By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter
Four rising male musicians of Korean descent have formed a chamber music ensemble project.
Ditto, comprising violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, pianist Lee Yoon-soo, violinist Johnny Lee and cellist Patrick Jee, will bring youthful, energetic but serious interpretations of classical masterpieces in its debut concert on June 20 at the Seoul Arts Center.
Ditto, short for the light-hearted music genre divertimento, popular in the 18th century, was initiated by O'Neill. The violist came up with an idea of starting an ensemble with close friends.
O'Neill, the recipient of the 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant, is one of the most popular violists in Korea. His second album ``Lachrymose'' was the bestseller among classical recordings last year and his 2006 solo concerts here were sold out. He is the only violist in the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center and the head violist of the Camerata Pacifica, a chamber group in California.
Pianist Lee made his name in the classical world through many competitions including the 1997 Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy, where he placed second and won three special awards.
Cellist Jee, hailed as a ``gifted virtuoso'' by critic Harris Goldsmith, has shone at many competitions, garnering top prizes at the Carlos Pieto International Cello Competition, the Andre Navarra Cello Competition and the Irving Klein International String Competition. Jee, a graduate of the master's program at the Yale School of Music, performs as a member of other groups such as the Sejong Soloists, the Camerata Nordica and the crossover Emergence.
Johnny Lee has been a member of many chamber ensembles before he became the first Korean member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He studied at Harvard University and Cleveland Institute of Music.
In the concert titled ``Ditto Effect,'' the four musicians will play Brahms Piano Quartet No.1 in G Minor (Op. 25), the sole number that they will perform together. Other pieces in the program include the first and sixth movements of Mozart's ``Divermento'' (K563), Chopin's ``Polonaise'' and Schubert's Piano Trio No.2 in E flat Major.
The ensemble will also make an appearance as soloists at the Moscow Chamber Orchestra's June 30 Concert at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.
Tickets for ``Ditto Effect'' cost 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 318-4302.