday, two performances are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. The 3 p.m. concert is themed "Baroque, Evergreens" with pieces by Johann Pachelbel, Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi, while the 8 p.m. performance will feature Mozart, Schubert and Brahms.