Yunchan Im to Recreate Van Cliburn Winning Performance with Marin Alsop: 'Rachmaninoff No. 3'

In November at Lotte Concert Hall and Seoul Arts Center
Philadelphia Orchestra Returns to Korea After Seven Years

Marin Alsop is a female conductor who is especially well known among Korean classical music fans. She conducted at the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition finals in June 2022, where pianist Yunchan Im performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and took first place. This November, Im and Alsop will once again recreate the emotion of that moment in Seoul.

The concert planning agency Mok Production announced on the 29th that Alsop and Yunchan Im, together with the Philadelphia Orchestra, will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at Lotte Concert Hall on November 9. Before the Lotte Concert Hall performance, they are also scheduled to perform at the Art Center Incheon on November 5 and at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on November 8.

Pianist Yunchan Im. Mok Production

This concert marks Yunchan Im’s first domestic performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 since his victory at the Van Cliburn Competition.

Alsop, who will conduct, is a figure who has made history as a female conductor in the global classical music scene. In 2007, she became the first woman to serve as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, leading a major American orchestra. After serving for 14 years until 2021, she was named Honorary Music Director. In 2019, she became the first female chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and last year, she made history as the first American-born woman to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic.

Alsop currently serves as artistic director and chief conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and as principal guest conductor for the London Philharmonia Orchestra. She is also principal guest conductor for the Philadelphia Orchestra, which she will be performing with at these concerts.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is known as an orchestra especially beloved by Rachmaninoff. After he settled in the United States in the early 20th century, the orchestra became a vital partner in premiering his later works. Rachmaninoff was particularly fond of the orchestra’s uniquely rich and deep sound.

Conductor Marin Alsop. Mok Production (c) Andrej Grilc

This will be the Philadelphia Orchestra’s first visit to Korea in seven years, since 2019. With a history of over 100 years, the Philadelphia Orchestra is globally renowned for its rich, deeply resonant string sound and brilliant orchestral colors.

In the first half of the concert, Alsop and the Philadelphia Orchestra will collaborate on stage with Yunchan Im, and in the second half, they will perform Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1 and Igor Stravinsky’s 1919 suite from “The Firebird.”

Tickets for this concert will be available from 2 p.m. on the 30th through the Lotte Concert Hall and NolTicket websites.

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