Cho Seong-jin (Yonhap)

Several of the country’s top names in classical music are gearing up to hit the stage with solo performances, promising a star-studded July for fans of local classical piano music.

The first highly anticipated piano recital will kick off on Friday with the country’s latest classical phenom Cho Seong-jin, who last gave sell-out performances here in February.

Cho is slated to perform alongside the Seoul Philharmonic at its upcoming recital of Chopin and Tchaikovsky later this week under the baton of Yan Pascal Tortelier. The repertoire will include Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

Cho rose to international superstardom for becoming the first Korean to win the prestigious International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. His previous Seoul concert -- the competition’s winners’ gala -- marked his first in Korea following his big win and set new heights for local classical performances.

The 21-year-old had performed his historic winning repertoire of Chopin’s 42-minute-long Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11. Originally intended to be a one-night-only show, the high demand from the local audience prompted an additional matinee concert. Tickets for both shows sold out almost immediately.

Ticket prices to Cho’s upcoming performance range from 10,000 won ($8.72) to 70,000 won. The concert will be held at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on July 15 at 8 p.m.

Paik Kun-woo

Paik Kun-woo (Park Yong-bin)

Following Cho’s concert will be a collaboration performance by legendary pianist Paik Kun-woo alongside the Spanish National Orchestra this Sunday.

After his first public performance at the tender age of 10 with the Korean National Orchestra, 70-year-old Paik earned himself a reputation as one of the country’s most admired pianists, having performed on some of the world’s most respected stages, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall when he was only 15.

Along with performing on some of the music world’s most prestigious stages, he has also performed as a guest pianist with nearly every major orchestra the world has to offer, including the New York Philharmonic, the London, BBC and Berlin Symphonies and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Paik will now soon be adding the Spanish National Orchestra to his epic list of guest performances. Under the helm of Maestro Antonio Mendez, Paik and the orchestra will bring to life the sounds of Ravel and J. Turina.

The upcoming recital will be held at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on July 17 at 5 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from 50,000 won to 220,000 won.

Paik is also scheduled to perform a solo recital of Bach, Brahms and Liszt in Seoul on Sept. 29.

Kim Sun-wook

Kim Sun-wook (Kim Sun-wook official homepage)

Concluding July’s all-star piano lineup will be Kim Sun-wook, who will be performing a solo recital next Wednesday.

The London-based pianist first came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition at the age of 16 in 2006, becoming the competition’s first Asia winner, as well as the youngest winner in four decades.
In 2013, Kim was selected by the Beethoven-Haus Bonn as the first beneficiary of its new mentoring program, an honor that grants him exclusive access to the museum’s collections and resources.

Returning home next week, Kim is slated to perform Mozart’s “Fantasia” in D Minor, Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 18 and Beethoven’s “Diabelli Variations.”

The upcoming recital will be held at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on July 20 at 8 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from 30,000 won to 90,000 won.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)