Busan concert hall marks 1st anniversary with star-studded classical festival

Busan Concert Hall will celebrate its first anniversary with a weeklong classical music festival in July, bringing together maestro Chung Myung-whun, internationally acclaimed soloists and young musicians from Busan for performances ranging from Beethoven to Mahler.

Classic Busan said Tuesday that the 2026 Busan Concert Hall First Anniversary Festival will run from July 2 to 8 at the venue, which opened last year as the city’s first dedicated classical music hall.

The festival will feature the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra (APO) under the direction of Chung, the hall’s artistic director. Twenty young musicians from Busan will also join the orchestra during the festival.

The opening concert on July 2 will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, performed by APO alongside the Busan Metropolitan Chorus and Ulsan Metropolitan Chorus.

Soprano Lee Hye-ji, mezzo-soprano Yang Song-mi, tenor Kim Jung-hoon and baritone Park Ju-sung will appear as soloists.

On July 5, Chung and APO will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, one of the composer’s best-known works.

A July 7 concert titled “Into the New World, Together” will pair Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.”

Violinist Yang In-mo will perform as soloist in the Tchaikovsky concerto, while APO and Busan musicians will join for the Dvorak symphony.

The festival will also include chamber music performances in the concert hall’s chamber hall on July 6 and 7.

Pianist Bae Gil and APO members will perform works by Schumann and Shostakovich, while Chung will appear as pianist in a program featuring Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio and Brahms piano quartets.

Tickets will go on presale for members Wednesday at 2 p.m., followed by general sales Thursday through the Classic Busan website and NOL Ticket.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.