Rattle Praises the Listening Culture of Seoul Concertgoers

Simon Rattle has described the responsiveness of Korean concert audiences as a force that reaches performers on stage. Speaking in Seoul before two concerts with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on 12 and 13 November, he said listeners’ understanding and emotional response could be felt as a piece unfolded. He went so far as to say that even the way an audience breathes can convey a distinctive quality. The comments express a musician’s experience of a hall, not a measurable ranking of countries.

The orchestra’s visit follows a recurring relationship with Korea. Since its first appearance there in 2012, it has returned at roughly two-year intervals apart from the interruption caused by the pandemic. Orchestra president Tabare Perlas, who took up his role in April, recalled his own earlier Korean visit with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra about fifteen years ago. He said the enthusiasm and musical understanding he encountered then made the present return particularly meaningful.

Concert-planning director Benjamin Schwartz made a related point: musicians do not simply play into an empty room and depart. Listeners’ knowledge and active engagement feed back into the performance. Flutist and player representative Natalie Schwabe also spoke of the energy and variety of reactions she has experienced in Korean halls. Their remarks place the audience within the event rather than treating it as a silent recipient.

The orchestra also sees a substantial number of young listeners in Korea. Its leaders connected that observation to an ongoing challenge for orchestras everywhere: helping future audiences discover live music. In Bavaria, the ensemble invites children to rehearsals and sends musicians into schools. The Seoul concerts are thus both a tour stop and another chapter in a longer exchange between an orchestra and an audience it knows well.