Summer Music Festival "Classic Revolution" Opens in August... Spotlight on Folk Music

Artistic Director Leonidas Kavakos and the Theme of "Origin"

Featuring Kirill Gerstein, Kian Soltani, Sunwook Kim, and More

The "Classic Revolution," Korea's leading summer classical music festival, will be held at Lotte Concert Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, from August 28 to September 4, 2026.

Classic Revolution is a music festival initiated in 2020 by the Lotte Foundation for Arts, which operates Lotte Concert Hall. This year, as in the previous year, world-renowned violinist and conductor Leonidas Kavakos will lead the festival as its artistic director.

The theme of this year's festival is "Origin." The festival will focus on folk music and cultural traditions that form the foundation of classical music, highlighting how composers have incorporated their musical roots into their works.

Artistic Director Kavakos explained, "Many classical works that are widely loved today were inspired by folk melodies and traditional music. Throughout history, composers have remained constantly connected to the cultural heritage left by previous generations through music." He added, "This festival will provide an opportunity to revisit the origins of classical music and reflect on the traditions and communal values embedded within it."

Many musicians ranked high in each category of Bachtrack's "Busiest Performers of 2025" statistics—the world's largest online classical music publication—will participate in the festival. These include Kirill Gerstein, ranked No. 1 among pianists; Artistic Director Kavakos, ranked No. 4 among violinists; and Kian Soltani, ranked No. 3 among cellists. Korean performers, such as pianist Sunwook Kim, who has recently been active as a conductor, will also take the stage for chamber music performances.

The opening concert on August 28 will symbolically reflect this year's festival theme. The National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrey Boreyko, and cellist Kian Soltani will perform Kodaly's "Dances of Galánta," Dvorak's "Cello Concerto," and Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra." While Bartok and Kodaly collected and studied Hungarian folk songs and developed them into art music, Dvorak built his own musical world based on the folk emotions and melodies of the Czech people.

The two chamber music concerts will feature Kavakos, violist Antoine Tamestit, cellist Kian Soltani, pianist Sunwook Kim, violinist Kim Seohyun, violist Kim Kyuhyun, and cellists Moon Woonghui and Han Jaemin, among others.

Recital stages for top-tier soloists are also scheduled. On September 1, Kavakos and Kirill Gerstein will present a duo recital, showcasing works such as Bartok's "Violin Sonata No. 2" and illustrating how folk music evolved into the musical language of the 20th century. This will be followed by Gerstein's piano solo recital on September 3.

For the closing concert on September 4, Kavakos will conduct the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra. Gerstein will perform Brahms's "Piano Concerto No. 1" as soloist, and Brahms's Symphony No. 1 will bring the festival to a grand finale.

Kavakos commented, "Through music, we can understand and feel close to people we've never met before. I hope this year's Classic Revolution will serve as an opportunity to rediscover the cultural background and values that have shaped classical music."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.