Mapo Cultural Foundation 'M Classic Festival'.. Romantic Era Masterpieces Color Summer Nights

[Financial News] The Mapo Cultural Foundation announced on the 18th that it will hold the '10th M Classic Festival', highlighting masterpieces of the 'Romantic Age', the heyday of classical music, from the 22nd to December 6th. 
It is a music festival where musicians who have made names in their respective fields, such as violinist Kang Dong-seok, pianist Baek Hye-seon, cellist Yang Seong-won, soprano Im Sun-hye·Park Hye-sang, and baritone Park Ju-seong, take the stage. 
This festival is a pure art and culture festival held at the level of the basic local government of Mapo-gu. Over the past 9 years, the Mapo Cultural Foundation has conducted over 580 performances through this festival, recruiting over 8,800 artists and engaging with approximately 700,000 spectators. This year's festival, marking its 10th edition, highlights masterpieces from the 'Romantic Era'.
The core of the festival is the symphony performances to be presented by the specially organized M Classic Festival Orchestra at the Mapo Art Center on the 24th and 25th of next month.
Conductor Kwon Min-seok, who has led the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of the Netherlands, will conduct the festival orchestra. On the 24th of next month, they will collaborate with pianist Jeong Ji-won to present Beethoven's Concerto No. 5, followed by a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 'Fate'.
The next day, cellist Lee Kyung-jun will collaborate on Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor. This will be followed by Schubert's Symphony No. 8 'Unfinished' and Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 'From the New World'.
The festival's opening on the 22nd will feature the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor Kim Kwang-hyun, collaborating with Mapo Cultural Foundation's resident musician baritone Park Ju-seong and soprano Noh Hee-jae, in the 'Mapo Saebit Culture Forest Concert'. It's an outdoor concert held on the lawn of Mapo Saebit Culture Forest.
On the 23rd, baritone Ko Seong-hyun, sopranos Choi Jeong-won·An Hye-su, tenor Lee Jeong-won, and pianist Lee Kyung-min will help the audience escape the heat with opera arias. Both performances are free for all, with tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Chamber music performances are also diverse. On the 26th of next month, cellist Yang Seong-won will present 'Bach Special', a performance featuring masterpieces by Bach with pianist Enrico Pace.
On October 2nd, the baroque music ensemble Il Gardellino will present baroque music centered around Bach's late masterpiece 'The Musical Offering'. On October 18th, actor Lee Sang-yeob will host the 'Cinema Concert', exploring classical music featured in iconic movie scenes. Pianist Kim Kyung-eun, the first teacher of pianist Lim Yoon-chan, and violist Lee Shin-kyu will join.
On November 11th, pianist Baek Hye-seon will hold a recital, and on the 14th, violinist Kang Dong-seok will lead a chamber music performance titled 'At the Heart of Romance'.
On the 19th of the same month, violinist Lim Ji-young, who was the first Korean to win first place at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2015, will perform with pianist Yang Seong-won, cellist Song Young-hoon, and others, presenting Chopin's Nocturne No. 2, Beethoven's Piano Trio 'Ghost', and more.
Noteworthy vocal performances include tenor Kim Min-seok on October 29th, soprano Park Hye-sang on November 5th, and soprano Im Sun-hye on November 12th.
Additionally, Mapo Cultural Foundation's resident musician Park Ju-seong will present the essence of Romantic Era vocal music on December 6th, featuring masterpieces by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Wolf, and Strauss.
Broadcaster and pianist Daniel Lindemann, along with baritone Woo Ju-ho, will present a variety of songs at the 'Two Men's Story' concert on October 22nd. The performances prepared by the Mapo Cultural Foundation for this festival are priced at 30,000 won or less, or are free.
rsunjun@fnnews.com Yoo Sun-jun Reporter