Star Soloists Coming to Town

The local classical music scene will catch spring fever next month. In this high tide of concerts, however, there are several not to be missed featuring honored soloists such as pianists Martha Argerich and Emanuel Ax, and their protégé, Lim Dong-hyek, and cellist Jian Wang.

Emanuel Ax (Courtesy of Sejong Center)

While many fans were disappointed by the cancellation of tours by foreign troupes such as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Cincinnati, the Staatskapelle Dresden’s Strauss-themed Seoul concerts remain intact.

On May 9 and 10 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Seoul, Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax will join the 461-year-old orchestra for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op.37, and Strauss’ ``Burleske’’ in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra.

Founded in 1548, the German troupe is the oldest in the world and has premiered works by great masters such as Vivaldi, Schumann, Wagner and Liszt, among others. Feted conductor Fabio Luisi will lead the group. Tickets cost from 50,000 to 250,000 won. Call (02) 399-1114~6.

Jian Wang
(Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon)

Cellist Jian Wang is a leading artist, arising from post-Cultural Revolution China a generation before young stars like Yundi Li and Lang Lang.

Wang rose to worldwide fame at the age of 10 when he appeared in violinist Isaac Stern’s documentary ``From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China,’’ and has since appeared on the world stage alongside artists of renown such as Seiji Ozawa.

The cellist will appear May 14 at Seoul Arts Center for the second of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s ``Virtuoso’’ series. The Deutsche Grammophon-recording artist will play Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104. Conductor Scott Yoo, the music director of the Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo, Calif., will lead Korea’s leading ensemble for Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, ``Winter Daydreams.’’ Tickets cost from 10,000 to 50,000 won. Call (02) 580-1300.

Martha Argerich
(Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon)

Martha Argerich, considered a living legend of classical music, will host part of her Beppu, Japan, music festival here May 24 at Seoul Arts Center.

Joining the music director are pianist Lim Dong-hyek, a protégé of Argerich, now studying under Emanuel Ax in New York, and conductor Sung Shi-yeon, the assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Both were Korea Times 2008 Next Generation Artists. Another up-and-coming artist to take the stage is trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov.

Ensemble TIMF, of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, will accompany the artists. Lim will play Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, while Argerich and Nakariakov will perform Schumann’s ``Fantasiestucke,’’ Op. 73, and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings in C Minor, Op. 35, together. Tickets cost from 50,000 to 200,000 won. Call 1577-5266.

Lang Lang: Mozart Meets MTV

Mr. Lang wearing the Adidas sneakers bearing his name

This is the 20th and last in a series of interviews with the next-generation of classical musicians. ― ED.

The 1981 Academy Award-winning film ``From Mao to Mozart'' documented the Western classical music scene in China as it emerged from the Cultural Revolution. The last 15 minutes of the movie showed an earnest 10-year-old playing the cello before Isaac Stern. This was none other than esteemed cellist Jian Wang.

Now a generation later, China is becoming a major market for almost everything, and it seems classical musicians are one of its hottest exports. If Wang represented a changing China, here are the faces of ``new'' China, pianist Lang Lang and violinist Chen Xi.

Lang Lang: Mozart Meets MTV

At 26, Lang Lang already has a ``best of'' album, and recently performed before 5 billion viewers at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

It was ``unbelievable,'' he said about the opening ceremony in an email interview with The Korea Times. ``My heart is still pumping fast when I think about it. It was a miracle opening night, and representing the new generation of China this way was a really big honor.''

But Lang is more than just a Chinese star pianist. He's been like the big bang of the international classical music scene ― the Mozart of the MTV generation ― with maestros giving him the highest praise, Netizens not getting enough of him on YouTube and Adidas naming a sneaker after him.

``I can't describe him as a pianist, because you will only hear in my sentence the jealousy that I and all his colleagues feel,'' Daniel Barenboim said once. ``I'm sure he didn't show you, but you know, he has 11 fingers. He plays the piano like a cat with 11 fingers.''

Lang said music was the most natural thing for him: ``The piano happened to be the instrument I loved the most from the beginning. I think this is what you call instinct.'' The Shenyang native began playing at age three and moved to Beijing to enter the country's most prestigious conservatory ― bidding farewell to his mother to live in an unheated apartment. He had to hit the piano keys to keep warm and endure his austere father who would tell him to kill himself when he didn't measure up to expectations. This story, of course, is already familiar, and has inspired his two memoirs in English, ``Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story'' and ``Lang Lang: Playing With Flying Keys.''

He said he wanted to inspire people through his books. ``I think that there are many things in the world you can dream of, but you are always afraid that it's a dream. I try to inspire people that everything is possible, and if you believe, you will eventually get it.''But the pianist's ultimate method of communication is, naturally, music. ``It's like you are talking to people or to yourself,'' he said. ``The amazing thing is, it is through that conversation between you and the music, between the composers' creation and your recreation, that you learn a new life… All of those things connect to your soul and help you to cross the barriers. Music is a very powerful art.''

He said he wants to paint different ``music colors'' and moods in each piece. ``Sometimes I like to start with lighter colors and go really light or go in the opposite direction,'' he said. He will be showcasing one of his favorites, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2, with the La Scala Philharmonic led by maestro Chung Myung-whun in Seoul, Sept. 10.

Read about violinist Chen Xi, Mr. Lang's childhood friend.