Three Cities Honor Late Isang Yun
In celebration of the 90th birthday of the late Isang Yun (1917-1995), the 2007 Isang Yun Festival will pay homage to the renowned Korean-German composer through a variety of programs in Koreas and Germany, Sept.16-Nov.10.
Hailed as a genius, Isang Yun’s works resonate with the vibrant tone of Korean traditional music, yet are deeply rooted in the European tradition. “His composing manner blends Eastern and Western elements into a unique personal style, into the art of gliding transition in the spirit of Tao,” the Isang Yun Peace Foundation described his music.
Born during the Japanese occupation period, Yun was recognized for his role in the resistance movement against colonial rule during his youth. He went on to study in Paris and Berlin, 1956-59.
In Berlin, Yun studied with former Schonberg-disciple Josef Rufer, and became part of the international avant-garde. The premiere of the orchestral “Reak” at the 1966 Donaueschingen Festival led to his international breakthrough.
But the composer’s life took an unexpected turn when, in 1967, he was abducted by the Korean secret police, along with his wife I Soo-ja. Yun was accused of “high treason” in the highly contested political scandal known as the East Berlin spy incident.
In a show trial he was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released in 1969 following international protests led by Igor Stravinsky and Herbert von Karajan. Two years later he became a German citizen.
Yun’s wife I Soo-ja, 80, has long struggled to restore the honor of her husband here, and will arrive in Seoul Tuesday for what will be the first time in 40 years the Isang Yun Peace Foundation announced Thursday.
They say a true artist transcends one’s personal struggles and creates something new: “A composer cannot view the world in which he lives with indifference. Human suffering, oppression, injustice... all that comes to me in my thoughts.
Where there is pain, where there is injustice, I want to have a say in it through my music,” Yun was quoted as saying in 1983. Yun’s oeuvre includes more than 100 works, including four operas and numerous concertos. Harmony and peace resound in his works, as the reunification of the two Koreas remained his political goal throughout his life.
He received the Distinguished Service Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1988 and the Goethe Medal of the Goethe Institute in 1995.
The musician died Nov. 3, 1995 in Berlin, and was interred in a grave of honor bestowed upon by the City Senate. In 1984, North Korea established the Isang Yun Music Institute in Pyongyang, followed by a museum and orchestra in his memory. The International Isang Yun Society was founded in Berlin in 1996 and the Seoulbased Isang Yun Peace Foundation was launched in 2005.
The 2007 festival commemorates the life and music of Isang Yun through a series of events, including the First International Isang Yun Music Prize, organized by Isang Yun organizations of Seoul and Berlin, and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Korea. Visit www.yunmusicprize.org for more information.
The prize will be presented for the best composition of a new piece for a chamber ensemble or small orchestra. A total of 91 pieces from 23 countries have been submitted. The works by the five finalists from Malaysia, Korea, Chile, Spain and China will be staged Sept.15 at Seoul Arts Center.
The jury, comprising experts from Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Korea, will oversee the competition and the winners will be presented at the award ceremony on the Sunday.
A total of 10 domestic and two overseas performances will commemorate Yun. Highlights include the first concert by the newly founded Isang Yun Ensemble Seoul, Sep. 18 at the Seoul Arts Center. The ensemble is composed of 18 renowned musicians including Kim Min, music director of the Korean Chamber Orchestra, as violinist; American/Swiss conductor Francis Travis as honorary conductor; and Satoki Aoyama, principal oboist from Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra.
They will perform pieces such as “Oktett” (1978) for the clarinet, bassoon, horn and five strings. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 30,000 won. Cantata “Mein Land, mien Volk! (My Land, My Countrymen)” (1986-87) will be staged in Korea for the first time Sep. 20, at the Busan Cultural Center. The Busan City Orchestra will play under the direction of Gwak Seung with Hanulim Choir.
The 26th Isang Yun Concert will take place in Pyongyang, Oct.20-22 (subject to change). In Berlin, performances by the Isang Yun Ensemble Berlin will give and special workshops and symposiums will take place Nov. 8-10.
For a full list of festival events and more information about Yun, visit www.isangyun.org. For ticket information, call (02) 723-0634 or 1588-7890.