Christoph Poppen makes a very welcome return to South Korea this month as Artistic Director of the first edition of the newly created Classic Revolution Festival at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. The 14-day festival from the Lotte Foundation for Arts, curated by Poppen, will be an exciting mix of over 15 chamber music and symphonic concerts dedicated to the Beethoven anniversary year, featuring some of South Korea’s best musicians and orchestras as well as internationally renowned musicians, including James Judd, Jiyoung Lim, Trio Gaon and the Esmé Quartet.

Poppen will himself conduct two concerts – one with the KBS Symphony Orchestra on 19 August and with the Seoul Tutti Chamber Orchestra on 30 August – and also take to his violin for a recital with pianist Taehyung Kim on 26 August. Speaking about the festival, Poppen says, ​‘music is more than entertainment. It is spiritual nutrition. Music gives us energy, brings us happiness, consoles our sadness, expresses all possible human feelings, and it can heal. During a time, while a pandemic is trying to discourage the whole world, this aspect of music gets more important than ever. And no other composer can encourage us to build our self-confidence better than Ludwig van Beethoven’.