The Daegu Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble representing the city of Daegu in Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province), will offer its music lovers a series of concerts -- as many as ten -- this year.

Bulgaria-born conductor Julian Kovatchev has led the orchestra for two years. The conductor has conducted some of the most acclaimed orchestras across Europe during his career, including the Sofia Symphonic Orchestra in Bulgaria, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in Croatia and the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy.



The first show of the orchestra’s year-round series will be held in the Grand Concert Hall of the Daegu Citizen Hall in Jung-gu on January 30.

For the show, the orchestra has a great repertoire, including Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2, Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and Stravinsky’s ballet “The Firebird.” Accompanying the ensemble is pianist Park Jong-hai.

The orchestra has even more diverse programs at the ready for its following shows.

Its February concert will feature Beethoven’s opera “Fidelio” and his Piano Concerto No.4. In March, the players will perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6 “Pathetique” in honor of the 175th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth.

They will perform Bartok’s Violin Concerto No.2 in April, Brahms’ Symphony No.1 and Violin Concerto in May, Mahler’s Symphony No.1, to mark the 155th anniversary of that composer's birth, in September and Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” in celebration of the 120th anniversary of Orff's birth in November.



“This year, we have a broad repertoire covering European classical music through to modern music,” said the Bulgarian conductor. “We will add a bit of a twist to previous years' programs in a way in which we move away from the routine form that other, regular concerts usually adopt.”

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Daegu Symphony Orchestra
jiae5853@korea.kr