By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter
Child prodigy-turned-young virtuoso cellist Chang Han-na is set to expand her musical diversity, not by adding a new piece to her already broad repertoire but by taking on a whole new musical role _ conducting an orchestra.
Chang will make her debut as conductor Sunday during the first Seongnam International Youth Orchestra Festival, the nation's first youth orchestra festival from May 22-27 at the Seongnam Art Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
Chang, 24, will wield the baton for a joint orchestra comprised of members from five orchestras from South Korea, Germany and China, who are participating in the festival. The participating orchestras are the Seongnam Youth Orchestra, the Seoul Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gwacheon City Youth Orchestra, the Brandenburg Youth Orchestra and the Shenyang Youth Orchestra.
``When I got into a university, my father told me that as a musician I have to give something back to society,'' Chang said in a press conference at a Seoul hotel Monday. ``I would like to help children make friends with the classical music they think is boring.''
For the debut, Chang took lessons from James DePriest, famed conductor and professor at the Julliard School for four years. ``I had an audition and he decided to teach me. He told me he'd had concerns before the audition as to whether I was doing it for fun.''
However, conducting is more than fun to Chang. She said it is an honor to have the chance to stand on the conductor's podium in a real concert, adding that the new challenge also has a special meaning to her as a musician.
``The greatest instrument in classical music is the orchestra,'' Chang said. ``It will be my first experience conducting a real concert. A musician has to continuously make new challenges.''
Chang's new musical venture resembles that of maestro Mstislav Rostropovich, her master who earned fame as one of the greatest cellists of our time and a gifted conductor. Chang put her name on the map at the Fifth Rostropovich International Cello Competition in October 1994 in Paris. She won both the First Prize and the Contemporary Music Prize in the competition when she was just 11 years old. This formed the basis of the master-disciple relationship between Chang and the Russian maestro.
``Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to talk with him (Rostropovich) about my conducting debut as he was sick,'' Chang said. Rostropovich died at 80 last month after a long illness. ``I learned a lot from his life and passion as a musician. I respect that he achieved so much in what he desired for music.''
Working with the world's celebrated conductors for the past 12 years such as Giuseppe Sinopoli and Lorin Maazel gave her tips in conducting as well, Chang said. ``I wonder what I would look like on the podium when I practice in front of a mirror,'' Chang said. ``An orchestra is the instrument for a conductor. It was hard since I have to practice by myself without having an orchestra present.''
Chang will conduct the joint orchestra on the last day of the festival in its performance of Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A Major (Op.92), Prokofiev Symphony No.1 in D Major (Op.25) and Beethoven's Coriolan Overture in C Minor (Op. 62). She personally organized the program comprised of pieces she thought both young performers and audiences would enjoy.
The concert will not be the last opportunity to see her on the conductor's podium since she has some 30 batons, including 10 from DePriest. Chang is also scheduled to host a special television program series on Beethoven, in which she wields the baton and explains the works of the great composer. The series of 15 episodes will begin broadcasting in June for one year, and is aimed at attracting young viewers to classical music.
Her ultimate goal is to deliver the finest performances as both a soloist and conductor, Chang said. ``I will come back to Korea as a soloist to perform Vivaldi concertos next year,'' she said.
Tickets for each concert at the orchestra festival are 10,000 won, except for the closing concert which costs from 10,000 won to 50,000 won. For more information, call (031) 783-8000.