▲ Finnish conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen attends a press conference for the upcoming concerts by the New York Philharmonic in Seoul on June 25, 2025. (Yonhap)

 

   SEOUL, June 25 (Yonhap) -- The New York Philharmonic is returning to Seoul for its first concerts in 11 years. Also noteworthy is that these performances will feature acclaimed pianist Krystian Zimerman's first collaboration with an American orchestra since he began boycotting performances in the United States in 2009 in protest of its military policies. 

 

   At a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, Finnish conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, who will lead the concerts, said he was happy to be back in South Korea, which he described as "such a musical country." He added the visit is "particularly special because I'm reunited with my dear friend" Zimerman.

   

   "For me, returning to Korea means reuniting with someone I've admired for decades, both as an artist and as a friend," he said.

 

   He described Zimerman as "a very unusual artist in the best sense" for his "narrow repertoire," mostly due to the Polish pianist's extensive amount of research and preparation.

 

   "He wants to know each piece not only inside and out, but also backwards and forwards. He explores every dimension of the work," the conductor said of Zimerman, who could not attend the press event because of his flight schedule.

 

   Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the orchestra, said, "It is very, very rare that we get to perform with Zimerman, and that makes this visit very special indeed. Also we are incredibly grateful to Maestro Salonen for leading this tour."

 

   Noting the orchestra's "incredible and unique relationship with the two Koreas, Tarnopolsky recalled its "history-making" visit to Pyongyang in February 2008, performing at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre. 

 

   It marked the U.S.' first significant cultural visit to North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War. The entire concert was broadcast live on Korean Central Television, in a rare occurrence in the isolated nation.

 

▲ Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, speaks during a press conference for the upcoming concerts by the New York Philharmonic in Seoul on June 25, 2025. (Yonhap)

 

   The orchestra will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 and his "Eroica" Symphony No. 3 at the Arts Center Incheon on Thursday and then at the Seoul Arts Center on Friday. Saturday's concert at the Seoul Arts Center includes Ravel's "Suite from Ma Mere l'Oye," Debussy's "La Mer" and Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique."

 

   Salonen explained that these programs "present history-making conversations," and through them, he seeks to transport audiences to transformative junctures in musical history where established rules were redefined and the trajectory of music was permanently changed.

 

   Beethoven's "Eroica" and Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" are pieces that changed music forever, sharing a remarkable quality that Salonen described as seeming "as if they arrived from another world."

 

   "There were no precedents," he said. "'Eroica' just landed, and after that, music has not been what it was. The same can be said for 'Symphonie fanstastique.'"

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