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Korea Herald
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
SAC Int'l Music Festival brings global and emerging talent to Seoul for six days
From Aug. 5 to 10, the Seoul Arts Center will host the fifth edition of its International Music Festival -- its most expansive yet. The 2025 festival boasts 11 concerts featuring artists invited from around the world, alongside five chamber ensembles selected through a competitive call, and a lineup that spans symphonic powerhouses, intimate baroque ensembles and contemporary innovators. Launched in 2021 as a summer platform for local talent, the festival has since evolved into a full-fledged international event, helping to position Seoul as a major summer destination for classical music. The festival opens and closes with the SAC Festival Orchestra under conductor Lawrence Renes, best known for his work at the Royal Swedish Opera. The ensemble features a roster of international-caliber musicians, including double bassist Im Chae-moon of the London Symphony, cellist Moon Tae-guk, trumpeter Alexandre Baty of the Munich Philharmonic and flutist Han Yeo-jin from Hamburg's NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. Together, they will perform a gala of Richard Strauss on opening night on Aug. 5 and close the festival on Aug. 10 with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki, followed by Mahler's Symphony No. 1 'Titan.' Debuting in Korea, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States, a Carnegie Hall affiliate, will take the stage on Aug. 6, led by conductor Gianandrea Noseda, to present Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff, joined by violinist Clara-Jumi Kang. Pianist Jan Lisiecki returns later in the week for a solo recital on Aug. 9, offering an unusual program of preludes from across the centuries -- from Bach to Chopin to Messiaen and Gorecki. Cello fans can look forward to a rare duo appearance by Steven Isserlis and longtime collaborator Connie Shih on Aug. 8, while the revered Trio Wanderer returns to Seoul on Aug. 6, two years after their last appearance. Making their Korean debut is the Geister Duo on Aug. 7, who, along with pianists Zhang Haochen on Aug. 9 and Kim Se-hyun on Aug. 8, represent a new generation of artists gaining global attention. All three have won top international prizes, including the Van Cliburn, Long-Thibaud and Munich ARD competitions. This year's open-call program focused exclusively on chamber music, resulting in five distinctive ensembles that cut across genres. Ensemble Hwadam on Aug. 5 premieres a commissioned nonet, while Jeong Ji-soo & Baroque in Blue on Aug. 5 explore the intersection of jazz and baroque. Novelty Quartet on Aug. 7 brings a socially conscious string program, while BrassArts Seoul on Aug. 8 highlights the richness of brass quintets. Ast Quartet on Aug. 9 offers a refined, European-informed string sound. Held at the Seoul Arts Center's Concert Hall, IBK Chamber Hall and Recital Hall, the festival provides a diverse classical experience at prices ranging from 20,000 won ($15) to 110,000 won.
Local Sweden
03-06-2025
- General
- Local Sweden
Where can you celebrate Sweden's National Day on June 6th?
Swedish national day is celebrated on June 6th each year, with local municipalities holding events to welcome new Swedish citizens. Where are the best events taking place in 2025? Advertisement Stockholm The most well-known National Day event – which may even be the event where the whole celebration originated – is at the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm. READ ALSO: Why does Sweden celebrate National Day on June 6th? This is a very family-friendly event, with crafts, traditional folk dance and music and a national day market. The evening is rounded off with a national day concert on the Solliden stage, which is attended by the Swedish royals. If you can't make it to the concert, don't worry – it's also broadcast live by SVT. If you live in Stockholm municipality and have been lucky enough to become a Swedish citizen during the past year (congrats!), then you should have received an invitation in the post to attend a citizenship ceremony in Stockholm City Hall. And yes, that's the same city hall where the Nobel Prize banquet takes place. This citizenship ceremony is optional, so you won't lose your Swedish citizenship if you can't be there. There are also National Day events taking place at Saltsjöbaden, where you can visit Villa Baggås for music, an exhibition and fika, the Royal Palace, where you can watch a coronation and find out more about Sweden's history, and Hagaparken, where the Royal Swedish Opera will hold a concert. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are expected to attend this year for the first time since 2019. You can find a full list of events in Stockholm on Visit Stockholm's website. Gothenburg New citizens in Gothenburg should head to Slottsskogen, where the city's main national day event is taking place. The park will be open from 11am to 5pm, with activities for new citizens between noon and 3.30pm. The citizenship ceremony will start at 1pm, and will be followed by a concert by Dream Orchestra, a youth orchestra with members from more than 18 different countries, as well as a performance by Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Aside from the main event in Slottsskogen, there will be a number of other musical celebrations. World Music Culture Club will perform on Hammarkulletorget, Gothenburg Wind Orchestra will play in Flunsåsparken and there will be choir performances in Gothenburg Cathedral. Here's a list from Gothenburg City Council with more details of those events. Earlier in the morning, there will also be a joint Eid and National Day celebration in Slottsskogen with the prayer starting at 9.30am (both holidays fall on the same day this year). Advertisement Skåne In Malmö, the new citizen event takes place on Stortorget and is relatively short at just two hours, from noon to 2pm. It will feature a speech by Skåne's regional governor Anneli Hulthén and musical performances by opera singers Rickard Söderberg and Negar Zarassi, Malmö's Fire Brigade Orchestra (Brandkårens Orkester) and the city's academic choir. The Malmöflickorna dance group will perform before a speech by council chair Carina Nilsson. You can also head to Folkets Park for an unofficial national day celebration where students from Kulturskolan will perform music – everything from jazz to rock, pop, Balkan sounds and classical drum marches – and host creative workshops. Kulturen in Lund – an open-air museum similar to Skansen in Stockholm – will have free entry on national day, as it hosts Lund municipality's official celebration. You can spend the day looking around their exhibitions and historical buildings or listen to some of their concerts – Lund's student choir will sing at 2pm, with Mimi Terris Septett kicking off a lively swing jazz concert at 2.30. There will also be a joint Eid and National Day celebration in Stadsparken hosted by Destination Lund (both holidays fall on June 6th this year), with music, dance, food and drinks and an obstacle course for children. Advertisement Elsewhere in Sweden Swedish municipalities must by law hold a ceremony to welcome new citizens once a year, with most of them choosing to hold this event on June 6th. You should have received a letter from your local municipality if you gained citizenship within the past year inviting you to your local event, although these are almost always open to the public too. This means that, wherever you live, there should be something happening in your local area. You can search nationaldagsfirande or svenska flaggans dag plus the name of your city or municipality to find an event near you.
