Strings to Quiver, Snap in Concerts
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The deep, humanly warm voice of string instruments have made them star protagonists in the narrative of music. Hoam Art Hall, downtown Seoul, celebrates its first quarter-century anniversary with musical zest, offering a series of string concerts beginning Jan. 22. Different members of the string family will appear alone or in groups, to quiver in maudlin moods or even snap with attitude.
Sejong Soloists, the critically acclaimed conductor-less orchestra, opens the new year season with one-of-a-kind performances, which will be followed by Chen Xi's violin recital and a set by Ensemble TIMF.
Sejong Soloists
Sejong Soloists' first concert on Jan. 22 features Earl Kim's ``Dear Linda.'' The ensemble gave the Korean premiere of the piece at the 2008 International Great Mountains Music Festival & School (GMMFS), Gangwon Province, and the upcoming event will be a rare opportunity to hear the work.
For ``Dear Linda,'' the esteemed Korean-American composer added musical notes to a letter that Pulitzer-winning poet Anne Saxton wrote to her daughter. Husky-voiced veteran actress Youn Yuh-jeong will provide the narration.
Also included in the program is Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin and Piano in D minor, featuring New York-based violinist Daniel Cho and Cho Sung-jin, who emerged as a pianist to watch out for in 2009 as the youngest-ever winner at a couple of international piano competitions.
On Jan. 24, the ensemble members will showcase a fiery faceoff that is appropriately named ``The Players.'' Four violin soloists, including Chen Xi, Choi Jae-won and Chun-wen Hwang, will measure their strings against one another in Maurer's Concertante for Four Violins.
Kagel's ``Match for Three Players'' will set up two cellists in a playful competition reminiscent of a tennis match, complete with a percussionist as a ``referee.'' The German-Argentinean composer is known for giving music a theatrical streak, and in the piece each player defiantly scratches, taps and snaps the strings.
Sejong Soloists is based in New York under the auspices of esteemed Professor Hyo Kang. Tickets cost 30,000 to 50,000 won.
Chen Xi
In addition to playing with Sejong Soloists, talented young violinist Chen Xi will give a solo recital at Hoam Art Hall, Jan. 26.
The concert marks the first of the concert hall's Rising Star Series. He will showcase a colorful concert featuring strikingly different works by Beethoven, Sarasate and Wei Zhao.
Born in China in 1984, Chen studied music in his hometown alongside the pianist Lang Lang. He continued to build his craft in the United States, receiving high praise from such maestros as Pinchas Zukerman and Izhak Perlman.
He has appeared with top local orchestras for concertos and is set to appear as a soloist in the KBS Symphony Orchestra's New Year Concert, Jan. 9 at Seoul Arts Center. He will play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major.
The recital is expected to provide a multidimensional view of the 25-year-old Chinese artist. Pianist Lim Hyo-sun will provide the accompaniment. Tickets cost 20,000 won.
For more information about the concerts, visit www.hoamarthall.org or call 1577-5266.