Star orchestras perform grand repertoire

Two of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, the New York Philharmonic and the Dresden Staatskapelle, are going to perform in Korea next week.
The New York Philharmonic, conducted by musical director Lorin Maazel, will perform next Wednesday and Friday at the Seoul Arts Center and on Thursday at the Daejeon Culture & Arts Center .

Chung Myung-whun, the music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, will conduct the Dresden Staatskapelle at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, the Seoul Arts Center on Saturday and the Incheon Arts Center on Sunday.
The New York Philharmonic was formed in 1842 and was the first philharmonic orchestra in the United States. Mr. Maazel was born in France in 1930 and immigrated to the United States when he was 7. Between the age of nine and 15, he conducted major American orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony and Cleveland orchestras. He is also an accomplished composer and soloist
The philharmonic’s performance in Seoul was made possible by the late Park Seong-yawng, the founder of the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation. When the New York Philharmonic last performed in Seoul two years ago. Mr. Park requested they return in 2006. During their last visit they received frequent standing ovations. Noted Korean pianist Joyce Yang, 20, will, make her debut with the New York Philharmonic on Nov 15.
The program for Wednesday and Friday includes Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the “Eroica.” The program on Thursday will feature Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantasique.

The Wednesday and Thursday performances at Seoul Arts Center begin at 7 p.m. Friday’s performance at Daejeon Culture & Arts Center starts at 7.30 p.m. Ticket prices are 30,000 won to 250,000 won for Seoul and 30,000 won to 200,000 won at the Daejeon center. For information, visit www.nypkorea2006.com.
The Dresden Staatskapelle was founded 458 years ago. Chung Myung-whun and the Dresden Staatskapelle toured the U.S. in 2005, and the Boston Herald said Mr. Chung led the orchestra through “a spellbinding, reading of the [Brahms] Fourth Symphony.”
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 8 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m on Sunday. Friday’s program will feature Brahms’ Symphonies No. 1 and No. 4; and the program on Saturday will be Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6. On Sunday the orchestra will perform Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Ticket prices are 50,000 won to 150,000 won for performances at Seoul Arts Center and 20,000 won to 30,000 won at Incheon Arts Center.

by Limb Jae-un