The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest orchestras in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, followed by performances in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

in 1977, the United States in 1982, 1986, and 1996, a 1988 tour of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

before the Seoul Olympics that year, and a 1997 performance in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. The Philharmonic is an incorporated foundation since 2005.

Overview

Founded in January 1948, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has a longer history than any other Korean orchestra. In February 1948, the orchestra held its opening concert, conducted by Seong-Tae Kim. In October of the same year, the Seoul Philharmonic Society was formed to provide support for the orchestra. The society published the music monthly ''Philharmonie'' in the following year. After a subscription concert in the Seoul Civic Hall on July 25, 1950, the orchestra had to suspend its activities due to the outbreak of the Korean War, but resumed performance with the name of the Naval Symphony Orchestra, five months later. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia in 1977, the United States in 1982, 1986, and 1996, a 1988 tour of Europe before the Seoul Olympics that year, and a 1997 performance in Beijing. The Philharmonic is an incorporated foundation since 2005. In August 1957, the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed "The Seoul Metropolitan Ordinances to Install a City-Run Orchestra," and the Naval Symphony Orchestra became the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the first Korean orchestra funded by a government. The launching ceremony for the orchestra with triple winds took place in the city council's chamber. Saeng-Ryo Kim was appointed its first Chief Conductor. Since then, the SPO has helped the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky take root as a basic repertoire in the Korean music community. Through these concerts, Korean musicians such as Kyung-Sook Lee, Kun-Woo Paik, Kyung-Wha Chung, Dong-Suk Kang, and Myung-Whun Chung attained increased recognition. With the aim of growing into a major orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra was re-launched as an incorporated foundation on June 1, 2005, and appointed Myung-Whun Chung as its Music Director (he had been Artistic Advisor in 2005). With Chung, in 2014, the Seoul Philharmonic made its debut at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

. The orchestra focuses on interaction with modern music. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra "has the reputation for championing more new music than any other major Asian orchestra". It adopted the composer-in-residence system for the first time in Korea when it was re-launched as an incorporated foundation and welcomed

Unsuk Chin Unsuk Chin ( ; born July 14, 1961) is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with ...

as its first Composer-in-Residence. Chin is the founder-director of a series of modern music titled Ars Nova since 2006. It has featured conductors such as Peter Eötvös, Kwamé Ryan,

Thierry Fischer Thierry Fischer (born 28 September 1957) is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist. Early life and education Fischer was born in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Zambia) to Swiss parents. He studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and bega ...

, Susanna Mälkki,

François-Xavier Roth François-Xavier Paul Roth (born 6 November 1971) is a French conductor. Biography Roth is the son of the organist Daniel Roth—the two share the same first name. His brother Vincent is a violist. Before turning to conducting, he was a flauti ...

, Ilan Volkov, Baldur Brönnimann and Roland Kluttig, among others. Until 2011, the series had presented around 100 Korean premieres - half of them being Asian premieres - of works by leading 20th- and 21st-century composers including Anton von Webern,

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

, Giacinto Scelsi, Witold Lutoslawski, Iannis Xenakis,

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

and György Kurtág. In 2009, the series collaborated with

IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of Avant-garde music, avant garde and Electroacoustic ...

, the Paris-based center for electronic music. Korea. Since 2011, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has commissioned or co-commissioned orchestral works by composers such as Pascal Dusapin, Peter Eötvös, Tristan Murail and York Höller for the 'Ars Nova' series. Additionally, several commissions by major Korean composers have been premiered. The orchestra signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon (DG) in 2011 to release 10 albums over five years, the first time that an Asian orchestra has signed such an extensive contract. An album with music by

was named an International Classical Music Award and a BBC Music Magazine Award winner in the Contemporary Music category. Myung-Whun Chung was the orchestra's music director from 2005 until his resignation in December 2015. During his tenure, the orchestra became the first Asian orchestra to sign a major-label record deal, and gave its first performance at

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

in August 2014. In September 2016, the orchestra announced the appointments of

as its principal guest conductor and of Markus Stenz as conductor-in-residence, effective January 2017, with initial contracts of 3 years. In April 2019, the orchestra announced the appointment of Osmo Vänskä as its next music director, effective January 2020, with an initial contract of 3 years. Vänskä concluded his music directorship of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the close of 2022. In September 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Jaap van Zweden as its next music director, effective January 2024, with an initial contract of 5 years.

Collaborations with K-Pop

In June 2020, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra partnered with

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

to establish SM Classics, a classical musical label focused on reimagining K-pop hits with orchestral arrangements. This collaboration led to performances of orchestral arrangements of popular K-pop songs, such as Red Velvet's " Red Flavor" and " Feel My Rhythm," as well as Aespa's " Black Mamba." In February 2025, they co-presented the "SM Classics Live 2025 with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra," featuring orchestral arrangements of past hits from artists such as BoA,

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...

, Red Velvet, NCT,

Aespa Aespa ( ; , stylized in Letter case#All lowercase, all lowercase or as æspa) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina (South Korean singer), Karina, Giselle (singer), Giselle, Winter ...

, Exo,

Shinee Shinee ( ; ; ; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of four members: Onew, Key (entertainer), Key, Choi Min-ho, Minho, and Taemin. Originally a five-piece band, Jonghyun died on ...

