Conductor Lee Young-chil has made his appearance on the European stage.

On December 10, the conductor raised his baton in front of the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra in Pazardzhik, a city in southern Bulgaria. For the show, he led the orchestra through Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3.

The Bulgaria-based orchestra, launched in 1969, has become one of the most lauded orchestras worldwide, boasting a large repertoire that spans not only classical pieces, but both modern and traditional Bulgarian compositions, too.

Pianist Kim Young-ho, who also serves as a professor of instrumental music at Yonsei University, joined the performance, too.

On December 18, Lee will move up to Pleven, a city located in the north of the country, to lead the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra.

For the upcoming show, the orchestra will bring to life Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 4 under the strokes of Lee’s baton. Collaborating with it will be pianist Choi Young-im.

Since its establishment in 1953, the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra has enamored audiences with its extensive five-decade long repertoire, including symphonies and operatic works. Lee was appointed as a tenured guest conductor at the orchestra in 2010.



The conductor started music comparatively late, at the age of 19, when he specialized in the French horn at the Mannes College of Music in New York. He then switched to the conducting course. He honed his conducting skills at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Rounding out his resume after graduation, Lee has led many prestigious orchestras, especially in Europe and Asia, including the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he served as a tenured guest conductor.

Recently on October 13, Lee also conducted the prominent National Philharmonic of Russia (NPR), becoming the first Asian to lead the Moscow-based orchestra.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: MENOMUSIC
jiae5853@korea.kr