Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung

Germany's Leipzig delegation headed by its Mayor Burkhard Jung will visit South Korea from March 6 to March 10, 2011, German Embassy in Seoul announced March 4, 2011.

The German delegation, which includes the Leipzig Chamber of Commerce members, will be accompanied by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the world's oldest civic concert orchestra with a history of 267 years.

The delegation's visit to Korea is aimed at promoting businesses and attracting investment in Leipzig.

The German delegation is particularly interested in areas of auto parts and medical equipments in Korea.

During their stay they will visit the industrial city of Ulsan (SB LiMotive), Gwangju, and the port city of Incheon.

In Gwangju they will visit a Samsung factory, Kunsthalle Gwangju, and will meet with business association members in the provincial city.

Also they will have lunch President Kim Yoon-Soo of Cheonnam National University, and will have dinner with Mayor Kang Un-Tae of Gwangju. They will also meet with Incheon Mayor Song Young-Gil.

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra will have a concert at Seoul Arts Center at 8 p.m. on March 7-8, 2011.

The orchestra will perform Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 and violinist Leonidas Kavakos will perform Dvorak's violin concerto.

The German orchestra is conducted by maestro Riccardo Chailly, a renowned conductor from Italy.

The German orchestra first performed in Korea 17 years ago. It will be its third visit to the nation since.

At Seoul Arts Center the orchestra will perform Antonín Leopold Dvořák's Carnival Overture, Violin Concerto, and Symphony No.7 on March 7 (Monday), 2011.

On March 8, 2011 Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8
will be played.

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in performance

It is the oldest civic concert orchestra in the world.

The orchestra had its origins in the concert society
called the "Grand Concert" founded by 16 merchants in 1743.

Following its move into the meeting house of the cloth merchants (the "Gewandhaus") in 1781, the ensemble was named the "Gewandhaus Orchestra."

In 1884, the orchestra moved into a new concert hall
that had been built through the sale of endowment shares,
which was destroyed during the air raids of 1944.

In 1981, a new Gewandhaus was opened on Augustusplatz.

Few other orchestras have contributed as much to the development of the symphonic musical tradition as the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Example, it performed all of Beethoven's symphonies
during the composer's lifetime.

The orchestra also presented the world's first complete Bruckner cycle as well as the first Shostakovich cycle during the 1970s.

Felix Mendelssohn, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwangler, and Bruno Walter number among the most distinguished Gewandhaus Music Directors. Herbert Blomstedt, who succeeded Kurt Masur in 1998, was the orchestra's 18th Music Director.

Since September 2005, Riccardo Chailly has held
the post of 19th Gewandhaus Music Director.

Conductor Riccardo Chailly

Conductor Riccardo Chailly of Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Riccardo Chailly was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1983 to 1986 and Chief Conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1989.

From 1986 to 1993 he was Music Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, where he conducted numerous productions with resounding success.

Since his appointment as Chief Conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra (1988 to 2004), he has also devoted

himself increasingly to symphonic repertoire. He delights a steadily growing audience not only with his performances of the great

standard works but with many twentieth-century works as well. He has led the Concertgebouw Orchestra on numerous tours to the major European festivals (Vienna Festival and London Proms, among others) and recently completed the Millennium Tour

with concerts in the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe. Tours with his Dutch orchestra have also taken him to South America, China, Korea, and Taiwan. Devotes himself to both concert and operatic repertoire.

The native of Milan has conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra,
the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra,
the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared at the most important opera houses throughout the world.

Soloist Leonidas Kavakos

Soloist Leonidas Kavakos

Leonidas Kavakos has established himself as a violinist and artist of rare quality, known at the highest level for his virtuosity,

superb musicianship and the integrity of his playing. International recognition came whilst Kavakos was still in his teens. He won

the Sibelius competition in 1985 and then the Paganini competition in 1988 and following these successes, he was invited by

orchestras across Europe, North America and the Far East and his reputation soared.

Mr. Kavakos now appears in concert throughout the world with the great orchestras and conductors and regularly visits the major

international festivals with visiting orchestras, in chamber music and in recital.

In the current season, Kavakos appears with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, La Scala Filharmonica, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his most recent disc of the Mozart concertos with the Camerata Salzburg, Kavakos has a distinguished catalogue of recordings.