Jaap van Zweden tests Beethoven 9 in Seoul

Sunyoung Seo, A-kyeong Lee, Wookyung Kim and Kihwan Sim

Jaap van Zweden and the Geyang Civic Choir, Seongname City Chorus and Seoul Philharmonic

By SangKwon Lee, 22 December 2025

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“trading bloom for voltage”

Reviewed at Seoul Arts Center: Concert Hall, Seoul on 18 December 2025

Beethoven, Symphony no. 9 in D minor "Choral", Op.125

Sunyoung Seo, Soprano

A-kyeong Lee, Mezzo-soprano

Wookyung Kim, Tenor

Kihwan Sim, Bass

Goyang Civic Choir

Seongnam City Chorus

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Jaap van Zweden, Conductor

Jaap van Zweden and the Seoul Philharmonic’s measured Mahler 6

SangKwon Lee, 19th March

That last movement proves the evening’s true point of reckoning in the Seoul Philharmonic's performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony at Lotte Concert Hall.

****1

Rhetoric over romance in Nikolai Lugansky's Chopin in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 12th February

Ludovic Morlot conducts the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in three classics from the Romantic era: Berlioz, Chopin and Schumann.

***11

Jaap van Zweden and the Seoul Philharmonic impress on US tour

Susan Stempleski, 27th October

In their first visit to the US in over a decade, the Seoul Philharmonic display their abundant skills in a crowd-pleasing program pairing two concert staples with an impressive American premiere.

****1

Jaap van Zweden and the Seoul Philharmonic prepare for their US tour

SangKwon Lee, 1st October

The Seoul Philharmonic preview their forthcoming US-tour programme, featuring Bomsori Kim playing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

****1

Line, rhythm and spectrum: Jaap van Zweden and the Seoul Philharmonic

SangKwon Lee, 26th September

As a pre‑tour snapshot, this concert proves was unambiguous: an orchestra intent on renewing the canon in the language of now rather than sealing it behind glass.

****1

Sculpted silences: Britten and Brahms under Jaap van Zweden in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 20th June

From the very first bars of Britten’s Violin Concerto, Augustin Hadelich impresses in Britten's Violin Concerto, yet Jaap van Zweden's Brahms 4 appears misaligned.

***11

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SangKwon Lee

SangKwon Lee is a Seoul-based classical music critic whose writing focuses on concert performances and recordings. A contributor to Gramophone and a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, he covers the classical music scene in Korea and internationally.

Drawn from the cask too soon: Jaap van Zweden tests Beethoven 9 in Seoul