Seoul Spring Festival Looks to Go Global

The Seoul Spring Festival invites internationally renowned artists, including, from left, cellist Yang Sung-won, violinist Choi Eunsik, pianist Kim Young-ho, violinist and the festival’s artistic director Kang Dong-suk and cellist Cho Young-chang. / Courtesy of Seoul Spring Festival

Seoul will turn into a playground for music lovers next month with the opening of the 4th Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music (SSF) from May 5 to 18. Though in its early stages of development, the event is looking to expand horizons for a more global audience.

``Just like Busan boasts Asia’s largest film festival (PIFF), Seoul Spring Festival could become a major attraction for the city,’’ Kang Dong-suk, honored violinist and the festival’s artistic director, told reporters at a recent press conference in Seoul.

``Korea has major music events such as the Tongyeong International Music Festival, but it is mostly about contemporary classical music. SSF is unique in that it centers on chamber music and fringe (street) performances,’’ he said.

This year, child prodigies to mature virtuosos from near and far will join Seoulites for a program of Beethoven and more. Under the theme ``Beethoven Plus,’’ the festival will feature all-Beethoven quartets and more. Organizers said SSF hopes to inspire festivalgoers through music, like the late German composer overcame personal tragedies through the art.

In addition to Kang, local stars including cellists Yang Sung-won and Song Young-hoon (Young Song); pianists Kim Dae-jin, Kim Sun-wook, Kim Young-ho and Shin Soo-jung; and even ``salmulnori’’ (Korean folk percussion) artist Kim Duk-soo will perform for fans. In particular, maestro Shlomo Mintz will visit as a special guest, as well as the young American Jupiter String Quartet; the handsome, all-male Ebene Quartet; France’s dynamic Sine Nomine Quartet Lausanne; and the Igudesman & Joo duo that has been hyping up the Internet with their idiosyncratic performance style.

SSF will also showcase rising talent, including child prodigies 14-year-old violinist Anna Lee and cellist Cho Min-seok, and the KNUA (Korea National University of Arts) String Quartet. The opening concert on May 7 will stage the premiere of 26-year-old composer Kim Solbong’s ``Sundial Chronicles’’ for piano, violin, cello, clarinet and Korean folk instruments ``gayageum’’ (zither) and ``janggu’’ (drum). Amateur musicians will grace the streets of Seoul within the festival through SSF Fringe, from Friday through May 6.

The festival has been committed to not only bringing internationally feted artists to Seoul, but to make its presence known abroad, said festival director Shin Dong-yeop. Last year, its string quartet played two sell-out performances at the Beijing Summer Olympics, which were dominated by non-Korean audience members. SSF plans to expand the tour to Europe, he said.

Cellist Yang said that, as an audience member, he ``initially opposed’’ the festival because Seoul already has too many performances. ``But what is a festival? It has a theme and a well-organized menu where Seoul citizens are the stars, not the artists. I hope it will be a feast for the ears and eyes,’’ he said.

The free Family Concert will take place May 5 at Deoksu Palace (left). / Courtesy of Seoul Spring Festival

This year, the festival expanded its range of venues to include marginalized parts of Seoul, including Guro. ``The festival is mainly based at Sejong Chamber Hall, but it is too small, and our future plans include finding a permanent hall,’’ said Kang.

Ticket prices vary according to the venue: Deoksu Palace concerts are free of charge, though on a first-come, first-served basis, while those at Sejong Chamber Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Youngsan Art Hall, Guro Arts Valley Theater and Seoul Anglican Church range from 10,000 to 40,000 won. Special discounts are available. Visit http://www.seoulspring.org/ (Korean and English) or call (02) 712-4879.

Isang Yun’s Discordant Harmony Fills Tongyeong

They say a true artist transcends one's personal struggles and creates something new: ``A composer cannot view the world in which he lives with indifference. Human suffering, oppression, injustice... all that comes to me in my thoughts. Where there is pain, where there is injustice, I want to have a say in it through my music,'' the late composer Isang Yun (1917-1995) was quoted as saying in 1983.

Born in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), Yun was recognized in his youth for partaking in the resistance movement against colonial rule. After studying music in Korea and Japan, he made his way to Europe in the 1950s.

In Berlin, Yun became part of the international avant-garde and gained international prominence with his orchestral piece ``Reak'' at the 1966 Donaueschingen Festival.

The composer's life, however, took an unexpected turn in 1967 when he became implicated in a political scandal called the East Berlin spy incident. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released two years later following international protests by Herbert von Karajan and other esteemed musicians. Exiled from his home country, he became a German citizen.

Tongyeong: Bridging East, West

Yun's works are deeply rooted in the European tradition, but they also embody the vibrant tone of Korean traditional music. ``His composing manner blends Eastern and Western elements into a unique personal style, into the art of gliding transition in the spirit of Tao,'' said the Isang Yun Peace Foundation.

In the small port city of Tongyeong, hometown of the late composer, camellias take full bloom and the warm spring breeze lingers by. The 9th Tongyeong International Music Festival (TIMF) will be held from March 27 to April 2, with 17 main performances commemorating Yun and his defiant originality.

This year's theme, ``East and West,'' was inspired by his 1994 piece, ``Ost-West-Miniaturen'' (East-West Duet) for oboe and cello. Indeed, the Korean-German musician's scenic hometown will tide over with his surging, discordant harmonies as premier musicians gather from the both sides of Earth's hemisphere.

Last year, hot artists like Hilary Hahn visited. This year, *maestrolicious* conductor Alexander Liebreich, TIMF's artistic director-to be, will be there... and so will I :)

``TIMF will become an important gateway for artists of the East and West,'' TIMF's future artistic director Alexander Liebreich was quoted as saying in an interview with Yonhap News. The dashing 41-year-old conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra will lead TIMF for three years beginning 2011. ``As a German, it is a great honor and new adventure to assume the artistic directorship of TIMF,'' he said.

Read more about the festival here. You can also visit the festival's Web site, http://www.timf.org/.