Korea selected as partner country at Bruckner Festival

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Korea selected as partner country at Bruckner Festival

Published: 02 May. 2016, 20:19

The Bruckner Festival, a large-scale classical music event held annually in Linz, Austria, has invited Korea to participate as a partner country in its 2016 edition. Some 500 Korean artists will take part in the festival this autumn.

The Linz event was established in 1974 to honor Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-96), who left an impressive mark on European classical music history with a series of symphonies. The host city is the third largest in Austria and “the home of renowned composers such as Schubert, Mozart and Mahler, and Anthon Bruckner is definitely one of them,” said festival organizer Hans-Joachim Frey.

The marathon of concerts - about 40 in total - will be held at the city’s Brucknerhaus Great Hall from Sept. 14 to Oct. 29.

To promote cultural exchange, the Bruckner Festival began inviting partner countries three years ago. Following Russia in 2013 and China in 2014, Korea is the third country to participate.

The KBS Symphony Orchestra will open the festival on Sept. 18 with conductor Yoel Levi and Korean pianist Son Yeol-eum. The next day, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra will take the stage with conductor Kim Dae-jin and violinist Fabiola Kim.

Pianist Kim Won will perform a solo recital on Sept. 25, with Beethoven, Ravel and Liszt planned in the repertoire.

The National Chorus of Korea will perform on Sept. 25, and on Oct. 10, the Ulsan Metropolitan Dance Company will present traditional Korean dance with a dance drama titled “Ggotshin,” which roughly translates to “flower shoes” in English.

Maestro Chung Myung-whun will also attend the festival, conducting Malhler’s Symphony No. 5 with the Staatskapelle Dresden on Oct. 7.

Korea’s participation will extend beyond musical performances. A day before the Bruckner Festival’s opening ceremony, an exhibition on the Tongyeong International Music Festival will take place on Sept. 17.

Renowned artists from around the world are also expected to grace the Linz event, including famed American conductor Dennis Russell Davies, the Czech Philharmonic Prague and the Moscow Synodal Choir.

BY KIM HYE-JUN [[email protected]]