LSO led by Pappano to perform in Korea in 1st Asia tour

The London Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform at Lotte Concert Hall on Oct. 3 with Sir Antonio Pappano, who will begin his tenure as principal conductor starting with the 2024/25 season.

The concert will be part of the first Asian tour by the London Symphony Orchestra with Pappano, as well as the conductor’s first visit to South Korea in six years. In his visit to the country in 2018 as the music director of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, he performed with Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin.

Born in England in 1959 to Italian parents, Pappano began his conducting career at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo. He has been serving as music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London since 2002.

The concert will open with Berlioz’s "Roman Carnival Overture," a piece based on melodies from opera "Benvenuto Cellini," depicting a festival in Rome. This performance will offer a unique opportunity to experience the exceptional skills of Antonio Pappano, who is highly regarded as one of the world's top opera conductors, and the flexible performance of the London Symphony Orchestra, interpreting the French composer’s work.

Following this, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which the composer composed in his teenage years and was his first official work, will be performed by Yuja Wang, who made history as the first Chinese pianist to win the Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo at the 66th Grammy Awards in February.

Following intermission, the orchestra will perform Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 3 "Organ," the only symphony by the composer known for his prolific work as an organist. Richard Gowers, an organist active mainly in the UK, will join the performance.

Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra will perform three other concerts in Korea: Oct. 1 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Oct. 4 at Namhansanseong Art Hall in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province and Oct. 5 at the Daejeon Arts Center. The programs at the different venues vary.

By Park Ga-young(gypark@heraldcorp.com)