By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Celebrated pianist, conductor and above all, musical inspiration, Christoph Eschenbach perhaps lives not only by music but also for it. The 67-year-old German native shared how music forever changed his life with reporters in Seoul, the final destination of his Asia tour with the Orchestre de Paris.
Eschenbach first rose to fame as a concert pianist under the wing of the great Herbert von Karajan and George Szell, and visited Korea twice as a pianist in the 1970s and `80s.
Orphaned, traumatized and silenced by World War II, Eschenbach learned to speak again through music, growing up in a musical foster family.
``As you know, I had a very difficult childhood. I was searching for a means to express things that were trapped inside of me, and music was the ultimate medium for that. I threw myself into music as a child, and felt happy for the first time in my life,'' he said during a private press meeting in a Seoul hotel, Saturday.
``Music guides humanity toward beauty and peace. It is a universal language for translating the emotions, and transcends language, race, religion and borders,'' he said.
Ever since his first encounter with a symphony orchestra at the age of 11, the musician nurtured his dream to take the baton himself. He currently serves as music director for not only Orchestre de Paris but for the Philadelphia Orchestra as well, and visited Korea with the American troupe in 2005. It was part of the Kumho World Orchestra Series, and Eschenbach paid tribute to the late Kumho Asiana CEO Park Seong-yawng, whom he remembers as ``a great lover of classical music who made contributions to the genre in Korea,'' and recalls the performance as ``a very touching moment.''
Orchestra de Paris performed here for the first time in 23 years, Sunday, at Goyang Aram Nuri Art Complex in Gyeonggi Province. He was a little late for the press meeting because he was speaking with cellist Yang Sung-won, who accompanied the orchestra as soloist for Dvorak's Cello Concerto in b minor Op. 104. He expressed his excitement about performing with such ``an excellent cellist,'' and also sharing ``parts of the French spirit here.''
He also spoke about his crossing paths with other Korean musical talents, such as pianist Paik Kun-woo. ``I know Paik very, very well, we've known each other for years now. I met him about 30 years ago… and I was very impressed by him. He's in fact one of Orchestre de Paris's favorite piano soloists, and we regularly invite him to play with us,'' he said.
The musician also said he had performed with violinists Sarah Chang and Chung Kyung-hwa, and that the first violinist and first violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra were also Korean. ``I'm always surprised by the energy of Korean musicians, their temperament and understanding of Western music,'' he said.
The conductor has long been committed to the performance of contemporary music, notably pieces by Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulez. Eschenbach is also known for giving substantial guidance to young artists such as Chinese pianist Lang Lang and American soprano Renee Fleming.
When told that Lang Lang, who visited Korea a few days ago, considers him one of his ``idols,'' the reserved musician's face lit up and said how he himself is a ``fan'' of the young man, and emphasized how it is of utmost importance for conductors to support young talent.
``If we didn't support them, imagine how lonely they'd be... For me, (guiding young artists) is not a duty but a passion,'' he said.
As for the future of his musical career, Eschenbach said he has numerous projects ahead of him.
``I am a very curious man, and have many ideas. With all I've done in my life, in my music _ conducting symphony orchestras and operas, playing the piano, taking part in chamber groups and accompanying great singers _ I've done all that is possible in music. I also played the violin and viola…
``But there still remain open horizons. I have many different roots in music, and I am not afraid of the future,'' he said, eyes glimmering brightly despite his fatigue from the international tour.
The maestro said he is looking forward to exciting projects in the near future, including performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, staging the opera ``King Lear'' with German composer Herman and a ``surprising'' piano project, which remains yet to be announced.
Christoph Eschenbach will lead the Orchestre de Paris to perform rarely heard French pieces by Ravel and Berlioz at Seoul Art Center tonight. To learn more about the maestro, visit www.christoph-eschenbach.com, which is available in multiple languages.