Hanwha Classic 2026 brings Le Poème Harmonique to Korea for the first time, in Changwon, Geoje and Seoul

Key points

• French early-music ensemble Le Poème Harmonique, conducted by Vincent Dumestre, makes its first appearance in Korea — 28 years after its founding, according to the organiser — as Hanwha Classic 2026.
• One concert in each of three cities: Changwon's 3·15 Art Center on Sunday 22 November, Geoje Arts Center on Tuesday 24 November and the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on Thursday 26 November.
• Every seat in every city is ₩50,000; the concert runs 110 minutes, and musicologist Chung Kyung-young gives commentary in Seoul.

Le Poème Harmonique, the ensemble that brings 17th-century French court music back to life on period instruments, is coming to Korea. Hanwha Group announced on 28 September that Hanwha Classic 2026 will be held in Changwon, Geoje and Seoul in November, and each city's concert is registered separately with KOPIS, Korea's performing-arts database. According to Newspim's report of the announcement, this is the first Korean visit by the ensemble, founded in 1998, and the first time Hanwha Classic — now in its 14th year since Helmuth Rilling's concert in 2013 — has gone to South Gyeongsang Province, where Changwon and Geoje host key Hanwha Group sites.

The concerts at a glance

Details for each city are on the Seoul, Changwon and Geoje performance pages.

Who are Le Poème Harmonique?

Le Poème Harmonique is a French early-music ensemble founded in 1998 by Vincent Dumestre, a lute and theorbo player turned conductor. The Seoul Arts Center's introduction says the group focuses on 17th- and 18th-century baroque repertoire, gives more than 60 concerts a year, has released some 50 recordings, and is known for staging that combines music with theatre and dance. Dumestre has been made an Officier of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

What is on the 'Music of the Sun King' programme?

It is a 13-piece programme built around Jean-Baptiste Lully, court composer to Louis XIV, alongside works by Charles Tessier, Étienne Moulinié and Jean-Marie Amiot. It travels through the Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, China, Africa and Spain that the French court imagined, opening with the 'Chorus of the Four Parts of the World' from Lully's Ballet de Flore and closing with scenes from Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. In Seoul, musicologist Chung Kyung-young, dean of Hanyang University's College of Music, provides commentary. The Seoul Arts Center notes the programme and order may change.

How much are tickets, and is there an age limit?

Every seat in all three cities costs ₩50,000. The concert runs 110 minutes; the Seoul Arts Center lists it for elementary-school age and up, and KOPIS for ages 7 and over. Seoul tickets are sold on the Seoul Arts Center website.

Has Hanwha Classic been held outside Seoul before?

Once. Of the 15 earlier Hanwha Classic performances registered with KOPIS, 14 were at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, and the only one outside Seoul was at Daejeon Arts Center's Art Hall on 24 September 2017. This year is the series' first visit to South Gyeongsang Province. The previous edition was soprano Patricia Petibon with Ensemble Amarillis at the Seoul Arts Center in June 2025.