Autumn abounds with the performing arts

Members of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra perform chamber music. (photo courtesy of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra)

A list of "can't miss" concerts and performances has just come out, good news for concert-goers.

There are a bountiful number of classical music concerts and performances on the way, a style of music perfectly tuned to this cool, serene autumn mood. There is also a variety of traditional musical performances going on in the greater Gyeonggi Province area.

First, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will present a series of concerts throughout the month of September ranging from chamber concerts through to open-air classical music concerts, accompanied by both domestic and international musicians.

On September 12, seven members of the orchestra, including Bulgarian violinist Svetlin Roussev and cellist Joo Yeon-sun, will create harmonies at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul as they play in a string quartet some of Beethoven's early and later works.

The next day, the stage of the KT Chamber Hall in Mokdong will focus its spotlight on 20 members of the orchestra as they play familiar classical masterpieces, such as Handel's "Water Music", Grieg's "Holberg Suite 1" and Elgar's "Salut d'Amour", as well as soundtrack songs from famous movies, including that from "The Pirates of the Caribbean".

There will be the open-air Riverside Concerts held on both September 20 and 21 in Yeouido along the Hangang River, wonderfully free-of-charge.

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will hold open-air free concerts in Yeouido near the Hangang River at 7:00 p.m. on September 20 and 21. (photos courtesy of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra)

The September 20 concert, "Classical Music & RockNRoll", will feature Gustav Holst's orchestral suite "The Planets" and British rock band Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Another riverside show, to be held at the same time one day later, on September 21, will allow the audience to appreciate the orchestra's interpretations of the overture from Mikhail Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" and Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture". Highlighting the show will be some of the main songs from the hit musicals "My Fair Lady" and "Les Misérables", sung by soprano Kathleen Kim and stage actor and singer Kai.

Actor and singer Kai sings on stage.

Finally, the orchestra will perform its last show of the month, "Maestro Chung's Wagner", at the Seoul Arts Center on September 26. For that show, conductor Chung Myung-whun will lead the orchestra through Wagner's "Das Rheingold", the first time for that opera's complete orchestration on the domestic scene.

"Das Rheingold" is the first of the four operas that constitute Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen", a 17-hour series of four epic operas.

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performs under the baton of conductor Chung Myung-whun. (photos courtesy of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra)

The Chung-led performance will be accompanied by world-class musicians, including baritone Christopher Maltman, tenor Daniel Kirch, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and soprano Malin Christensson. Domestic singers will join in, too, including tenor Jin Sung-won, baritone Kim Julian and soprano Yang Song-mi.

Moving on from classical music, there will be a string of nighttime concerts every Saturday from September 13 through to October 11. These are traditional Korean musical and dance concerts that can be enjoyed at the Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province).

There will be a series of traditional performances, including nonverbal dances, traditional musical performances and traditional narrative pansori songs, every Saturday from September 13 until October 11 at the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do. (photos courtesy of the Suwon Cultural Foundation)

The first Saturday show, kicking off on September 13, will showcase "The Club Pan", a nonverbal performance that brings together pop, hip hop and traditional musicians. On Saturday, September 20, a group of singers will narrate the love story from a signature folk song. Meanwhile, the Suwon Opera Group will present its own interpretation of Donizetti's opera "The Elixir of Love" on September 27.

On the first Saturday next month, the story of runaway chickens who ran away from a poultry farm in pursuit of their dreams will be told in the traditional Korean narrative singing style, pansori. The last show on October 11 will feature a group of young traditional performers playing percussion instruments and performing traditional dances, as the one month of Saturday concerts comes to an end.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
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