Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
'Music in PyeongChang' calls on audience to ponder meaning of being alive
Son Yeol-eum, pianist and artistic director of “Music in PyeongChang,” speaks during a press conference held to promote the biannual classic festival at the Korea Press Center, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
The poster for “San, Alive,” the summer series of the biannual classic festival, “Music in PyeongChang.” Courtesy of Music In PyeongChang
“Music in PyeongChang,” a biannual classical music concert, will be held in Gangwon Province from July 28 to Aug. 7. The concert, which began in 2004, aims to get the audience to ponder the meaning of being “alive” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The concert is titled, “San (Korean), Alive,” using the Korean word meaning both “mountain” and “alive.” Up to 22 concerts will be performed by leading artists from Korea and abroad in various concert halls around the mountainous province, about 100 kilometers northeast of Seoul.
Most of the main concerts, or 12 programs, will be held at the Alpensia Concert Hall inside the Alpensia Resort in Pyeongchang, while two special and seven outreach concerts will take place at diverse venues around Gangwon Province. Also, 18 artists will offer music classes.
“As I travel a lot to perform overseas, I often compare Korea with other countries. I thought I could see a lot of mountains in Korea, while not many people outside of Korea can enjoy them,” Son Yeol-eum, artistic director of the classical music festival, said during a press conference at the Korea Press Center, Seoul, Tuesday. “When I read out loud the word 'san' in Korean (meaning mountain in English), it gives me the impression of being full of life. Also, I ended up thinking a lot about its other meaning, 'alive,' which is the opposite of death. Personally, I had to self-quarantine five times, or 10 weeks total, in Korea due to the pandemic. I just woke up, ate something and went to bed and did this over and over again. I wondered whether this could be called living. This experience made me think about life more.”
Starting with J. Brahms' “Violin Concerto in D major Op. 77” by violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, under the title of “Flesh,” on July 28, the 12 main programs will present both rare and familiar pieces for Korean audiences.
“Alive vs. Dead,” the highlight of the festival, is scheduled to be held on Aug. 2, with Son playing a piano arrangement of Stravinsky's “Petrushka.” A. Schonberg's “Moonstruck Pierrot” will be played by artists, such as soprano Seo Ye-ri and violinist Svetlin Roussev, who will also be directing. A dance performance by choreographer Kim Seol-jin will be performed to the Schonberg piece.
“I chose the repertoires, because they express the timeless value of classical music. That's what I stressed the most in organizing this event.” Son said.
Also performing will be renowned artists, including pianists Paik Kun-woo and Paik Hae-sun, as well as Lio Kuokman, the newly-appointed resident conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. It will be the first time that Paik and Kuokman perform at the music festival. Along with the musicians, the PyeongChang Festival Orchestra, led by conductor Cha Woong, and largely consisting of Korean performers mainly from overseas orchestras, along with foreign performers working in Korea, will perform in four shows.
Rare classical repertoires, such as composer Yun Yi-sang's “Tapis for String Quintet”; John Adams's “Shaker Loops”; Bach's “Chaconne from Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004”; Dvorak's “Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104”; F. Liszt's “Les preludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3” and E. Humperdink's “Hansel und Gretel Overture” will be played.