Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra – Season Introduction

Every concert tells a story; every piece of music is an expression of human emotion. Throughout our 2020 season we have found a whole host of stories to tell, and they run like golden threads throughout this year’s concerts. Here in Seoul, our own big story is that this is the first season with our new Music Director Osmo Vänskä. But that’s just the starting point for a season full of tales to be told, adventures to be experienced. We hope they will be equally thrilling and entertaining for young and old alike; for the experienced listener and for first timers. All are welcome, and everyone here – the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO)’s musicians and administrative staff, our new music director Osmo Vänskä, and our esteemed guest conductors and soloists – is looking forward to sharing our music with you.

Osmo Vänskä (Photo credit: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco)

Osmo Vänskä’s first season will be like a “taster” of his work in years to come. Naturally, he will conduct the composers for which he is world-famous (not least because of his landmark recordings) – Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Sibelius’s Fifth and – to celebrate the beginning of his tenure, Mahler’s huge, world-embracing Resurrection symphony. In May, he lets the individual sections of the orchestra shine in music by Stravinsky, Hindemith, Vaughan Williams and Elgar, and gives the whole ensemble a workout in Lutoslawski’s brilliant Concerto for Orchestra.

Osmo will introduce some stellar soloists too. In 2019, Alexandre Kantorow won the Moscow Tchaikovsky Piano Competition with a truly astonishing interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s neglected Second Piano Concerto. Now he brings it to Seoul. Osmo has made it very clear that he wants it to be a celebration of Korean talent. Violinist Jiyoon Lee plays Dvorak’s Violin Concerto, there is an opportunity to hear the Asian premiere of Donghoon Shin’s Kafka’s Dream (recently acclaimed by audiences in London) and the SPO also plays Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony. We hope that audiences will share our excitement at the start of this new chapter in the history of the SPO.

Osmo Vänskä (Photo credit: Courtney Perry)

But like the rest of the musical world, we cannot possibly ignore the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth on 17 Dec 1770. We start our season with his beautiful Violin Concerto, and throughout the year, one of our golden threads will be Beethoven’s music. Three of his symphonies are paired with 20th century masterpieces – works that, like Beethoven, revolutionised the music of their own day – whether Debussy’s La Mer, Berg’s Violin Concerto, Kurtág’s mighty Stele, Zimmermann’s haunting Photoptosis or a rare performance of Berio’s psychedelic Sinfonia. That should be unmissable! There will also be a chance to hear one of Beethoven’s most unusual works – his only ballet, Prometheus, a work that sparkles with youthful genius (and some familiar tunes too).

And because Beethoven changed history, we have taken him as the starting point for another musical adventure. We will be playing the great symphonies that inspired Beethoven, by his hero Mozart and his teacher Haydn. We will hear how the Romantic generation followed his example, in symphonies by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Bruckner and Mahler – or reacted against it (do not miss a rare chance to hear Saint-Saëns’s delightful Second Symphony). We will follow the symphonic tradition into the 20th century with Sibelius, Honegger and Shostakovich, and hear how works like Berio’s Sinfonia turned tradition on its head. We bet that Beethoven would have loved it.

Håkan Hardenberger (Photo credit: Marco Borggreve)

Håkan Hardenberger (Photo credit: Marco Borggreve)

And last but definitely not least, as artist-in-residence we welcome Håkan Hardenberger – described by the Times of London as “the best trumpet player in the galaxy”. Do not just take our word for it though. Hear for yourself when he plays as a soloist, leads a chamber ensemble with musicians of the SPO, and both plays and conducts a programme that spans three centuries of trumpet music at its most brilliant and diverse.

All of the concerts in our 2020 season offer great music, performed by outstanding artists and presented by people who love what they do and hope you will love it too. Nothing matches the special joy of live music-making, and we look forward to sharing it with you in 2020.

Click here to visit Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s website.