Arts Center Incheon 2026 Fall/Winter Season – The Moment Legends Become the Present

The Moment Legends Become the Present 

Arts Center Incheon 2026 Fall/Winter Season 

Sep–Dec 2026 

Some names in music history transcend time, returning to the stage to reveal themselves anew. As 2026 draws to a close, Arts Center Incheon (ACI) presents a series of performances that transform encounters with musical history into experiences of the present. 

Music that once defined an era, and the artists who gave it life, continue to resonate through the musicians who carry their legacies forward. As the years pass, certain moments in music history only grow more vivid. This season, ACI invites audiences to encounter these legacies anew and discover how music we have long remembered can come alive in the hands of today’s artists.  

A Timeless Masterpiece: Encountering Bach with Jean-Guihen Queyras 

ACI – Jean-Guihen Queyras

Our first encounter begins with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His Cello Suites, revealing the extraordinary depth and possibilities of a single instrument, remain among the most revered works in the repertoire, cherished by generations of cellists and audiences alike. 

On 4 Oct, internationally acclaimed cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras will perform all six suites in their entirety. 

It is an encounter between a masterpiece that has endured for centuries and an artist who approaches music with complete dedication. Known for his profound focus on the music itself, unadorned interpretations, and clear, decisive tone, Queyras brings Bach’s timeless music vividly to life, allowing a voice from the past to speak once again in the present. 

Beyond Early Music: Ārt House17 Brings the 17th Century into the Present 

The music and art of the 17th century come alive anew on today’s stage. 

ACI – Art House 17

Founded in Graz, Austria, in 2018, Ārt House17 has developed a distinctive artistic language that moves beyond the conventions of early music, bringing together music, theatre, video, movement, and storytelling. 

On 11 Oct, the ensemble takes the stage at ACI with a performance in two parts. The first explores the court culture of 17th-century Eggenberg Palace, a world in which music, architecture, astronomy, and the arts converge. The second presents a music-theater work shaped by memories of a lost time, a lost homeland, and forced migration. 

Rather than simply recreating the music of the past, Ārt House17 breathes new life into it through a contemporary artistic language, inviting audiences to discover how centuries-old music can acquire new meaning and resonance today. 

A Legacy in Constant Variation: Vadym Kholodenko 

ACI – Vadym Kholodenko

With formidable pianism reminiscent of the great masters of the Golden Age, a wide-ranging repertoire, and refined interpretive depth, pianist Vadym Kholodenko has established a musical voice uniquely his own. 

On 7 Nov, he takes the stage at ACI, presenting Beethoven’s Eroica Variations and Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, a set of 36 variations that reveals how a single musical idea can unfold into seemingly limitless forms. 

Bringing together two works shaped by distinct eras and aesthetics, the recital illuminates both Kholodenko’s profound artistry and his enduring quest to uncover the possibilities contained within a single musical idea. 

A Legacy Carried Forward in the Name of Sibelius: Sueye Park & KBS Symphony Orchestra 

ACI – M＆M Series – Sibelius and Sueye Park

ACI’s M&M (Masters & Makers) Series goes beyond simply presenting masterpieces by great composers. The series invites today’s musicians to explore the eras in which these works were created, the lives of the artists who shaped them, and the stories embedded within the music. In 2026, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, celebrating its 70th anniversary, joins every performance in the series, bringing together masterpieces that defined their eras with a new generation of musicians who reinterpret them for today’s audiences. 

On 14 Nov, the series reaches its finale with violinist Sueye Park. Having made her mark on the international stage by winning the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, Park returns to the music of the composer whose name the competition bears, performing Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. 

The significance of this encounter is particularly striking: the concerto she performed at the competition now returns with her to the stage, transforming the work into another chapter in her continuing artistic journey. 

The programme continues with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, performed by conductor Joongbae Jee and the KBS Symphony Orchestra. Together, the works trace a journey through anguish and introspection toward recovery and renewal. 

From the Sistine Chapel to the Present: The Tallis Scholars 

ACI – The Tallis Scholars

The Sistine Chapel once stood at the heart of European sacred music during the Renaissance. The great polyphonic tradition that resounded within its walls comes alive through the voices of The Tallis Scholars, one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles. 

On 15 Nov, The Tallis Scholars, led by Peter Phillips, take the stage at ACI with The Sistine Inspirations, performing works by Renaissance masters including Palestrina and Morales. 

Bringing together sacred music that has endured for centuries and artists who have devoted themselves to exploring its depths, the performance invites audiences to discover how sounds born in one of music history’s most legendary spaces can find new life on the stage today. 

A legend is not simply a story from the past. It becomes present again the moment we encounter it anew. 

Across five distinctive performances, ACI brings together the great names and traditions of music history with the artists of today. Each offers a different way of encountering a musical legacy—not as something confined to the past, but as something that continues to evolve on the stage before us. 

As 2026 draws to a close, Arts Center Incheon invites audiences to experience these encounters, where the music of yesterday meets the artists of today, and where legends become present once again.