On the 18th, the Music Director of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra couldn’t hide his regret when he met with reporters ahead of his last performance in office. More than half of his tenure was constrained by COVID-19 and his talk about things he failed to unfold was proportional to the happiness he felt in his time with the orchestra with ample potential. “It was a magical time,” Zanetti recalled, “they had previously performed pieces that felt grand, big, but after taking office, we built the orchestra’s prowess toward bringing in the technical elements that were transparent and detailed.” Zanetti, who took office in September 2018 and is credited with notably raising  the level of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic, will conclude his four-year tenure with Verdi’s “Requiem,” which will be held at the Gyeonggi Arts Center on May 23 and the Lotte Concert Hall on May 25. It requires a large number of people, including 4 soloists, a mixed 4-part choir, and a large orchestra, and the duration of the performance is 90 minutes of religious music.

“I didn’t deliberately pick this piece for my last show,” Zanetti explained, adding, “It was part of my planned performance in 2020, but it was postponed to this year because of the difficulty of performing with a big chorus last year due to the high regulations related to infectious diseases.” “Unlike other composers’ requiems, the song asks the living people questions about death,” he said, adding, “I thought it was timely in the context of the current situation.” Zanetti is credited with leading the Orchestra’s growth with new initiatives while leading the Gyeonggi Philharmonic. Last year, they had a project with 5 young korean pianists born around 2000-01, performing the entire Beethoven Concerts cycle. “With the cancellation of the performances we had planned, we realized the idea of making it an opportunity to introduce local talented performers to the Korean audience” he said.

Korean fans who love classical music have been emphasized as a part of the development of the orchestra for the past 4 years. “We created the idea through a variety of feedback, such as recommending a composer that the audience wanted to hear in the next performance,” Zanetti said, “and I think the orchestra created a relationship where they learned by interacting with the audience.”