Next Generation Artists Sparkle in Seoul

Youthful exuberance reigned in Seoul last week as Yundi Li, Sung Si-yeon and Alexander Gavrylyuk ― musicians who will lead the future of classical music ― took the stage.

Chinese star pianist Li made sure his Wednesday recital at Seoul Arts Center, the first in six years, would be unforgettable, making fans anticipate his next visit. The following evening at the same venue, conductor Sung lead the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra to create exhilarating rhythms opposite pianist Gavrylyuk.

Yundi Li's Poetic Pianism

As the youngest ever winner of the Chopin International Competition, Yundi Li is naturally associated with the musician. He displayed a different musical streak last year through the new repertoire of Prokofiev and Ravel, demonstrating a flair for rhapsodic melodies and primitive rhythms.

Somewhat ironically, however, it was the 26-year-old's return to a program of Chopin that, though inspiring a pang of nostalgia, demonstrated his ever-evolving growth as a musician ― and suggested that it is perhaps prejudiced to label him as a Chopin specialist.

An enthusiastic audience, including his staunch female fans, greeted the charming pianist. But the hall instantly hushed for his sweeping, balletic renditions of Chopin's ``Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2'' and ``Mazurka Op. 33.''

But the Romanticist shined through with ``Five Yunnan Folk Songs,'' a collection of Chinese folk songs arranged for the piano. Li certainly has an uncanny ability to beautify music, including even some of the most irking pieces of music like Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2. His poeticism was manifest in the melodious folk songs, through which he allowed crystalline tunes to glide like an autumn leaf floating upon a dancing stream.

As if to make the Chopin pieces seem like minor spices to the musical feast, he gave a polished performance of Mussorgsky's ``Pictures at an Exhibition.'' Finally, in response to the prolonged ovations, he gave two encores of beautiful Chinese folk songs. Afterward, members of the audience hurriedly flocked outside to get his autograph.

``It is logical that I am associated with Chopin. But at the same time, he has nothing to do with me, because I can play a wide-ranging repertoire,'' he was quoted as once saying. Indeed, the recital showcased Li's versatility, and moreover, it suggested how unfair it is to mention his name, without fail, alongside Lang Lang just because they are the same age and nationality ― because his musicality seems to know no frontiers.

Sung, Gavrylyuk's Synergy Effect

Li's powerful rendition of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, a piece rarely played in Korea, remains fresh in the minds of many after his CD and tour last year. The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's ``New Wave'' Series I featured rising pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk with the same piece, though with his own color and dynamism.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian held the audience in rapt attention with his exquisite technique, tackling particularly the long solo part of the first movement with jazz, with a striking sense of ease and spontaneity.

Conductor Sung Si-yeon, on the other hand, offered a sound that was more organic, rounded and ``organized'' than expected of the robust piece. While the Seoul Philharmonic could have been more reverberating in the third movement, it was nevertheless not without the certain magnetism necessary to match the virtuosity of the soloist and create musical synergy.

Whole minutes disappeared as Gavrylyuk displayed his natural artistry and expansive breadth of emotion, and concertgoers did not ― or rather could not ― let out a single cough between movements. But once the final notes resounded, the concert hall rumbled with ovation, which continued well into the intermission time. For the enraptured audience, the soloist offered ``Flight of the Bumblebee'' as an encore, showcasing more of his ``flying fingers'' (it seems Lang Lang no longer has monopoly over that nickname).

Gavrylyuk launched his career through international events such as the Rubenstein. His fame has only just begun to catch up with his immense talents that deserve greater attention. But he doesn't seem to have to wait long, as he will soon making a recording and concert tour of Prokofiev's complete piano concertos with the Sydney Symphony led by Maestro Vladimir Ashkenezay. In 2012, he will debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Mihail Platnev.

Meanwhile, Sung shined with another Nordic repertoire. Last year, the assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave a colorful rendition of Sibelius's ``Lemminkainen's Homeward Journey.'' This time she took concertgoers on an invigorating ride into the Finnish composer's musical world with ``Pohjola's Daughter.''

Lastly, she wrapped up the evening with glimmering golden tones in Bartok's ``The Miraculous Mandarin.'' Her charismatic command of the dissonant harmonies showed why she won the Bamberg Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition.

The 34-year-old, chosen among the next generation of classical musicians by The Korea Times along with pianist Li, is a rising ``maestra'' to watch out for. Such young artists as Li, Sung and Gavrylyuk hush concerns over the diminishing interest in classical music.

Read my Next Generation Interview Series with Yundi Li or my recent
email interview with the pianist.
Read my Next Generation Interview Series with Sung Si-yeon.

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.