Seoul Philharmonic to open Prague Spring festival — a first for any non-European orchestra

"The name recognition and influence of Music Director Jaap van Zweden cannot be overlooked, but the significance goes beyond that — this is the first time the doors of a Europe-centric festival have been opened this way," said Jeong Jae-wal, president of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Prague Spring International Music Festival — long considered the most prestigious classical music festival in the world and the exclusive domain of Western orchestras — has opened its gates to Asia, and specifically to Korea.

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has been selected as the opening act for the 82nd edition of the festival, set for May 2027, the orchestra announced Thursday. The ensemble will perform Smetana's "Má vlast" in its entirety over two nights — May 12 and 13 — at the Municipal House in Prague.

It marks the first time a non-European orchestra — let alone an Asian one — has been invited to headline the festival's opening concert. Music critic Heo Myeong-hyeon said the invitation carries weight well beyond a typical overseas engagement. "It is both a testament to the network the Seoul Phil has consistently built over the years and a symbolic moment demonstrating that Seoul's cultural brand resonates in the global classical music world," he said.

Founded in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II with a mission to heal the wounds of war through music, the Prague Spring festival has grown into one of the world's great arenas for orchestral competition.

The festival opens each year on May 12 — the anniversary of the death of Czech national composer Bedřich Smetana — and its opening concert is a sacred tradition: a complete performance of Smetana's "Má vlast."

That opening stage has traditionally been held by Czech ensembles such as the Czech Philharmonic and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. Among foreign orchestras, access has been granted only to a handful of the world's most elite ensembles — the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra — and close allies of the Czech Phil such as the Bamberg Symphony under Jakub Hrůša. That the Seoul Phil has broken through more than 80 years of that tradition is itself a remarkable achievement.

The invitation was the result of a quiet, months-long diplomatic effort that Seoul Phil President Jeong began pursuing with the festival's leadership last year.

Jeong told reporters Wednesday that he had long wanted the Seoul Phil to take a leading role at one of Europe's most storied festivals. "I thought it would be wonderful to bring our orchestra to the Prague Spring, where Music Director van Zweden had previously appeared as a guest," he said.

What began as an idea quickly became a real pursuit. He said he moved "like lightning" to contact the festival and begin negotiations. "I bluntly asked them to carve out a slot for us, and they came back immediately saying they could make room in the 2027 schedule," he said.

The festival's decision to invite the Seoul Phil reflected both van Zweden's international stature and the orchestra's own rising profile.

"I think the festival saw the Seoul Phil as a strong card for introducing a fresh concept," Jeong said, adding that the orchestra's performances at Carnegie Hall in New York and its recording activities were among the factors that worked in its favor. The festival's new leadership, which took over this year, is actively seeking to move beyond a Eurocentric model and expand into a truly global event — and the Seoul Phil is helping open that chapter.

Orchestra members knew about the European tour and the festival invitation, but had not been told they would perform the opening concert — a distinction that carries enormous symbolic weight. Performing Smetana's symphonic cycle "Má vlast" in full is both an honor and a grueling test for any ensemble. Even Music Director Jaap van Zweden initially expressed strong reservations, according to those familiar with the discussions. For the Seoul Phil, it will be the first significant performance of the complete work since 2010, when Czech maestro Jakub Hrůša conducted the orchestra through the cycle.

"It is not a signature piece in van Zweden's repertoire, and the Seoul Phil has not performed 'Má vlast' frequently, so there were concerns," Jeong said. "Playing this work in front of the Czech public requires great confidence."

That the Seoul Phil will perform "Má vlast" at the very moment the festival is expanding its global reach gives the occasion added meaning. Music critic Heo said that while Smetana's work embodies Czech history and identity, it has grown into an international repertoire that orchestras around the world interpret in their own voices. "The invitation to the Seoul Phil reaffirms that 'Má vlast' is now a shared heritage of the global music world — not only of the Czech Republic," he said.

The achievement is not a stroke of luck. It reflects a genuine shift in the Seoul Phil's standing in the international music world.

Where Korean orchestras once funded overseas tours largely out of their own pockets in pursuit of visibility, the Prague Spring engagement was secured as a formal business contract — one that guarantees a substantial performance fee and full coverage of local expenses.

"We secured terms that no other arts organization in Korea can match, and this will serve as a foundation for the Seoul Phil's market value to keep rising," Jeong said.

Organic word of mouth within the global music community has also played a significant role. Top-tier guest musicians and conductors from the Berlin and Vienna philharmonics, after collaborating with the Seoul Phil, have been spreading word of the orchestra's abilities to festival organizers and promoters abroad.

Jeong said he was genuinely surprised when he met conductor Gustavo Dudamel last year and found that Dudamel was already well acquainted with the Seoul Phil's performances and full of praise. "The Czech side already had a great deal of information about the Seoul Phil and Korean musicians, and the combination of glowing reviews from guest performers, along with van Zweden's name recognition, seems to have built a very strong impression," he said.

Confidence is also growing within the orchestra itself. "There is a settled sense of conviction that we have moved beyond the boundaries and limitations once associated with being an Asian ensemble," Jeong said.

The internationally recognized standing is also beginning to reshape how the Seoul Phil operates. Building on its artistic stability and growing audience demand, the orchestra plans to expand some of its regular concert series from two performances to three starting next year — a step that would be impossible without reliable ticket sales and sustained audience interest.

However, a persistent infrastructure gap remains even as the orchestra reaches new artistic heights: the Seoul Phil still has no dedicated concert hall of its own. The Seoul Metropolitan Government's plan to rebuild the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts is tied to progress on a second Sejong Center project in Yeouido. "I hope it will be completed within 10 years," Jeong said, with a note of frustration.

The Prague Spring International Music Festival represents both a milestone and a test for the Seoul Phil and for Korean orchestras as a whole. "The festival is like the World Cup," Jeong said. "Classical music, like football, is a competition built around a shared text — the repertoire — that the whole world holds in common. How you interpret and realize the same work is where your abilities are laid bare." He said the orchestra would use the opening concert to put on stage a performance that reflects the music director's artistic vision.