Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Building world-class orchestras
Haffner's German classic on 30 finest ensembles published in Korean
By Do Je-hae
By Do Je-hae
Germany is the birthplace of numerous composers and musicians who have made indispensable contributions to Western classical music. Naturally, the European country has also been an active publisher of important literature on Western classical music as well.
Not being able to speak German can be frustrating for many Korean fans, because there is so much fine literature on the subject that has been available only in German.
The Korean version of “Orchestras of the World” (Orchester der Welt; Kyung Dang Publishing House: 778 pp., 39,000 won), the story of the world’s finest 30 orchestras, was recently published here. It is one of the most comprehensive books every written on the history of top orchestras in Europe and North America.
Herbert Haffner, a German culture critic, has published several renowned book on orchestras and conductors, including the acclaimed 2003 “Furtwangler,” the story of the former director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) and predecessor of Herbert von Karajan. A regular columnist with many newspapers and magazines in Germany, Haffner also published a book on the establishment of the BPO.
The “Orchestras of the World” has been one of the most popular books in the field of classical music in Germany for the past 20 years. It is the only book by him that has been translated to Korea.
“Although Korea and Germany are geographically far apart, they enjoy an active cultural exchange, particularly in classical music,” Haffner wrote in the preface to mark the Korean version of his key literary output. “Many Korean students passionate about music are studying in German universities. Orchestras like the BPO or the Munich Philharmonic have toured in Korea.”
Haffner said that of the 30,000 Koreans living in Germany, 1,000 are musicians. The famous Korean composer Chin Un-suk, who was lauded by BPO music director Sir Simon Rattle during their October visit to Seoul, resides in Berlin.
Korean musicians are increasingly joining German orchestras like the Hamburg Philharmonic, where a young Korean female violinist serves as the concertmaster.
Haffner’s book is extremely detailed. It is almost 800 pages, giving it an almost encyclopedic feel. The focus of this book is the history of world-renowned orchestras, rather than an introduction of key music directors or definitive recordings.
Because such a book is rare here, many classical music fans have longed for its publication in Korean.
The book is relevant for Korean classical musicians as more of them are going abroad to study and find orchestral positions.
Based on the latest achievements of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) under Chung Myung-whun, Korea considers itself an Asian frontrunner in its quest for a global orchestra, after Japan.
Japan already has the globally acclaimed NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra, numbered 19th in the countdown of the 20 best orchestras by Gramophone magazine in 2009.
Haffner wrote that a 2006 list of top 10 orchestras by “Le Monde de la Musique,” started with the Vienna Philharmonic and ended with the Philharmonia Orchestra. In between were the familiar names like the BPO as well as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO), London Symphony (LSO) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO), which are all due to give concerts in Seoul in 2012.
Although it is not likely that a Korean orchestra will ever make it to such lists in the near future, Chung’s SPO has been making headway in a quest for a world-class orchestra. Particularly after its engagement with the Deutsche Grammophon this year and a series of successful summer European tours, morale of the SPO has been high.
But some members of the media and critics have not been very forthcoming with compliments about the SPO and Chung’s efforts. When Chung was involved in a recent scandal over his “excessive salary,” some were publicly skeptical of whether Chung was really worth 2 billion won ($1.7 million) a year, claiming that he had done enough to upgrade the SPO on the world stage.
Lessons for Korean orchestras
A compelling lesson from Haffner’s book for Koreans impatient about orchestral success is that it takes years, even more than a century sometimes, and the right leader at the right time to nurture fine ensembles like the BPO.
The top German orchestra is more than 100 years old, as with many orchestras that Korean symphonic lovers can’t get enough of, like the RCO and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is more than 300 years old and had iconic composers like Felix Mendelssohn as its music directors.
So any comparison with European or even U.S. orchestras is irrational. What Koreans should aim for is to do the best they can and not set a time frame for brisk success under a certain music director.
Orchestras like the BPO are not the work of one music director. It is the combined outcome of many past music directors and the present one.
A timely leader is important for any organization, but particularly for an orchestra, a music director can often serve as a crucial factor that can make or break an ensemble.
Haffner’s book illustrates how some of the maestros led their orchestras through tough financial times or eased musicians into leadership changes through open and whole-hearted communication, like maestro Claudio Abbado had done with the BPO after the departure of Karajan in 1989.