By April Choi
Contributing Writer
Among the lush green hills of Pyeongchang, the Great Mountain festival transcends the sleepy ski resort village. It becomes vibrant in the summer with happily chattering music students everywhere and music floating from the windows. Idyllic, the festival, now in its fourth run, is conducted in Aspen music festival fashion. During the day, classes and lectures take place for the students that the public can also observe. At night, renowned performers take the stage. The catchphrase for this year's festival, ``Visionary,’’ was explored in various ways including experimental pieces by contemporary composers and the ``performance’’ of a multimedia artist.
The majority of concerts are held in Nunmaul Hall, a small and cozy venue with seating for a few hundred. Makeshift black chairs are set up in rows, and can be a little uncomfortable after a while. The diverse audience is comprised of young couples, families with children, middle-aged and elderly folks along with the ubiquitous music students, a few who are lugging instruments. Foreigners are scattered here and there amongst the Koreans who make up the majority of students. For those unable to get tickets or who wish to enjoy music in a more relaxed setting, a giant screen and chairs are set up on the lawn.
The concert on Saturday featured Mozart, Tan Dun and Schoenberg. Robert Blocker on piano, and the Sejong Soloists, the ensemble in residence, played Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-flat major. Executed with great vigor, at times the music achieved the effect of a murmuring brook. An intimate piece, it seemed suited to being played in the great outdoors in a lawn setting.
Tan Dun's ``Elegy: Snow in June" is performed for the first time in Asia by cellist Andres Diaz and four percussionists. Known for his score for the film ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," his Elegy is based on a thirteenth-century Chinese drama. An innocent woman is executed and all nature protests by having snowfall in June, a drought last for three years and her blood flying upwards.
Probably the most visually appealing, various instruments make themselves heard including xylophones, chimes, gongs, bells, timpani, bongos and other effects such as whistles and paper to be torn. Starting off with the cello keening, the music rises to a peak in the middle then ends again with fragmentary phrases. The use of percussion evokes nature's rage and pandemonium that proved startling at times.
Verklarte Nacht, one of Schoenberg's most popular works uses sonority and chromatics to good effect, depicting various images in the poem that the composer used as inspiration. On a moonlit night, a man and a woman walk through a winter forest when the woman confesses a secret to her lover. The visiting Keller Quartet and Appel and Schmidt give due to the passionate nature of the string sextet and play with ardor.
The festival showcases many brilliant performers and those up-and-coming. For the classical music lovers in Korea, it's an event not to be missed.
The Great Mountain International Music Festival runs through Aug 26. Tickets start from 20,000 won ($22). The YongPyong Resort, located 200 kilometers east of Seoul, is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Seoul and a four-hour drive from Incheon International Airport. For more information, call (02) 584-5494 or visit www.gmmfs.com.
April.k.choi@gmail.com