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

Augustin Hadelich, Jaap van Zweden and the Seoul Philharmonic

By SangKwon Lee, 21 June 2025

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“music sculpted in mid-air, its grain disclosed rather than merely sung”

Reviewed at Seoul Arts Center: Concert Hall, Seoul on 20 June 2025

Pagh-Paan, Frau, warum weinst Du? Wen suchst Du?

Britten, Violin Concerto, Op.15

Brahms, Symphony no. 4 in E minor, Op.98

Augustin Hadelich, Violin

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 tests Beethoven 9 in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 18th December

At the Seoul Arts Center, Jaap van Zweden treats Beethoven’s disputed metronome marks less as provocation than instruction, trading bloom for voltage in a driven Beethoven Ninth Symphony.

**111

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

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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.

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

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