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| Violinist Han Soo-jin / Courtesy of Credia |
By Dong Sun-hwa
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The 18th concert, co-hosted by the newspaper and its sister publication the Hankook Ilbo, will be held at Seoul Arts Center to support Busan's bid to host World Expo 2030, providing a fresh momentum for the Korea's second-largest city's campaign.
Han will collaborate with internationally acclaimed conductor Hong Seok-won and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra (KNSO) to present classical pieces by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.
The program features Shostakovich's Festive Overture, Op. 96, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. The concert will have a running time of 90 minutes.
Han was born with unilateral hearing loss. However, she did not let her physical challenge block her way to success. Thanks to her extraordinary artistic prowess combined with endless efforts, she became the first Korean winner of the prestigious International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, winning the second prize at the age of 15 in 2001.
The 36-year-old has also performed with some of the most celebrated orchestras around the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Poznan Philharmonic. She studied at the Purcell School for Young Musicians, the University of Oxford and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Hong, the artistic director of the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra, was the first Korean principal conductor of the Tyrolean State Theater in Innsbruck, Austria ― one of the largest cultural centers in the city. He is reputed as one of few Korean conductors who can handle diverse genres ranging from ballet to contemporary music.
Hong, who won third prize at the 100th anniversary of Karajan Conducting Competition, has teamed up with numerous top-tier orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He studied at Seoul National University College of Music and Universitat der Kunste Berlin, Germany.
The KNSO, formerly known as the Korean Symphony Orchestra, is the country's only national orchestra. It currently consists of 78 members, and is helmed by Belgian artistic director David Reiland.
The Korea Times Spring Concert will be joined by Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, Korea-Africa Foundation President Leyo Woon-ki, Swedish Ambassador to Korea Daniel Wolven, Mexican Ambassador Carlos Penafiel, EU Ambassador Maria Castillo-Fernandez, Kazakh Ambassador Bakyt Dyussenbayev, Brazilian Ambassador Marcia Donner Abreu, Mexican Ambassador Adrian Garcia and Malaysian Ambassador Lim Juay Jin, among others.
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