Head east for summer air and storied classical music festivals

Gangwon Province has long been one of Korea’s favorite summer escapes, known for its mountain air, resort towns and green valleys. It has also become a recurring destination for classical music, with two established festivals — Music in PyeongChang and the Gyechon Classical Music Festival — drawing artists and audiences east each summer.

Music in PyeongChang brings the scale and ambition of an international festival, while Gyechon offers a village-based model rooted in local participation and arts education. Both have grown into fixtures of the province’s cultural calendar, giving audiences a reason to head east not just for cooler air, but for classical music shaped by place.

Music in PyeongChang, one of Korea’s flagship classical music events, will return for its 23rd edition this summer with a lineup spanning Baroque to contemporary works and featuring leading Korean and international artists.

Running from July 23 to Aug. 2, the festival will unfold at the PyeongChang Alpensia Concert Hall, the Music Tent in Daegwallyeong and other venues throughout Gangwon Province, the Gangwon Art and Culture Foundation announced Monday.

This year’s program is built around the theme "Legacy and Innovation." Artistic director Yang Sung-won, the cellist who has led the festival since 2023, framed the concept as an exploration of how centuries of compositional tradition continue to inspire new creative work.

"The works composers have built up over hundreds of years are not merely products of the past — they are living, breathing foundations of art that nourish new creation," Yang said in a statement. He added that the festival aims to illuminate “how legacy leads to innovation, and how art can resonate with the deepest parts of human interiority to become the language of our time.”

The program comprises 19 concerts, 10 outreach performances across Gangwon Province, five family-oriented outreach concerts and the MPyC Academy, which includes a chamber music mentorship program and master classes. Lectures by visiting scholars, a wine academy and informal "Coffee with the Artists" sessions will also be offered.

The 19 concerts range from solo recitals and chamber music to opera and orchestral programs, with repertoire stretching from the Baroque era to contemporary scores, including Korean premieres.

The artist roster includes pianists Kim Dae-jin, Sunwoo Yekwon and Charles Richard-Hamelin, conductors Hans Graf and Oskar Jaeggi, violinist Sawa Kazuki, cellists Tsutsumi Tsuyoshi, Christophe Coin and Maximilian Hornung, soprano Daniela Kohler and baritone Kim Gi-hoon, as well as the Pavel Haas Quartet, Alte Musik Seoul and the Gangneung Philharmonic Orchestra.

Rising Korean artists Lim Hyun-jae, Shin Kyung-sik, Lee Jeri and Sun Youl will also perform, in what organizers described as a platform for the next generation of classical musicians.

Tickets for the main concerts will go on sale at 2 p.m. Thursday through the Music in PyeongChang website and NolTicket.

Offering a more intimate, rural counterpart, the Gyechon Classical Music Festival will return to Gyechon Classical Village in PyeongChang from June 5 to 7 for its 12th edition.

Hosted by the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation and organized by the Korea National University of Arts, the festival grew out of the foundation’s Art Village Project, which supports arts education and expands access to culture in local communities.

This year’s festival is held under the theme “The Tune” and the slogan “Back to the Forest,” with programs centered on open-air evening concerts, daytime performances and community events.

The festival opens June 5 with the Gyechon Byeolbit Orchestra, made up of students from Gyechon Elementary and Middle School, followed by violinist Lee Ji-hye, pianist Kim Song-hyun and violinist Kim Hyeon-seo.

The elementary school orchestra was founded in 2009 to help prevent the school’s closure, followed by the middle school orchestra in 2012. Since 2015, the foundation and K-Arts have supported orchestra education in the village and presented the annual festival.

On June 6, the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, led by French conductor Adrien Perruchon, will perform with cellist Han Jae-min. The closing concert on June 7 will feature violinist Danny Koo and the Ditto Chamber Orchestra.

Additional programs include a Moonlight Concert by classical guitarist Park Kyu-hee on June 6, daytime Sunshine Concerts by the CMK Ensemble and Solus Brass Quintet, as well as local performances, hands-on programs and food booths.

Online reservations for the free Starlight Concerts are available through Naver until Wednesday, while the Sunshine and Moonlight concerts are open on-site without prior reservation.