World-class violinist Augustin Hadelich will meet Korean audiences with nothing but a single violin. Sought after by major orchestras worldwide, Hadelich will present an unaccompanied program spanning Baroque, contemporary music and jazz styles, showcasing the full world of music that the violin can express.
Concert organizer Vincero announced Wednesday that Hadelich will hold an unaccompanied violin recital at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on September 13. The performance will run for about two hours with a single violin alone, without piano accompaniment. Ahead of the Seoul concert, he will present the same program at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on September 12.
Hadelich is currently one of the most closely watched violinists in the global classical music scene. He was named "Best Violinist of the Year" by international music media outlets in 2023 and 2024, and each season he tours major concert halls around the world, regularly collaborating with top-tier ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
This visit to Korea is part of an Asia tour. After two performances in Korea, he will continue with four performances in Japan from September 17 to 21, one in China on the 22nd, and three in Singapore from the 25th to the 27th.
In the first half, he will perform Telemann's Fantasias for Solo Violin Nos. 5 and 8, Perkinson's "Blue/s Forms," Ysaÿe's "Sonata for Solo Violin No. 5," and Paganini's Caprices Nos. 19, 6 and 16. From the free melodies of the Baroque to contemporary music, the rhythmic feel of jazz and blues, impressionist colors and virtuosic technique, he will unfold the charm of the violin as it changed across eras on a single stage.
The second half will be filled with Bach's "Partita for Solo Violin No. 2." In particular, the final movement, "Chaconne," is a masterpiece regarded as a pinnacle of violin music history.
This recital is also drawing attention for being composed entirely of unaccompanied works. With a single violin, it is expected to be a stage that traverses the musical worlds of five composers from the Baroque to the modern era, pushing the instrument's expressive power to its limits.
Hadelich currently plays the famed "Leduc, ex Szeryng," a 1744 Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù instrument made with the support of the Tarisio Trust.
Vincero said, "Hadelich has built a firm presence on the world stage as a player with near-perfect technique as well as profound musicality and an intense yet warm tone," adding, "This recital, filled with unaccompanied works, is a stage where audiences can encounter Hadelich's unique musical world, unfolded with just one violin, at the closest possible range."
Meanwhile, the attention of Korean music fans is also focused on his collaboration with pianist Cho Seong-jin. The two will perform violin sonatas by Brahms and Prokofiev together in Bad Brückenau, Germany, on the 5th of next month, and in Lucerne, Switzerland, on August 24, showing their ensemble on the world stage.
Concert tickets can be booked from 2 p.m. on the 26th through the Lotte Concert Hall website and NOL Ticket.
