“A deeper relationship with the Seoul Philharmonic ... now we’re one family”: Jaap van Zweden’s fourth season

[Financial News] Jaap van Zweden, music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, said, “My relationship with the Seoul Philharmonic is growing deeper,” reflecting on his fourth season since taking up the post.
At a press conference for the 2027 Seoul Philharmonic season opening, held in the Seoul Philharmonic’s rehearsal room on the fifth floor of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 19th, Music Director van Zweden said, “Rather than saying we’ve reached a turning point, I’d say our relationship has grown deeper.”

He reflected that over the past three years, he had introduced new repertoire and ways of performing to the Seoul Philharmonic, and that the musicians had embraced them with an open mind. “We’re becoming an orchestra that can perform a broad range of music, from Wagner and Mahler to classical works such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s and contemporary music,” he said. “We’ve had a wonderful journey so far, and I look forward to continuing to realize my vision more fully with the Seoul Philharmonic.”
He cited the musicians’ improved ability to listen to and understand one another’s playing as the orchestra’s most striking change. “A violinist needs to know what the horns are doing, and a horn player needs to understand the basses’ playing,” van Zweden explained. “You have to listen to the other instruments instead of focusing only on your own to fully understand how an orchestra works.”
Building a sound unique to the Seoul Philharmonic was another area he had devoted effort to since taking up the post. “The sound doesn’t come only from the front of the orchestra; it takes shape from the back, and the whole ensemble needs to achieve a special balance,” he said, noting that the musicians had also improved their ability to understand what one another was playing and to express a variety of musical styles.
His relationship with the musicians had also grown closer, going beyond collaboration on stage. “As we tour abroad together, we’re becoming more and more like a family,” van Zweden said. “After our performance in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, last August, we ate and danced with the musicians to celebrate the tour’s success. We’re no longer just colleagues in a professional capacity; we’ve become close to one another.”
He said he had also built a close working relationship with the management, including Seoul Philharmonic CEO Jeong Jae-wal, stressing, “We communicate thoroughly about every issue, discuss it together, and make decisions together.”

The Seoul Philharmonic’s international standing continues to rise. A performance emblematic of this is the opening concert of the 82nd Prague Spring International Music Festival, to be held on May 12, 2027, at Smetana Hall in Prague’s Municipal House, Czech Republic. Since the festival was founded in 1946, the Seoul Philharmonic will be the first non-European symphony orchestra to perform at the opening concert.
The program will feature the complete cycle of symphonic poems Má vlast by Bedřich Smetana, a symbol of Czech national music. It will also be a first for van Zweden. “After performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the 2025 Prague Spring Festival, I was invited back by the organizers,” he said. “I replied that if I returned, I’d like to come with the Seoul Philharmonic this time.” He recounted how the invitation came about: “The organizers asked, ‘In that case, please perform Má vlast at the opening concert.’”
He added, “Since it’s a work I’ve never conducted before, it will be a new experience for both me and the Seoul Philharmonic,” and expressed his anticipation: “Learning new music is always inspiring. I’d like to perform it right away, even starting tomorrow.”
He particularly stressed, “It’s especially significant that the Seoul Philharmonic isn’t simply a guest orchestra, but is taking on the festival’s opening concert, which is broadcast throughout Europe,” adding, “Being the first non-European orchestra is also a great honor for the Seoul Philharmonic.”
Before its Prague performance, the Seoul Philharmonic will present the complete Má vlast to Korean audiences on April 22–23, 2027, at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. This preview concert will offer, before the work is performed in its homeland, the sweeping narrative woven by the six symphonic poems, including the widely known second poem, “The Moldau.”
[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter