Pianist Cho Seong-jin will join the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Chung Myung-whun to perform Chopin in a Seoul concert next year in a widely anticipated union of Korea’s classical music icons.

At the concert, to be held at Seoul Arts Center on July 15, the pianist who shot to local fame after being crowned as the first Korean to win the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition will be performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

The performance is part of the SPO’s regular concert series in the 2016 season and one of the nine that its artistic director Chung will conduct. 

Chung, the SPO’s conductor since 2006, announced he would soon part ways with the SPO after completing his conductorship commitments through next year, which will mark his 10th anniversary with the orchestra. 

As the long-time face of the SPO, the maestro will kick off the 2016 season leading the orchestra in its performance of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, Op. 64 with solo violinist Choi Ye-eun in the ensemble’s first concert of the year on Jan. 9.

The season opener will be followed by the orchestra’s performance of Brahms and Strauss on Jan. 12 under the leadership of Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan, as well as Chung and the SPO’s renditions of Mahler and Mozart with local pianist Kim Da-sol on Jan. 16 and 17.

Next year’s season will also include the two-part Hana Classic package program series, offering ticket packages that highlight all of the SPO’s most highly anticipated performances of the year.

Part of the Hana Classic series will be a special collaborative performance with Chinese guitarist Xuefei Yang, one of the classical guitar world’s most respected musicians, on Nov. 11. 

Other notable performances of the 2016 season will be included in the month of March, which is slated to feature performances by guest conductors Lionel Bringuier of France and Eliahu Inbal of Israel, as well as a performance by solo violinist Clara-Jumi Kang.

For more information on the SPO’s 2016 lineup, visit www.seoulphil.or.kr.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)