Russian music to highlight SPO’s 2012 season
By Do Je-hae
Chung Myung-whun, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s (SP0) musical director, is a renowned specialist in French music and opera. But looking closely at his performing and recording career, one will realize Chung’s particular dedication to Russian music.
Just last week, the SPO was seen accompanying the National Ballet Theater’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” choreographed to the music of Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Prokofiev (1982-1953).
Chung is one of a handful of conductors who have recorded Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.” A Deutsche Grammophon (DG) recording with Amsterdam’s Royal
Concertgebouw, one of the top three symphony orchestras in the world, has won critical acclaim in Europe.
Chung also made a rare recording of “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,” an opera in four acts by Shostakovich, for DG in the 1990s.
‘Russian Series’
Continuing the SPO’s devotion to Russian music, the 2012 season will open with a series of concerts featuring major Russian composers, including Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff.
Requiring tremendous technical and musical maturity, Shostakovich’s symphonies have been the true test of an orchestra. Chung’s interpretations of Shostakovich’s works with the Tokyo Philharmonic
have proved extremely popular.
The SPO has invited Russian maestro Gennady Rozhdestvensky to lead a performance of Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 8.” The 80-year-old musician was formerly head of the Bolshoi Theater and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra.
British conductor Mark Elder will conduct Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 10” and Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 1.” Young U.S. conductor Andrew Grahams will lead the SPO in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s popular “Symphony No. 4.”
The final concert of the SPO’s “Russia Series” will feature Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5” conducted by its musical director.
Russian music has also been a central part of the SPOs European tours this summer. The ensemble opened their first visit to Europe with French composer Messiaen’s “Les Offrandes Oubliees” and concluded with Tchaikovsky’s 6th and final symphony, and included a number of hefty Russian encores.
The “Vocal Series” will see Chung and his orchestra playing masterpieces seldom heard in Korea. In August, Chung, who was formerly an opera director in Paris and in Rome, will lead a concert of excerpts from Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde.” In December, he will conduct Mozart’s “Requiem.” The SPO’s assistant musical director Sung Si-yeon will lead the orchestra in a performance of Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”
‘Virtuoso Series’
For the “Virtuoso Series,” star soloists from Germany, Russia, and China will join the orchestra. Russian piano virtuoso Arcadi Volodos will play Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 2,” followed by Chung’s rendition of excerpts from Stravinsky’s “Firebird.”
In March, French conductor Michel Plasson and Daniel Muller-Schott, a celebrated cellist from Germany, will perform Elgar’s “Cello Concerto” and a symphony by French composer Franck. Chinese cellist Jian Wang will visit Korea once again to play a concerto by Saint-Saens with the SPO.
Chin Unsuk, the SPO’s composer-in-residence, is planning to continue her critically-acclaimed “Ars Nova Series,” consisting of interesting modern works.
For the remainder of the year, the SPO will concentrate on Mahler. The orchestra is currently undertaking a series of concerts devoted to the Austrian composer.
As Asia’s first orchestra to record with the world-renowned DG, the SPO will release its second recording for the German label on Nov. 3, containing one of the most popular Mahler symphonies, his first known as “Titan.”
For more information on the SPO’s new season and ticket information, visit www.seoulphil.co.kr.