2,036-seat Lotte Concert Hall to open in southeastern Seoul

The Lotte Concert Hall will open on Aug. 18. It will be located on the eighth to tenth floors of the Lotte World Mall in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul. It is the exclusive first concert hall for classical music in Seoul in 28 years since the Seoul Art Center.

With a vineyard structure whose seating completely surrounded the stage, performers and audiences can enjoy a sense of closeness. The hall is designed by Nagata Acoustics, an acoustics consulting company that produced the world’s best acoustics in venues such as the Suntory Hall in Japan, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in the U.S., and the Philharmonie de Paris in France.

A large pipe organ with 4,958 pipes is also notable. It is made and installed by Rieger Orgelbau, a 171-year-old Austrian organ maker who made organs for globally-renowned concert halls including Musikverein in Vienna.

To celebrate the opening, the Lotte Concert Hall will have a festival through December. The opening performance will be made by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. “Children’s Song by Stars,” a piece created by Jin Eun-sook, will be first introduced to the world at the hall. The Korean Symphony Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, the La Scala Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie will also be on the stage.

Bass Yeon Gwang-cheol’s special gala concert, pianist Lang Lang’s recital with other 100 pianists, and baritone Matthias Goerne’s “Winter Journey (Winterreise)” will be held as well. The Ensemble InterContemporain, which was founded by France’s Pierre Boulez who passed away this month, will make its first visit to Korea and a monthly pipe organ performance will be held during the festival period.

creating@donga.com