The 110 members of KBS Symphony Orchestra and China National Symphony Orchestra will have a special joint concert this month in both countries. The first performance will be held in Beijing on July 20 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which will be followed by the Seoul concert on July 26 at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall.

The Seoul concert will raise the curtain with Chinese composer Li Huanzhi’s “Spring Festival Overture” under the baton of Li Xin Qiao, principal director of China National Symphony Orchestra. The orchestral piece depicts elderly Chinese in the Shanbei region celebrating the Chinese New Year. 

Internationally acclaimed Chinese pianist Wu Mu Ye will join the combined orchestra to perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18. Meanwhile, Kwak Sung, artistic director of Daegu City Symphony Orchestra, will conduct Richard Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40.”

Kwak is one of Korea’s leading conductors. He has also been a frequent guest conductor in orchestras around the world since he started his career as a conductor in 1983 with Austin Symphony Orchestra.

Li is a young maestro who has been very active on the world stage. He has been leading the China National Symphony Orchestra since 1999, performing at prestigious concert halls such as the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, Sydney Opera House, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

“Korea and China’s cultural exchanges have been going on for thousands of years. However, in classical music they are still in their infancy. Both parties have gathered and put together a joint concert and it will open a new chapter in cultural exchanges,” KBS Symphony Orchestra said in a press statement.

Meanwhile, the Beijing concert will also feature Choi Sung-hwan’s “Arirang Fantasy,” which reinterprets Korean folk song Arirang in a Western-style orchestral performance.

Tickets for the Seoul concert are available at www.sacticket.co.kr and prices range from 30,000 won to 150,000 won. For more information, call (02) 589-1001~2.

By Suh Hye-rim (sheren6735@heraldcorp.com)