Han Kang to open Berlin Philharmonic’s literary event in September

Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang will take the stage at the Berlin Philharmonic's Chamber Music Hall on Sept. 7 for a book talk launching the orchestra's new literary series for the 2026-27 season. According to the Philharmonic's website, the event will also be a joint project with the Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin, with Han invited as the first guest. Designed to bring together literature and chamber music, the 90-minute show invites prominent authors to read from and discuss their latest works, while members of the Philharmonic perform chamber pieces chosen to reflect the themes and mood of the writing. The orchestra said it chose to launch the program with Han as a reflection of the shared qualities between her prose and classical music, both defined less by grand gestures than by precision and resonance. "Literature, like music, reflects the world and our lives," the orchestra said on its website. "With our new series, Satzwechsel, we place the two in dialogue." The appearance marks one of Han's few literary engagements since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024