Seoul Arts Center Orchestra Fest Ends Tuesday

Seoul Arts Center’s 20th Orchestra Festival comes to a close with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra (above), Tuesday, after three weeks of live, inspired music. Grand symphonic melodies filled the hall almost every night as maestri and soloists joined 16 of the country’s top ensembles. Each concert, almost always fully packed, was broadcast live on KBS FM radio.

The annual event brought internationally feted conductors in concert, including Spanish maestro Jesus Amigo; Baldur Bronnimann, the new principal conductor of the Colombian National Symphony; and Korean-Japanese helmer Kim Hong-je.

Youthful verve and virtuosity reigned, as young, up and coming musicians graced the stage.

On the opening night April 3, the Bucheon Philharmonic, led by maestro Choi Hee-chuhn, greeted concertgoers with a roar. Having worked with the Gyeonggi Province troupe for the opera ``L’Elisir d’Amore,’’ the Germany-based conductor inspired full bursting colors, which complimented the sweet melody of soloist Stefan Jackiw in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. Two evenings later, scientist-cellist Koh Bong-ihn gave a silver-toned rendition of the Elgar Concerto while playing with his birth town’s Jeonju Symphony.

Another sell-out program was Friday’s event featuring the Suwon Philharmonic with pianist-conductor Kim Dae-jin and young pianist Lim Dong-min. While Lim told The Korea Times that he wasn’t happy with the performance, saying the harmony with the orchestra was far from perfect in the first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, he showed why he is one of the country’s most popular young artists with the crystalline tones in the singsong second movement.

The festival was also a special occasion for instruments such as the bassoon and harp to shine in the solo spot. It also gave an opportunity for new talent to take the big stage, including two young musicians selected through an open audition.

While there is no concert tonight, the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra will conclude the festival Tuesday with Alexander Anissimov at the baton. The honored Russian maestro, currently the principal conductor of the troupe, presents a program of Tchaikovsky, including ``Spanish Dance’’ from ``Swan Lake’’ and Symphony No. 4. Pianist Ian Yung-wook Yoo, who was featured in The Korea Times' 2008 Next Generation Classical Musician series, will appear as soloist for Piano Concerto No. 1. Tickets cost from 10,000 won to 30,000 won. Call (02) 580-1301.

SAC Hosts Orchestra Festival Throughout April

Classical music aficionados may be disappointed by the cancellation of tours by many foreign orchestras, but performances by domestic troupes will be in full swing throughout April with the Seoul Arts Center’s annual Orchestra Festival featuring 17 top Korean ensembles.

Violinist Stefan Jackiw
/Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center

The 2009 program will take place April 3-21, beginning with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra. The opening night will feature violinist Stefan Jackiw, a noted Korean-American artist who is known here as a member of the popular chamber group Ditto and as the grandson of the famed writer Pi Cheon-deuk. The 17-day relay concert will continue with performances by a different orchestra each day.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the event, which began in 1989 with the opening of the center’s Concert Hall. It has developed into a major music festival that gathers top national artists in one place.

Expectations for the event are high, as top musicians will appear as soloists for concertos ranging from Brahms to Beethoven and Berlioz. Future leaders of classical music will participate, including up-and-coming pianist Kim Tae-hyung (Daejeon Philharmonic, April 4); cellist Koh Bong-ihn (Jeonju Philharmonic, April 5), who is balancing a medical career at Harvard with playing alongside artists like Yo Yo Ma; and Lim Dong-min, who is a star pianist here along with his brother Dong-hyek (Suwon Philharmonic, April 17).

Conductor Yeo Ja-kyung
/Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center

Also notable is that a prominent female conductor, Yeo Ja-kyung, has been invited to lead the KBS Symphony Orchestra, April 16, which is a first for the event. Other maestros such as Kim Hong-je (Ulsan Philharmonic, April 8), Jesus Amigo (Gyeonggi Philharmoinc, April 11) and Baldur Bronnimann (Seoul Philharmonic, April 13), will take the baton. Child-prodigy-turned-maestro pianist Ian Yung-wook Yoo will close the festival with the Busan Philharmonic, led by Alexander Anissimov, April 21.

For the first decade, the event helped to promote the growth of classical music in Korea, and the last decade was devoted to enhancing the performance level of individual musicians. In doing so, new talents across the country were discovered and these musicians matured and developed their own musical color over the years.

