[INTERVIEW] Top-notch conductor continues to blaze trails in classical music scene

Sung Shi-yeon

By Anna J. Park

Sung Shi-yeon, 43, is one of very few top-notch female classical music conductors in the world. Blazing trails is nothing new for Sung ― she has always opted to follow her own passion and bliss at the price of uncertainty and fear, which has led her to lead a life full of challenges.

"I think I like adventures. If I want something truly, I have the persistence to give it a go. If that works, it is a blessing and gratitude; and if that doesn't work, I never regret, because at least I know I gave it a sincere try," she said with a smile during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

She was the first-ever woman to win the first prize in the prestigious Sir George Solti International Conductors' Competition back in 2006, followed by winning the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition the next year. That year, she also became the first-ever woman to be named as assistant conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra since its founding in 1881.

She also was the first female chief conductor and artistic director of a Korean public orchestra. She led the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 to 2017, during which time she earned international acclaim for her ability to successfully develop the orchestra to a higher level. Under the baton of Sung, the Gyeonggi Philharmonic became the first Asian orchestra to be invited to the Musikfest Berlin, an internationally renowned music festival, in 2017. She and her orchestra also recorded Mahler's Symphony No. 5 for top classical music label Decca.

Many classical music fans here in Korea were astounded when she decided to depart the Gyeonggi Phil at the end of 2017, leaving behind her stellar achievements with the orchestra, and resettle in Berlin in 2018, where she has lived on-and-off for the past 20 years. She said she wasn't afraid about the uncertainty that followed, when she forewent the stable chief conductor's podium in her homeland.

"I wanted to grow and be more mature, both musically and internally, by embracing more challenges," she said.

Conducting SPO after two years

While she is now guest-conducting major international orchestras around the world, she recently visited Seoul to conduct a concert with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) with a repertoire of various German Romantic works by Mahler, Schumann and Strauss. Under the title, "Poets and Wanderers," last Friday evening's concert at the Seoul Arts Center featured the German composers' symphonic poems and songs, featuring German lyric soprano Anne Schwanewilms.

It was her first time in nearly two years to conduct a regular season SPO concert since performing Mahler's Symphony No. 4 in June 2017. She said she was deeply moved by the mutually-felt chemistry with the orchestra, where she served as an assistant conductor from 2009 to 2013.

"I felt a special connection with the orchestra, as I and the members of the orchestra could both realize that all of us have musically grown over the past few years. Such a humane relationship played an essential part in creating the best sound at the concert," she said.

'Good music softens hardened hearts'

Thanks to her experiences of leading the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra as the chief conductor for four years, she said she now feels more relaxed.

"When guest-conducting, a rehearsal with an orchestra only takes place just once or twice before the performance. So I used to be more tense due to stress to bring out the best from an orchestra that I am not familiar with after just a couple of days. But now, I feel those unnecessary accents have been removed, as I realized that conducting orchestras is basically all about human relations at the fundamental level."

"We communicate, converse and breathe through music, yet it's all based on human interactions. I think normal and simple humane moves among orchestra members fill up the music," she said.

Before taking up the conductor's baton, Sung was an aspiring pianist. She started the piano at the age of four, earning a master's degree at Berlin University of the Arts. But she had the urge to delve deeper into the music. While watching a video of the late maestro Furtwangler conducting, she felt a breathtaking moment, as she realized she also wanted to learn how to conduct. She then studied orchestral conducting with Rolf Reuter at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.

"The late maestro Furtwangler's musicality lies in that he had a remarkable talent in drawing the inner passion from musicians. He also knew how to create fluid music, transcending any musical barriers or obstacles. The late maestro Abbado had the ability to easily make any music sound uniquely aesthetic, without saying much. He was also a complete perfectionist. It is just marvelous to see such great talents," she said.

Sung was humble enough to say that she was not born with such enormous talent, and she is also still learning from many contemporary conductors, as they all can be great teachers.

"My dream is to make good music. To me, good music is defined as music that can soften or melt hardened hearts. A music that can resonate well with audiences' hearts and deeply move them. I want to make such music to share with audiences," Sung said.

She is set to conduct the Orchestre National d' Ile-de-France next month, along with other major orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic in London, the Seattle Symphony, and LA Philharmonic, in the near future.

Sung Shi-yeon