Italian conductor's tenure begins with focus on Mendelssohn, Schumann
The Korean National Symphony Orchestra on Thursday unveiled its 2026 program, marking the first full season led by new music director Roberto Abbado. The 71-year-old Italian maestro will make his official debut in the role at a concert on Jan. 11, 2026, featuring a program that includes Respighi’s "The Fantastic Toy Shop," Verdi’s “The Four Seasons” from opera "Les Vepres Siciliennes" and Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
While the inaugural concerts signal that the distinctive “directness of expression” found in Italian music will be a defining element of Abbado's artistic approach with the Korean ensemble, his overarching plan for 2026 is rooted in the early romantic tradition, centered on Mendelssohn and Schumann.
The orchestra explains that Mendelssohn’s polished structural clarity and Schumann’s introspective emotional tone exemplify Abbado’s artistic philosophy of “rational romanticism” -- emotion contained within form. Abbado will lead four concerts highlighting the two composers throughout the year.
In another focus, works by 20th-century composers such as Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Schnittke illustrate how the structural aesthetics of early romanticism evolved into a modern musical language, according to the KNSO.
This focus comes to the fore in a Feb. 11 concert led by Abbado, where Schnittke, Prokofiev and Shostakovich are presented side by side. Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt will also join the orchestra as a soloist in Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concerto in E minor, Op. 125.
Guest conductors will also contribute to this musical trajectory.
Olari Elts, 54, will take the podium on March 7, leading the orchestra in Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 alongside the Korean premiere of Erkki-Sven Tuur’s "Incantation of Tempest," which will mark its Korean premiere. Violinist Park Sueye, winner of the 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, will join the program as a soloist in Sibelius’ Violin Concerto.
Lee Seung-won, 35, who won the 2024 Malko International Conducting Competition, will take the stage on May 17 with a program of 20th-century American works, including music by George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein.
On Aug. 7, Antonio Mendez, 41, will conduct a program centered on the distinctive colors and rhythms of the Spanish repertoire, featuring violinist Leticia Moreno in works by Chabrier, Lalo and Falla.
The orchestra will also commemorate the 200th anniversary of Carl Maria von Weber’s death with two chamber music concerts, on March 16 and Sept. 18.
To reach a wider audience, the orchestra will present a film music concert under the title "Hollywood Blockbusters" on May 1 and 2, led by conductor Anthony Gabriel. The program will feature Hans Zimmer’s suite from "The Dark Knight," Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” from "Shutter Island," Philip Glass’ “The Kiss” from "The Hours" and Gyorgy Ligeti’s "Atmospheres" from "2001: A Space Odyssey," among others.
Meanwhile, the orchestra has appointed Grace Ann Lee as its next composer-in-residence.
The 29-year-old composer was unanimously selected as the top composer at the KNSO’s 2025 Composer Atelier, a mid- to long-term development program for composers between the ages of 23 and 39. She was recognized for her refined ability to articulate a distinctly Korean identity through Western orchestral techniques.
After studying at Indiana University and Rice University, Lee earned her doctoral degree from the University of Michigan. She has already gained international attention, winning the ASCAP Young Composer Award twice, in 2023 and 2025.
For 2026 and 2027, the orchestra will commission a new work from Lee and give it a world premiere.
Abbado, recipient of the Franco Abbiati Prize from the Italian National Association of Music Critics, currently serves as principal conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Bologna Municipal Theater.
He has served as music director of the Munich Radio Orchestra, Queen Sofia Palace of Arts in Valencia, Spain, and the Festival Verdi in Parma, Italy. He has appeared with some of the world’s most celebrated orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
