K-Music Festival London returns with pianist Cho Seong-jin

Pianist Cho Seong-jin / Courtesy of Universal Music

K-Music Festival, a decade-old celebration of Korean music in London, will return this October with a lineup led by internationally renowned pianist Cho Seong-jin.

Since its launch in 2013, the festival — organized by the Korean Cultural Centre U.K. — has introduced European audiences to Korean music beyond K-pop, spotlighting contemporary, traditional and experimental artists.

Cho will perform a piano concerto composed especially for him by Korean composer Shin Dong-hoon on Nov. 20, at Barbican Hall. The world premiere will take place with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Cho and Shin previously collaborated in January, when Cho performed Shin’s "My Shadow" — an ensemble piece for two violins, clarinet, cello and piano — with members of the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin.

Composer and cellist Lee Ok-kyung will open the festival on Oct. 1 with a performance alongside U.K.-based electronic artist Mark Fell at Kings Place.

On Oct. 5, Korean post-rock band JAMBINAI will return to the festival for a second time, performing with the London Contemporary Orchestra at the Barbican. Known for blending traditional Korean instruments such as the haegeum, geomungo and piri with post-rock, JAMBINAI gave a sold-out show at the festival in 2023 and performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Also returning is composer and multi-instrumentalist Won Il, who will present a program combining Korean shamanistic and contemporary music with a live performance on Nov. 14 at the Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall. His work "Dionysus Robot" — a tribute to the legacy of video art pioneer Nam June Paik — will feature an immersive theatrical experience.

Composer Park Ji-ha will also return to this year’s festival with her latest album "All Living Things," showcasing her artistry on traditional Korean instruments. Her performance is scheduled for Oct. 25 at the Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall.

This year marks the London debut for Korean string trio Hilgeum. Featuring players of the gayageum, geomungo and haegeum, the trio will collaborate with British contemporary composer and vocalist Alice Zawadzki on Oct. 18 at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre.

The quartet Gray by Silver, led by pianist and composer Lee Han-bi, will blend traditional Korean music and jazz on Nov. 15 at the Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall. Their most recent album "Eternal Gray" won Best Jazz Album at the Seoul Music Awards last year. The group’s concert will be part of the venue’s Late Night Jazz series.

"I hope this year's K-Music Festival offers U.K. audiences a chance to experience an even wider spectrum of Korean music," Park Jae-yeon, the festival's artistic director, said in a statement.