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| Finnish violinist and conductor Pietari Inkinen speaks during a press conference at KBS Art Hall in Yeongdeungpo District in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Since January, Finnish violinist and conductor Pietari Inkinen has been leading the KBS Symphony Orchestra as the new music director, succeeding Romanian-born conductor Yoel Levi.
"I want to bring people together and communicate with them through our universal language, music," Inkinen, who also serves as the chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, said during a press conference at KBS Art Hall in Yeongdeungpo District in Seoul, Wednesday. "I will strive to raise the international profile of the KBS Symphony Orchestra and help it solidify its position as a leading orchestra in Asia."
He added that he also wants to perform in different countries, including North Korea, saying, "I hope we have a chance to send a message of peace via our music in North Korea."
The 41-year-old maestro is set to stage his first concerts following his inauguration at the Seoul Arts Center on Jan. 28 and at Lotte Concert Hall on Jan. 29. Inkinen, who will take the helm of the KBS Symphony Orchestra for the next three years, will conduct "Karelia Overture, Op.10" and "Lemminkainen Suite" by Jean Sibelius, the iconic Finnish classical composer. Inkinen will unfold some hidden stories of Finland and Sibelius with his performance, KBS Symphony Orchestra said.
Inkinen will also collaborate with Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, the winner of the XVI International Chopin Piano Competition in 2010, to perform Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No.1." This is the first time for Avdeeva to perform with a Korean orchestra in public.
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| Conductor David Reiland turns to the audience during his inauguration concert at the Seoul Arts Center, Jan. 23. Courtesy of the Korean Symphony Orchestra |
Inkinen is not the only foreign music director helming an orchestra based in Seoul. David Reiland from Belgium was also recently named the artistic director of the Korean Symphony Orchestra (KSO) and had his inauguration concert at the Seoul Arts Center on Jan. 23. He is the KSO's first foreign artistic director since its launch in 1985. Many believe that the appointment of non-Korean music directors like Inkinen and Reiland will help Korean orchestras gain global traction and battle factionalism among musicians here.
For the concert, Reiland conducted pieces that revolve around the theme of "beginning." He performed "Alice in Wonderland: Prelude to Scene V" by acclaimed Korean composer, Chin Un-suk, and "Symphony No. 2" by Schumann, among others. For the performance of Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 3," he collaborated with Korean pianist Lim Yun-chan to great success.
"Instead of being thought of as the first foreign artistic director of the Korean Symphony Orchestra, I just want to be recognized as a conductor who shares his passion with his orchestra members," Reiland, who also has been serving as the music director of the Orchestre National de Metz and the Sinfonietta Lausanne, said during a press conference, Jan. 25, "I want to contribute to its growth."
