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Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music to bring top-tier classical performances to the capital

Published: 17 Mar. 2025, 18:45 Updated: 17 Mar. 2025, 18:47

SHIN MIN-HEE
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Brass and woodwind instrument performers play during the 19th Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music's closing recital on May 5, 2024. [SEOUL SPRING FESTIVAL OF CHAMBER MUSIC]

Classical music festivals are set to signal the start of spring, with events such as the Tongyeong International Music Festival on March 28 and the Korean Orchestra Festival on April 1 ready to welcome guests.

These events are set be followed by the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music (SSF), which will celebrate a milestone 20 years — taking place from April 22 to May 4.

Violinist Kang Dong-suk, the artistic director of the 20th Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music [SEOUL SPRING FESTIVAL OF CHAMBER MUSIC]

The festival’s organizers revealed in a press release Monday that this year’s theme is “20 Candles,” symbolizing the past two decades of celebrating classical music. The performances will be held at the Seoul Arts Center, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the former residence of President Yun Po-sun.

Beginning with the opening performance, titled “Concertante,” at the Seoul Arts Center, 69 performers will participate in 14 recitals under the artistic direction of violinist Kang Dong-suk.

“Concertante,” which takes place on April 22 at 7:30 p.m., musicians will perform pieces by Mozart, Vaughan-Williams, Demersseman, Schumann and Dvorak.

The number 20 is thoroughly emphasized in the upcoming performances. For example, one recital features 20 performers on April 23. Another performance will be solely comprised of Opus 20 compositions on April 27. There will also be a recital only performed by artists in their 20s on May 3.

SSF will conclude with “Dawn of a New Decade” at 2 p.m. on May 4, where works by Giuliani, Rachmaninov, Bizet, Saint-Saens and Schubert will be performed.

Kang, who turns 71 this year, has played the violin since he was 8 years old, winning his first award at the age of 12 at the Dong-A Music Competition. He studied at the Julliard School in New York City and later began seeing the spotlight through winning the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Competition and the Merriweather Post Competition. He has performed alongside dozens of world-renowned orchestras and has been artistic director for the SSF since 2006.

A performance from the 19th Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music takes place at the former residence of President Yun Po-sun in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 27, 2024. [SEOUL SPRING FESTIVAL OF CHAMBER MUSIC]

The French clarinet ensemble, Les Bons Becs, is making its first return to SSF in over a decade, following its previous performances in 2008 and 2010 on April 26.

First-time performers in SSF include string ensemble Risus Quartet, bass-baritone Ahn Min-soo, Grammy-nominee soprano Lee Hye-jung and trombonist Joo In-hye.

Other notable performers are violinist Danny Koo, Abel Quartet, Arete Quartet, pianist Kim Young-ho, violist Kim Sang-jin, flutist Mathieu Dufour, oboist Olivier Doise, clarinetist Romain Guyot and bassoonist Laurent Lefèvre.

Tickets are available on Interpark Ticket (1544-1555), Yes24 Ticket (1544-6399), the Seoul Arts Center (02-580-1300) and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts (02-399-1000). Prices range from 20,000 won ($13.80) to 150,000 won.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]