The Autumn Chamber Music Festival, Korea's leading chamber music festival, will be held at various venues across Seoul from Sept. 4 to 15. Top performers from Korea and abroad will showcase the appeal of chamber music at venues including the Seoul Arts Center, the Korea Furniture Museum, and COEX Starfield Library.
Now in its eighth year, this year's festival features performances each with a distinct concept. The festival opens with the "Young Chamber" concert on Sept. 4, an ensemble stage of newcomers selected through auditions. On Sept. 9, "Three Shadows: Brahms," held at the Seoul Arts Center IBK Chamber Hall, will present profound works of Romantic chamber music centered on Brahms.
The "Museum Concert," held at the Korea Furniture Museum on Sept. 10, will be arranged as a stage where the atmosphere of a traditional space harmonizes with chamber music. Following that, at the "Autumn Salon Concert: Artist's Choice" held at the Seoul Arts Center Recital Hall on Sept. 11, the performers themselves chose repertoire that best showcases their playing. Works by Sarasate, Vieuxtemps, and Webern will be performed.
The free performance held at COEX Starfield Library on Sept. 13 is designed to allow citizens to encounter classical music in their daily lives. At "Faces of Dance," held at the Kumho Yonsei Art Hall on Sept. 14, the rhythm and energy of dance will be unfolded through chamber music, including Ravel's "String Quartet" as well as works by Dvořák, Piazzolla, and Martinů.
The performance on the festival's final day, Sept. 15, "Layers of Strings," highlights the diverse sounds of string ensembles. Through Glazunov's "String Quintet," Rimsky-Korsakov's "String Sextet," and Bargiel's "String Octet," it will present the rich sound and three-dimensional textures created by string instruments.
The lineup of performers is also brilliant. Violinist Tobias Feltman, who serves as guest concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, and violist Muriel Razavi, winner of the Washington International String Competition, will take part together as a married couple. Violinists Kim Jae-young and Kim Young-uk, violist Kim Kyu-hyun, and cellist Lee Won-hae of the Novus Quartet, one of Korea's leading ensembles, will also participate in various programs.
Pianists Sun Jung-bum, Kim Da-sol, and Moon Jung-jae will also lend their strength to the festival. Sun Jung-bum won a unanimous victory in the piano category of the ARD International Competition, and Kim Da-sol is active as a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.
In addition, the festival's artistic director, cellist Park Yoo-shin, along with violinists Lee Ji-hye and Yoon Eun-sol, and cellist Alexey Shadrin, will take the stage.