, Riize, and more, in celebration of SM Entertainment's 30th anniversary and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's 80th anniversary. The two-day event was held on February 14, 2025 at Seoul Arts Center and on February 15, 2025 at Lotte Concert Hall. This event also marked the "world's first live K-pop orchestra concert."

Conductors

Principal Conductor & Artistic Directors

* Saeng-Ryeo Kim (1948–1961) * Man-Bok Kim (1961–1969) * Gyeong-Su Won (1970–1971) * Jae-Dong Jeong (1974–1990) * Eun-Seong Park (1990–1991) * Gyeong-Su Won (1994–1996) *

Mark Ermler Mark Fridrikhovich Ermler (; 5 May 193214 April 2002) was a Russian conductor. Biography Mark Ermler was born in Leningrad in 1932. His parents were Vera Bakun, a film set designer, and Fridrikh Ermler, a film director. He began to study piano ...

(2000–2002) * Seung Kwak (2003) * Myung-Whun Chung (2005–2015) * Osmo Vänskä (2020–2022) * Jaap van Zweden (2024–present)

Principal Guest Conductor

(2017–2020)

Conductor-In-Residence

* Markus Stenz (2017–2021)

Associate Conductor

* Eun-Seong Park (1984–1989) * Shi-Yeon Sung (2009–2013) * Su-Yeol Choi (2014–2017) * Wilson Ng (2019–2022) * Peter Biloen (2024) * David Yi (2020–present)

Composer-in-Residence

(2006–2018, also Artistic Director of ''Ars Nova'' series)

Presidents

*Pal-Seong Lee (2005–2008) *Jooho Kim (2009–2012) *Hyeon-Jeong Park (2013–2014) *Heung-Sik Choi (2015–2018) *Eun-Kyung Kang (2018–2021) *Shon Eun-gyeong (2021–present)

Recordings

* Ahn Eak-tai: Symphonic Fantasia "Korea" (Excerpt) / Four Korean Folk Songs, conducted by Jae-Dong Jeong, Sung-Eum Records LP 1983. *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

, Marche Slave /

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

Les préludes LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

/ Yoon-Joo Jeong: Gayageum Concerto theme by Hwang Byung-Ki (with Seung-Hi Yang), conducted by Jae-Dong Jeong, Seoul Records LP/Compact Cassette 1987. *

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

: Symphony in D minor /

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Hye-Kyeong Lee), conducted by Jae-Dong Jeong, SKC CD 1989. *

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

: Salut d'Amour (version for orchestra) /

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as ''Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...

: First & Second Intermezzos from I gioielli della Madonna /

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

: Solveig's Song from

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: Andante from Divertimento K.136 (125a) /

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...

: Dance of Comedians from

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' (, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It ...

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

: Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Menuetto from Symphony No. 39 / Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Andante cantabile from String Quartet No. 1 (version for string orchestra) / Edward Elgar: Allegro piacevole from Serenade for Strings /

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

: Allegro spiritoso from Symphony No. 83, conducted by Gyeong-Su Won, Samsung Nices CD 1995. (Encore collection from subscription concerts during the year of 1994) *

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...

: Violin Concerto No. 1 (with Ho-Young Pi) /

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

(with Young-Hoon Song), conducted by Chi-Yong Chung, Seoul Arts Center CD 2001. *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CD 2006. *

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

: Symphony No. 1 &

Academic Festival Overture ''Academic Festival Overture'' (), Op. 80, by Johannes Brahms, was one of a pair of contrasting concert overtures — the other being the ''Tragic Overture'', Op. 81. Brahms composed the work during the summer of 1880 as a tribute to the ...

, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CD 2007. *Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CD 2008. *

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CD 2009. *

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

: La mer /

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

: Ma mère l'oye & La valse, conducted by Myung-whun Chung,

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

2011. *Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Universal Music Korea 2011. (as a bonus disk of 33-CDs boxset 'Myung-whun Chung: DG Recordings 1991-2010') *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

: Symphony No. 1, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2011. *Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (with Myung Joo Lee, Petra Lang, National Chorus of Korea, Seoul Metropolitan Chorus, Seoul Motet Choir & Grande Opera Choir), conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2012. *Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 / Sergei Rachmaninoff: Vocalise, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2012. *Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (with Sunwook Kim) & Symphony No. 5, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2013. *Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (with Kathleen Kim, Songmi Yang, Yosep Kang, Samuel Youn, National Chorus of Korea, Seoul Motet Choir & Anyang Civic Chorale), conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2013. *

: Piano Concerto (with Sunwook Kim), Cello Concerto (with Alban Gerhardt) & Šu for sheng and orchestra (with Wu Wei), conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2014. *Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2014. *Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2015. *Ludwig van Beethoven: Overture Leonore No. 3 /

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

: Symphony No. 3 / Seong-Hwan Choi: Arirang, conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon 2017. (from opening concert of the Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul) *

Isang Yun Isang Yun, or Yun I-sang (; 17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany. Early life and education Yun was born in Sancheong (Sansei), Korea under Japanese rule, Korea in 1917, ...

: Legend for orchestra 'Silla', Violin Concerto III (with Sueye Park), Chamber Symphony I, conducted by Osmo Vänskä, BIS Records 2022.

References

External links

Official Korean-language homepage of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Official English-language homepage of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
''Yonhap News'', January 13, 2006.

''The Korea Times'', March 31, 2005.
"Das Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra erfindet sich neu"
neue musikzeitung, 6/09 - 58. Jahrgang.

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1948 South Korean orchestras Music in Seoul