As such, two newcomers selected through the Guest Players Audition ― violinist Kim Hyun-gi and bassoonist Lee Min-ho ― will appear with the Seoul Philharmonic, April 13, and Changwon Philharmonic, April 14, respectively.

The performances will take place at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. Tickets cost from 10,000 won to 30,000 won. Discounts are available for members of the Seoul Arts Center as well as for students and group reservations. For more information on the event, call (02) 580-1300 or visit www.sac.or.kr/eng (English).

Ensemble Ditto Storms Across Korea

The ultimate boy band of the classical music world.

Members of the ensemble Ditto from left: pianist Lim Dong-hyek, 24; violinists Stefan Jackiw, 23, and Johnny Lee, 29; cellist Patrick Jee, 30; double bassist DaXun Zhang, 28; and violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, 29. This photo is also part of their modeling campaign for Theory Korea. / Courtesy of Credia

Last year, a group of young men took the local music scene by storm. At chamber group Ditto’s Seoul concerts, die hard fans darted for the door before the last song came to an end so they could line up for autographs. They’re like the Shinhwa of the classical music scene.

Ditto is back for their second season, which is expected to be ``bigger and better,’’ said violinist Johnny Lee, 29, at the opening night performance Wednesday in Seoul’s hip Hongdae area.

The chamber group has certainly gotten bigger, with pianist Lim Dong-hyek, 24, violinist Stefan Jackiw, 23, and double bassist Daxun Zhang, 28, joining Lee, violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill, 29, and cellist Patrick Jee, 30.

Mozart’s Duo for Violin & Viola K.423 and Beethoven’s ``Razumovsky’’ String Quartet No. 9 filled the small hall where indie rock bands usually perform. Dressed comfortably in jeans, the young musicians conversed afterward with their mostly female fans. When asked if they had girlfriends, Jackiw exposed his single status and the crowd shrieked with excitement.

Jackiw, who, apart from being an up and coming artist in the United States, is noted here for being the grandson of celebrated writer Pi Chun-duk. ``I’ve read both his essays and his poems and spent a lot of time with him in the summer. He was a fan of classical music and we talked a lot about literature and paintings… Spending time with him and talking about music influenced my music,’’ he said, adding that he learned about great musicians like Herbert von Karajan and Anne-Sophie Mutter through him.

Outside the hall, large posters and stationary featuring the youthful members were on sale _ rather than CDs. While there is sharp criticism about the overly commercial ``star’’ marketing tactics, the group’s public appeal is incontestable. Au contraire to stereotypes that chamber music is boring, the group secured a tour across nine cities, beginning with Daejeon on Sunday all the way down to Busan (June 20), then back in Seoul (June 28) and finally Inchoen (July 2).

Ditto is recognized for reaching out to a wider audience, and the tour includes stopovers at elementary schools in Busan and Daegu. Many non-classical music fans learned to appreciate the genre because of these Korean and Asian-American musicians, indicated by the group’s online fan community. Fans flocked to Hoam Art Center for Lee and Jee’s recitals Thursday and Friday, and concertgoers kept glancing back during breaks as other Ditto members were seated at the rear.

Chamber music seems to invigorate the members’ lives as well. ``I usually get really nervous about going onstage, but chamber music relieves me of that kind of stress. In addition to making great music, I’m just excited about working and hanging out with guys my age,’’ said Lim, who is receiving positive feedback on his newly released album (Bach’s ``Goldberg Variations,’’ EMI). ``Plus, I don’t have that many guy friends so this is very nice,’’ he laughed. The pianist cooked doenjang jjigae (bean curd stew) for the members in his New York apartment.

Lee, the only ethnic Korean member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said although June is vacation for him, playing with Ditto ``doesn’t feel like working.’’ Jee also expressed his excitement about collaborating with good friends.

The highlight of the group’s program this year is Schubert’s Piano Quintet ``The Trout.’’ The Austrian composer wrote it when he was 22, and classical music legends like pianist Daniel Barenboim, violinist Itzhak Perlman, violist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Jacqueline du Pre and double bassist Zubin Mehta jammed onstage together for the piece in their youth.

O’Neill said he thought long and hard about deciding on a piece that would be satisfying for a diverse audience, including both fans and people who don’t know much about classical music.

The Seoul performances will take place at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., June 28, at the Seoul Arts Center near Nambu Bus Terminal station on subway line 3. Call 1577-5266.

``Ditto'' is also the title of the book violist O'Neill wrote.