This year, the Seoul International Music Festival (SIMF) will take the audience on a musical tour around Central European countries, introducing classical masterpieces by highly recognized composers from Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
“The theme Central Europe is a geographical interpretation from Poland and Slovakia stretching to the Czech Republic. We organized this festival with the intention of exploring Central Europe this time,” the festival’s artistic director, Ryu Jea-joon, said during the press conference for the festival in Jung District, Seoul, Wednesday.
“Most of the noteworthy musicians that celebrated the anniversary this year seemed to be mainly from Central Europe. So, we decided to bring these artists together under this one festival.”
The 16th SIMF is set to run from Oct. 18 to 26 at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho District and Ilshin Hall in Yongsan District, Seoul. This year’s festival will consist of seven programs, encompassing four countries’ music and a special program dedicated to Korean composers.
The programs will feature world-class musicians from Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck, English tenor Ian Bostridge, Croatian hornist Radovan Vlatkovic, Finnish violinist Elina Vahala and Korean pianist Mun Ji-yeong.
The artistic director emphasized the two purposes of this festival — for the audience and the performers themselves.
“I set two goals for SIMF. First, the audience should come, enjoy the music and leave satisfied. Second, to create a platform for collaboration and exchange among good performers who gather together,” Ryu said, adding he hopes this year’s festival can open up more opportunities for wind instrument players.
“There are much fewer good wind instrument performers compared to string instruments in Korea, although they have been gradually increasing. However, it’s still not enough. We need more talented individuals. And the opportunities for these musicians to perform are limited. Outside of orchestras, there aren’t many venues for them to perform and showcase themselves. So we intend to introduce the charm of wind instruments.”
A poster for this year’s Seoul International Music Festival / Courtesy of SIMF
The festival will open with “Autumn in Warsaw” on Oct. 18 at the Seoul Arts Center, which will explore the deep romantic music of renowned Polish composers Karol Szymanowski, Wojciech Kilar and Krzysztof Penderecki.
The following day is “Summer in Vienna” at the Seoul Arts Center, which will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Austrian American composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth. The concert will have Schoenberg’s “Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op.4” and Franz Schubert’s “Octet in F Major, D. 803.”
The director shared that this program aims to introduce audiences to the lesser-known side of Schubert’s music.
“Schubert’s pieces, there are often seen as having too many musical barriers, but when they are performed well, they make you want to listen again,” Ryu said.
“So the reason we deliberately included (Schubert’s) piece is that we hope these excellent performers will give us such an experience, for which we would be very grateful.”
On Oct. 20, “Spring in Prague” will present three pieces from two Czech composers: Bedrich Smetana’s “Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15” and Antonin Dvorak’s “Serenade in D minor, Op. 44, B. 77” and “Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81.”
For the first time in SIMF’s history, the festival is showcasing a program dedicated to modern Korean music. “The Mood of Seoul,” scheduled on Oct. 21 at Ilshin Hall, will introduce pieces from three composers: Lee Won-jung’s “Back to Heaven for Female Gagok and String Ensemble,” Kang Suk-hi’s “Buru” and Kim Ji-hyang’s world premiere song “Tenebrae.”
“If he were alive, composer Kang would be turning 90 this year. To commemorate his 90th anniversary, we planned this program with his music, along with pieces by two Korean composers, Lee and Kim, who, in my opinion, are doing incredibly interesting and excellent work,” Ryu said, describing the program.
“The music created together by the pioneer, Kang, who first established contemporary music in Korea, and his successors is the history we are making right now.”
The next stop of the festival is Hungary. “Winter in Budapest,” on Oct. 23 at the Seoul Arts Center, will have Zoltán Kodály’s “Serenade for two violins and viola. Op.12,” Erno Dohnanyi’s “Piano Quintet No. 2 in E-Flat minor, Op. 26,” Bela Bartok’s “Suite for Brass,” and Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 C# minor.”
The show will wrap with “SIMF Orchestra with Manfred Honek” as the closing concert on Oct. 26, after a program dedicated to Schubert, “Schubert – Winterreise,” on the day before, both at the Seoul Arts Center.
“Schubert – Winterreise” will play the composer’s “Auf dem Strom, D. 943,” and “Winterreise, Op. 89 D. 911,” and the closing concert will present the artistic director’s world premiere song “Concerto per Clarinetto e Orchestra,” and Bruckner’s “Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 22:31:00
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