In April and May, South Korea's classical music scene will once again come alive with two of its most prestigious annual festivals: the Korean Orchestra Festival and the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music.

The Korean Orchestra Festival, hosted at the Seoul Arts Center from April 3 to 28, will feature 23 orchestras from across the nation under the theme "The Wave," promising harmonious and captivating performances by top-notch conductors and musicians. Meanwhile, the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music, led by renowned violinist Kang Dong-suk, will explore the theme "All in the Family," and present 14 performances from April 23 to May 5 that delve into the diverse interpretations of family in music.

The Korean Orchestra Festival

In its 36th year, the Korean Orchestra Festival will take place with top-notch conductors from home and abroad alongside performers active on the world stage. In addition to the nationally representative symphony orchestras from each region, three private symphony orchestras will join the festival, the SAC said.

The festival will commence on April 3 with a performance by the KBS Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Pietari Inkinen. Featuring a diverse selection of 23 concerts and 61 musical pieces, the festival will encompass a wide range of genres, including symphonies, concertos spanning various eras, and the world-premiere of commissioned works. There will be no repetitions throughout the 20-day event, according to the organizer.

French conductor Adrien Perruchon and pianist Park Jong-hai will join forces with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra for a Ravel-focused program. Peter Biloen will lead the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on April 19 for a concert featuring Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with violinist Lee Je-hye, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra’s first principal of the second violin.

Kirill Karabits will take the stage with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra and cellist Moon Tae-kook on April 21.

The Korea National Symphony Orchestra will present a piece commissioned for the festival on April 12. The KNSO will also feature Jean Francaix’s “Clarinet Concerto” with clarinetist Kim Han.

In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth, the Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra and the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra will each perform one of his representative symphonies, the Fourth Symphony and the Seventh Symphony.

Seven works by Shostakovich, considered a symphonic master, will be presented by the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra in an all-Shostakovich program along with five other orchestras.

Winners of international music competitions will make their symphony orchestra debut, including Chung Kyu-bin, the first prize winner of the 2023 Isangyun Competition; violinist Kim Gye-hee, the gold medal winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2023; and pianist Kim Jun-hyung, the second-prize winner of the 2022 ARD International Music Competition’s piano category.

Incheon Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra’s performance on April 28 with soprano Hwang Su-mi featuring Strauss “Vier Letzte Lieder” will mark the finale of the festival.

In an effort to reach out to many classical music fans, the festival will be livestreamed on SAC’s video platform “Digital Stage” and at its outdoor square via a big screen.

Each concert will be preceded by an introduction to the works taking place 25 minutes before the performance.

Ticket prices range from 10,000 won ($7.47) to 50,000 won. Hanwha Group has been the sponsor of the program since 2000. There is no concert on Mondays.

The Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music

The Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music, a highly anticipated annual event led by violinist Kang Dong-suk, will offer the theme ​”All in the Family.”

The 19th edition of the festival will kick off with an opening concert on April 23 at Sejong Chamber Hall and run until May 5, offering a total of 14 performances with 60 artists, at various places including Seoul Arts Center's IBK Chamber Hall, the gallery Artspace3 and the house of former president Yun Po-sun.

This year’s festival will broadly interpret the meaning of the word "family" from various perspectives.

“With just one step remaining to reach the historic 20th edition, this year's event has served as an additional motivation to strive for a solid stepping stone toward reaching this landmark. The theme for this year is 'All in the Family,' which aims to explore various kinds of 'families,' diverse styles of music, composers from different ethnicities, family performers, familiar or lesser-known works, and premieres in Korea,” the festival’s music director and violinist Kang Dong-suk, said.

Each day, audiences can enjoy performances by SSF musician couples, veteran ensembles who have shared a long musical journey like family, composers of the same nationality and ethnic background, pioneering composers leading their era, composers with similar life stories such as birth and death, and works for the same instrumental groups.

Its popular family music concert will feature the music drama "Humoresque," directed by the renowned pianist Joo Hyung-ki, known for the music performance duo "Igudesman and Joo." This production combines humor with famous classical pieces in short performances, presented in an omnibus-style show, debuting for the first time in Korea with SSF musicians.

Ticket prices range from 20,000 won to 70,000 won for all concerts except for the concert at the house of Yun Po-sun which costs 150,000 won per ticket.