"Like Savoring Classical Music Note by Note"... Going Home Project Concert Film Opens

A 100-member orchestra captured with 12 cameras
Shostakovich's "Leningrad" and Ravel's "Bolero"
Son Yeoleum: "An even more vivid sonic thrill than in a concert hall"

The film "Going Home Project: Ravel & Shostakovich in Cinema," which brings live classical concerts to the big screen with rich Dolby Atmos surround sound, will open exclusively at CGV on October 17.

At a press screening held at CGV Yeouido on October 12, Seong Yujin, CEO of Ssikonbox, the film's production company, cited a review by an audience member who attended a preview screening last month and said, "You'll be able to experience the 감동 of savoring classical music note by note."

The film captures a regular concert by the Going Home Project, held at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall in July 2025. The orchestra performed Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, "Leningrad," and Maurice Ravel's "Bolero." Founded in 2022, the Going Home Project is an orchestra bringing together Korean and international musicians who have performed with leading orchestras around the world, with pianist Son Yeoleum, violinist Svetlin Roussev, and flutist Jo Seonghyeon among its core members.

From left, Tonmeister Choi Jin, pianist Son Yeol Eum, and Siconbox CEO Seong Yujin pose for a photo at a preview of "Going Home Project: Ravel & Shostakovich in Cinema" at CGV Yeouido on the 12th. Siconbox

Son Yeoleum, who attended the screening, said, "Shostakovich's 'Leningrad' and Ravel's 'Bolero' are works in which the sonic effects created by a large orchestra are extremely important. You can experience an even more vivid sonic thrill in a movie theater than in a concert hall."

The film captures a 100-member orchestra performing with 12 4K cameras. It vividly shows even the expressions of individual musicians, which are hard to see from the audience. Son singled out the first movement of "Leningrad," in which the music gradually builds, as a scene to watch. "The performance is vividly portrayed as the camera focuses on different musicians and their instruments one by one," she said.

Seong said she carefully planned the shot list, deciding which instruments to focus on at each moment. "You can see scenes that are difficult to catch in a concert hall, such as the expressions in the musicians' eyes, how they watch their colleagues perform when they are not playing, and how the ensemble members exchange glances to coordinate with one another," she said.

About 10 years ago, when the Seoul Arts Center launched its performance-filming project, "SAC ON SCREEN," Seong took part as a producer. She said that after seeing the potential of experiencing filmed performances on a large screen with powerful sound, she had waited for the right conditions to present them in commercial movie theaters. Overseas, live performances, including those by the Metropolitan Opera, have been screened in movie theaters for many years. In South Korea, Megabox has also screened the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert in theaters since 2013. Seong noted, however, that this is the first time a live performance by a Korean classical orchestra has been made into a film and released in commercial movie theaters.

The film uses Dolby Atmos, a surround-sound technology that conveys not only front-to-back and left-to-right positioning but also height and movement. Choi Jin, the Tonmeister responsible for recording and mixing, said, "Dolby Atmos has the advantage of capturing a sense of space while preserving every fine detail. We paid close attention to each small element so that you can hear the details of every instrument, even when the orchestra plays together." He added, "When the music reaches its peak, you don't just hear it with your ears; you can feel its resonance throughout your whole body."

Svetlin Roussev, concertmaster of the Going Home Project, performs the final section of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, "Leningrad," standing. The Going Home Project

The film further highlights a defining feature of the Going Home Project: it performs without a conductor. It is unusual for an orchestra to play a large-scale symphony such as "Leningrad," which lasts 70 to 80 minutes, without a conductor. Son, however, rejected the view that this is an experiment or a stunt intended to show off the musicians' abilities.

"When there is a conductor, musicians often simply follow the direction the conductor sets and play in unison," Son said. "In the conductor-less Going Home Project, every musician has to stay fully alert and adjust to the others' playing, which makes them focus even more on the performance." She continued, "We pursue performing without a conductor because we want to approach music in a pure and earnest way. I think the film will be more interesting to watch because you can see the musicians making eye contact with one another as they play."

"A conductor presents musical ideas and sets the direction of the music," Son said. "We reach a thorough understanding during rehearsals, and Roussev, as concertmaster, also takes on the conductor's role. The principal players in each section help him as we make music together."

Son also said that being able to explain her interpretation of the works and her intentions as a performer directly through interviews in the film was an advantage.

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