Rising 'Maestra' Sung Returns

A generation after maestri Marin Alsop and Simone Young took the baton to the glass ceiling there is still no consensus on how to properly address a female master conductor. While ``maestra'' may sound like a logical female form of maestro, it really denotes schoolteacher in Italian.

This issue may become more relevant in the years to come, with promising young assistant conductors like the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Sung Shi-yeon and the New York Philharmonic's Xian Zhang.

This points to a more general question: Does gender still matter?

``I do not think of my gender when I conduct, because it is my idea that colors my music,'' Sung told The Korea Times in a telephone interview. The statement seemed more like pensive introspection than an aggressive objection. The 33-year-old, tall, charismatic and almost fiercely energetic onstage, had a delicate, feminine voice bouncing with laughter throughout the conversation.

After winning first prize at the 2006 International Conductors' Competition for Sir Georg Solti, she was invited by James Levine to join the American ensemble. Her success was followed by another top award at the Bamberg Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition last year. '

``I've just started my career, so I haven't been everywhere'' ― she said humbly but not without confidence ― ``but I did feel each country has a different mood. I just got back from Sweden, and my gender didn't seem to matter at all. But I do feel a bit pressured when I perform in musically conservative countries like Germany and Austria, where the legacies of great conductors live on.''

The Busan native made her conducting debut in her homeland by opening the 2007 season for the Seoul Philharmonic. She will return for her second concert Sept. 19. ``In Korea, where age and gender matter, both the audience and musicians do seem to be amazed,'' said Sung. ``But I think that odd factor will disappear, just like how discrimination against female instrumentalists have. Today, women make up half, and in many cases more than half, of orchestras,'' she said.

Born in 1975, Sung started playing the piano at age four. She was an accomplished young player who won several competitions. After making her solo concert debut when she was 13, she studied abroad in Germany. Local reports said Sung turned to conducting after an injury terminated her piano career, but she said this was a misunderstanding.

``It is true I got injured. But I wanted to explore other areas of music, and conducting happened to be one of them,'' she said. She undertook conductor and orchestral conducting studies with Prof. Rolf Reuter at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. Her teacher, she said, was essential for her growth as a musician and individual. When asked if she ever misses the piano, she said she plays from time to time. She enjoys the immediacy and intimacy of piano playing, but exploring the vast ocean of musical literature as a conductor consumes her artistry in the meantime.

What is the beauty of conducting? ``A group of musicians can play any given piece. Of course a conductor can help them harmonize and bring about a sense of unity. But I love how a single person's personality and interpretation ― I suppose what you could call charisma ― can change the sound of an orchestra,'' she said. While continuing to split her time between Boston and Germany, Sung wishes to challenge herself with the opera genre. She already has some experience under her belt, having led ``The Magic Flute'' in the Mozart in Berlin Festival and other projects with German theaters.

Sung returns to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic for the second of its serial ``Classical Concerto'' series, Sept. 19 at Seoul Arts Center. Versatile pianist Dejan Lazic, known for his beautiful phrasing and dynamism, will join the ensemble for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58. ``I believe No. 4 is the most beautiful of Beethoven's piano concertos,'' she said.

Also included in the program are Sibelius's ``Lemminkainen's Homeward Journey'' and Mussorgsky's ``Pictures at an Exhibition.'' The conductor said she prepared for the pieces by studying the paintings that accompany the music. For inquiries about the concert, call (02) 3700-6300.

The concert is expected to be a picturesque musical feast. But it is hoped that the visual stimulation, if any, would be within the realms of the imagination inspired by the vivid music, rather than the unfamiliar presence of a woman gracing center stage with a baton.