Lotte Concert Hall marks 10 years with Cho Seong-jin and 10 outstanding programs

Korea’s leading classical musicians will gather at Lotte Concert Hall next year to mark the 10th anniversary of one of the country’s most influential concert venues.

To anchor the occasion, Lotte Concert Hall has appointed pianist Cho Seong-jin as its in-house artist. Cho, who rose to global prominence after winning the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, attracted the largest audience of the hall’s inaugural year with his Cho Seong-jin Piano Recital in January 2017.

As in-house artist, Cho will present two concerts in July. On July 14, he will lead a chamber-music program alongside a group of renowned musicians — violinist Daishin Kashimoto, clarinetist Wenzel Fuchs, hornist Stefan Dohr, violist Park Kyung-min and cellist Kian Soltani. He will follow this with a solo recital on July 19, performing a wide-ranging repertoire that spans Bach, Schoenberg, Schumann and Chopin.

At the core of the anniversary celebrations is “10 for 10,” a special series of 10 performances featuring top artists from Korea and abroad.

The season opens on Jan. 28 with the Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Chung Myung-whun, with pianist Lim Yunchan appearing as soloist in Schumann’s Piano Concerto.

Chung returns to the hall on April 12 with the One Korea Orchestra, a project he founded to promote unity through music. Since its launch, the ensemble has drawn attention for featuring leading soloists such as Cho Seong-jin, Lim Yunchan and violinist Lee Su-been. Continuing this tradition, the upcoming concert welcomes rising pianist Kim Saehyun, winner of the 2025 Long-Thibaud International Competition. Coincidentally, the performance marks the orchestra’s 10th concert since its founding in 2017.

Other highlights include the Korean debut of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Utopia Orchestra.

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, will give its first-ever performance in Korea on Oct. 22, presenting a Sibelius symphony, paired with Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto performed by Sibelius Competition laureate Yang In-mo.

Led by founder Teodor Currentzis, known for his radical and high-intensity interpretations, Utopia Orchestra will debut performing works by Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Mahler on Nov. 17 and 18. Violinist Daniel Lozakovich and pianist Alexander Melnikov will appear as soloists.

On Nov. 21 and 22, longtime musical partners Charles Dutoit and Martha Argerich will reunite with the KBS Symphony Orchestra for performances of Ravel’s Piano Concerto and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9.

Another major draw is violinist Ray Chen, who appears in a duo recital on June 4 with pianist Julio Elizalde, a pairing expected to showcase both virtuosity and contemporary appeal.

As one of Korea's few concert halls with a pipe organ, organ music also takes center stage next year. On April 7, organist Cameron Carpenter returns to Lotte Concert Hall for the first time in a decade, presenting Bach’s "Goldberg Variations" and Mussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition."

On Oct. 6, Olivier Latry, widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost organists, will appear in a duo recital with organist Lee Shin-young, performing four-hand works.

Alongside the anniversary programming, Lotte Concert Hall will continue its annual “Classical Revolution," led by violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and "L Concert" series, with violinist Danny Koo and a series of organ programs.

Opened in August 2016, Lotte Concert Hall has 2,036 seats and was the first major concert hall to open in Seoul in 28 years, following the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall. Backed by Lotte Group, the venue has played a pivotal role in expanding Korea’s classical-music infrastructure, hosting world-class orchestras and artists while contributing to the long-term growth of the country’s classical-music ecosystem.