🎵 This Week's Classical Music Highlights! - 2026.05.14 | Classical Music

Hello, classical music fans! 🎶 Your '음악의노예' is back this week with a bunch of classical music news that will make your heart beat faster! From exciting performance reviews to hot issues heating up the classical music world, let's dive right in! 😆

🏆 Faces of Glory & Welcoming New Album News!

These are proud names in our classical music world, right? Composer Unsuk Chin has won the Grand Prize at the 14th Daewon Music Awards! 👏 A fitting achievement for a Grawemeyer Award winner, often called the 'Nobel Prize of Composition.' Furthermore, the Performance Award goes to pianist Yekwon Sunwoo, and the New Artist Award goes to violinist Seohyun Kim. The awards ceremony will be held in Seoul on the 8th of next month ^[3]. And one more piece of good news! Pianist Yekwon Sunwoo, who won the Performance Award, has released a new album 🎹. This album is filled with Liszt's pieces, including Schumann's 'Widmung' and a transcription of Verdi's opera 'Rigoletto Paraphrase,' totaling 11 tracks. It is said to showcase Liszt's unique clear and transparent lyricism hidden behind brilliant techniques, so I must add it to my playlist right away .

🎻 Moving Performances & Highly Anticipated Shows

Did everyone go to the Lahav Shani and Munich Philharmonic's concert in Korea on the 5th? 🤩 They performed Mahler's Symphony No. 1 'Titan,' and with Shani's precise and delicate interpretation combined with the Munich Philharmonic's perfect ensemble, it received incredible reviews, making people wonder, "Was this piece always like this?!" Moreover, pianist Cho Seong-jin performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, captivating the audience with his brilliant tone from start to finish, making me so jealous of those who were there ^[1]. This week on the 17th, the Korean National Symphony Orchestra's regular concert will be held at the Seoul Arts Center! Conductor Seungwon Lee, the winner of the 2024 Malko Competition, will take the baton for the National Symphony's regular concert for the first time. He will present the 'piping hot sounds' of 20th-century American composers, including Gershwin's 'An American in Paris,' so expectations are high! ^[2].

🤔 Hot Potatoes in the Classical World

Busan is very hot right now! It's because of the 'Busan Opera House,' which is under construction with the goal of opening in September 2027, which is next year. They are pushing to invite the Italian opera powerhouse La Scala's Verdi's opera 'Otello' as the opening performance, but since it is said to cost over 10 billion won, there is a fierce debate among local arts and performance circles. Opinions are clashing between "We need to attract attention with a world-class production" and criticisms calling it an "excessive one-off event" ^[4]. Let's keep an eye on how it concludes! And there is some heartbreaking news. Young Chang Piano, known as the 'National Piano' and so familiar to us, eventually couldn't overcome its financial difficulties and filed for rehabilitation proceedings with the court 😢. It's so sad to see the downfall of a brand that symbolized the domestic musical instrument industry ^[6].

🎺 Behind-the-Scenes Stories & Joyful Classical Music

Behind the glamorous stage are the blood, sweat, and tears of the performers. Recently, a behind-the-scenes video of the first performance of the Masters Series was uploaded to the KBS Symphony Orchestra's YouTube channel. A trumpet player suffered a herniated disc while deadlifting, and due to the nature of the instrument requiring strong breath and abdominal pressure, he endured immense pain throughout the performance 😭. It makes me realize once again how difficult and important health management is for performers ^[5]. Lastly, let me introduce a hilarious video! It's a performance by the Dutch maestro Andre Rieu and the German comedian Otto Waalkes. During the performance of Brahms' 'Hungarian Dance No. 5,' they put on a bizarre conducting performance, such as a surprise countdown or stopping the performance at will, making even the orchestra members burst into laughter 🤣. Who knew a solemn classical stage could be so delightful? You definitely have to watch it! ^[7].

That's it for this week's news! I'll be back next week with more fun classical music stories to stimulate your fan spirit. Bye~ 👋