2026 Masters Series Part 3… ‘Shostakovich’ and ‘Prokofiev’
Pianist Kim Kyu-yeon Takes the Stage… Singing of the Masters’ Fierce Lives and Struggles

Korea’s premier private orchestra, “Ham Shin-ik and Symphony Song,” will present the third performance of the “2026 Masters Series” at Lotte Concert Hall on Saturday, May 30, at 7:30 PM. The event promises to be an opportunity to appreciate the works of Shostakovich and Prokofiev, two of the most representative figures of 20th-century Russia, in one venue.

As the third installment of the Masters Series, following “Mahler’s Resurrection” in February and “Scheherazade” in March, the program awaits, offering a glimpse into the tension, contrast, and inner human emotions conveyed by these two Russian masters.

Pianist Kim Kyu-yeon, who previously collaborated with the orchestra last year, is making a return appearance at this performance. A gifted student at the Korea National University of Arts, Kim studied at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in the United States. She received her doctoral degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She swept major competitions, including second place at the Dublin International Competition, and received critical acclaim as “a performer with a natural musical flow” upon her Carnegie Hall debut in 2017.

Dmitri Shostakovich is well known to us as a composer who symbolizes the spirit of resistance even amidst the oppressive environment of the communist regime. In particular, Symphony No. 5, which will be performed this time, is a piece that allows us to fathom the inner turmoil of the composer, who agonized under the circumstances where he was forced to work on music for regime propaganda.

At the time, he faced criticism for lacking patriotic sentiment in his works—specifically for lacking the so-called "Party spirit"—but he found an opportunity for a comeback through this piece, which seems to foreshadow the victory of the socialist revolution. At the same time, it is his representative work that has given rise to diverse interpretations due to its development, which appears to embody a struggle for his own ideology. For this performance, conductor Ham Shin-ik is preparing an interpretation that balances structural perfection with inner tension.

The "Festive Overture," which opens the concert, is even more famous for being a piece completed by the genius Shostakovich in just three days. It is expected to further uplift the audience welcoming early summer amidst a feast of orchestral music radiating diverse energies.

Sergei Prokofiev, whose Piano Concerto No. 2 will be performed at this concert, is a composer who predates Shostakovich and stands as his equal, yet his name is relatively less familiar in Korea. Both composers displayed genius at a young age, but they share a commonality: during their formative years, they faced jealousy and oppression, and were forced to write works they did not want as they were mobilized for regime propaganda.

This performance offers a time to experience catharsis through tension and dramatic contrasts via Prokofiev’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 2.’

Conductor Ham Shin-ik stated, “This program is structured so that works set in the same era yet possessing distinct musical languages and sentiments flow together into a single narrative,” adding, “I hope the audience can experience a variety of emotional textures through the music.”

Maestro Ham Shin-ik is a star conductor who has led the KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Daejeon Symphony Orchestra, and prestigious American orchestras, but he is not content with this and continues to pursue new challenges. In 2014, he founded the privately-led orchestra “Ham Shin-ik and Symphony Song,” collaborating with various musicians and setting a new milestone in the Korean classical music scene.

[Straight News Reporter Jang Seok-jin]

Source of original article : https://www.straightnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=302915