As 2015 comes to an end, the local music stage is gearing up for its next season of classics, from the highly anticipated performances of Cho Seong-jin and his fellow International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition competitors to the taste of international prestige with the Chicago and San Francisco Symphonies. 

Below are some highlighted performances of 2016.

Steve Barakatt

Canadian pianist and composer Steve Barakatt and the Herald Philharmonic Orchestra are combining forces once again for a performance of the musician’s new visually revamped “Ad Vitam Aeternam” on Jan. 2.

Bringing back his 16-movement symphony “Ad Vitam Aeternam,” his first and largest symphonic production to date, the locally beloved pianist is returning to Korea continuing the celebration of his 20-year relationship with Korean audiences.

Calling the January performance his “grandest show” yet, Barakatt previously stated that the symphony’s live production has been given a new illuminating visual upgrade and will include the use of lights and video projections. 

Barakatt’s concert will be held at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. Ticket prices range from 40,000 won ($34) to 240,000 won.

Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony


Italian conductor Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be making their way to Seoul next month, performing Jan. 28 and 29 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall.

Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has consistently been hailed as one of the classical music world’s most respected musical ensembles, with Maestro Muti becoming the orchestra’s 10th music director in 2010.

Muti and the Chicago Symphony will be performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “Titan” on Jan. 28. For the following’s day concert, the orchestra will perform Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 “Classical,” Hindemith’s “Concert Music for String Orchestra and Brass” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

Ticket prices range from 70,000 won to 360,000 won.

Chopin competition prize winners’ gala concert


Without question, one of the most highly sought-after classical events of the season is the return of Cho Seong-jin -- the country’s newest classical music star.

Following his win at this year’s International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, making him the first Korean to win the coveted crown, Cho and his fellow Chopin competitors will be holding their winners’ gala concert at Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 2.

As next year’s hottest classical event, tickets to the upcoming concert sold out immediately upon their release, despite prices listed upward of 180,000 won. The high demand for seats prompted organizers to add an additional matinee concert on the same day, selling out the entire theater once again. 

Alongside Cho, the concert will feature performances by prize winners Charles Richard-Hamelin, Kate Liu, Eric Lu, Yike (Tony) Yang and Dmitry Shishkin.

Thomanerchor Leipzig & Gewandhausorchester

The Thomanerchor Leipzig all-male choir is combing forces with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig orchestra for a one-night only concert at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on March 16.

The two ensembles stand as some of Germany’s and the classical world’s most historical acts.

The Thomanerchor young boys’ choir was founded in 1212 and is best known for the master of Baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach, serving as its choir director from 1723-50. The Gewandhausorchester orchestra, which was founded in 1743, is currently the oldest civic symphony orchestra in the world.

With German maestro Gotthold Schwarz at the conducting podium, ticket prices for the Thomanerchor Leipzig & Gewandhausorchester’s upcoming concert ranges from 40,000 won to 220,000 won.

Other big-name performances to anticipate in the latter half of 2016 include Ivan Fischer & Budapest Festival Orchestra on Oct. 10 and 11; the Angela Gheorghiu & Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra on Oct. 20; the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra & Michael Tilson Thomas on Nov. 10; and Yo-yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble on Nov. 18.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)