KB News Desk
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will perform the opening concerts of the Prague Spring International Music Festival on May 12 and 13, 2027, at the Smetana Hall of Prague’s Municipal House, becoming the first non-European orchestra to open the festival in its 81-year history.
The orchestra’s CEO Jung Jae-wal announced the news at a press event on Wednesday, describing the invitation as both an honor and a serious responsibility.
“This is not simply taking part,” he said. “Opening the festival means being evaluated in earnest on a stage where the eyes of the world are focused.”
He likened the occasion to a World Cup opening match, noting that the orchestra will face an implicit competition with the world’s finest ensembles.
In keeping with the festival’s tradition, the Seoul Philharmonic will perform Smetana’s “Ma vlast” (My Fatherland) at the opening concert. Since 1952, the festival has opened each year on May 12 — the anniversary of the Czech composer’s death — with the work, first played at the 1946 inaugural festival by the Czech Philharmonic under Rafael Kubelik.
Jung acknowledged that the demanding, symbolically weighty piece initially gave music director Jaap van Zweden some pause before he embraced it.
Jung traced the origins of the invitation to a proposal he made directly to the festival’s leadership, recalling that van Zweden’s earlier appearance at Prague Spring with the Chicago Symphony helped open the door. A change in the festival’s executive team ultimately worked in Seoul’s favor, and in December, the orchestra received a formal invitation to take the opening slot.
Robert Hanc, the festival’s executive chairman, welcomed the selection.
“The Seoul Philharmonic will become the first non-European orchestra to open the Prague Spring International Music Festival, one of the oldest and most prestigious in Europe,” he said. “In doing so, it joins the ranks of the Czech Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra. To present Smetana’s ‘Ma vlast’ performed by the Seoul Philharmonic is a truly great honor and joy for us as organizers.”
The Prague concert will cap a 2027 tour, the orchestra’s overseas tour, a swing through Europe that begins in Spain in August and ends in Prague in May. It follows the orchestra’s recent international push, including its 2025 Carnegie Hall debut.
Jung framed the milestone within the rise of Korean classical music abroad, saying European organizers already knew Seoul’s musicians well — a reflection of how far the Korean cultural wave has reshaped the country’s standing.
He described the invitation as confirmation that the “classical Hallyu” now extends beyond individual soloists to full orchestras.
