Weekender Isang Yun’s Discordant Harmony Fills Tongyeong
Tongyeong International Music Festival (TIMF) Opens March 27-April 2
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
They say a true artist transcends one's personal struggles and creates something new: ``A composer cannot view the world in which he lives with indifference. Human suffering, oppression, injustice... all that comes to me in my thoughts. Where there is pain, where there is injustice, I want to have a say in it through my music,'' the late composer Isang Yun (1917-1995) was quoted as saying in 1983.
Born in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), Yun was recognized in his youth for partaking in the resistance movement against colonial rule. After studying music in Korea and Japan, he made his way to Europe in the 1950s.
In Berlin, Yun became part of the international avant-garde and gained international prominence with his orchestral piece ``Reak'' at the 1966 Donaueschingen Festival.
The composer's life, however, took an unexpected turn in 1967 when he became implicated in a political scandal called the East Berlin spy incident. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released two years later following international protests by Herbert von Karajan and other esteemed musicians. Exiled from his home country, he became a German citizen.
Yun Immortalized by His Music
Yun's oeuvre includes more than 100 works, which resonate with his longing for Korea, hope and peace. He received the Distinguished Service Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, among other honors, and was interred in a grave of honor bestowed by the City Senate when he died in 1995.
In 1984, North Korea established the Isang Yun Music Institute in Pyongyang, followed by a museum and orchestra in his tribute. The International Isang Yun Society was founded in Berlin in 1996 and the Seoul-based Isang Yun Peace Foundation was launched in 2005. In 2007, Yun's widow I Soo-ja, who had been banished with her husband, returned to Korea for the first time in 40 years. His lifelong wish of reunification of the two Koreas has yet to be realized.
Tongyeong: Bridging East, West
Yun's works are deeply rooted in the European tradition, but they also embody the vibrant tone of Korean traditional music. ``His composing manner blends Eastern and Western elements into a unique personal style, into the art of gliding transition in the spirit of Tao,'' said the Isang Yun Peace Foundation.
In the small port city of Tongyeong, hometown of the late composer, camellias take full bloom and the warm spring breeze lingers by. The 9th Tongyeong International Music Festival (TIMF) will be held from March 27 to April 2, with 17 main performances commemorating Yun and his defiant originality. This year's theme, ``East and West,'' was inspired by his 1994 piece, ``Ost-West-Miniaturen'' (East-West Duet) for oboe and cello. Indeed, the Korean-German musician's scenic hometown will tide over with his surging, discordant harmonies as premier musicians gather from the both sides of Earth's hemisphere.
``TIMF will become an important gateway for artists of the East and West,'' TIMF's future artistic director Alexander Liebreich was quoted as saying in an interview with Yonhap News. The dashing 41-year-old conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra will lead TIMF for three years beginning 2011. ``As a German, it is a great honor and new adventure to assume the artistic directorship of TIMF,'' he said.
The conductor said that Yun was an artist who not only musically inspired German composers but also introduced new instruments. ``He created the first bridge between Europe and Asia with classical music,'' he said.
Must-See Performances
The Munich Chamber Orchestra, led by Liebreich, will grace the opening event March 27 at the Main Hall of Tongyeong Arts Center with Yun's ``Kammersinfonie I'' (1987). Also featured in the program are works by contemporary musicians such as ``Cloud and Light for Sho and Orchestra'' (2008) by Japanese artist T. Hosokawa. Mayumi Miyata, a player of ``sho'' (a Japanese free-reed wind instrument whose Korean equivalent is called ``saenghwang''), will appear as soloist for the latter piece.
Those who cannot travel to Tongyeong will have a chance to hear the Munich Chamber Orchestra's performances March 29 at Daejeon Art Center and March 31 at LG Arts Center, southern Seoul.
Concertgoers can also look forward to hearing the Northern Sinfonia, March 31. Thomas Zehetmair , artistic director of the ensemble and celebrated violinist, will both conduct and play the solo for the Korean premiere of B. Britten's Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in B Minor. Pianist Choi Hie-yon, a resident artist of TIMF, will join him.
Also not to be missed are the Night Studio concerts, which begin at 10 p.m., and fans can enjoy music deep into the night. On March 29, the Polish Radio Choir will perform Yun's chorus a cappella piece ``Ein Schmetterlingstraum'' (1968). Other special guests include Bartosz Koziak, a charming young Polish cellist who won the Isang Yun Competition three years ago. Celebrated gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos will perform March 28 at the Main Hall before his performance the following evening at Seoul Arts Center.
Apart from the official concerts, TIMF 2009 Fringe will have various artists give live performances ranging from classical and rock to dance and musicals, at various venues during any time of the day.
The festival will come to a close April 2 with Gustav Mahler's definitive ``Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth).'' This grand scale piece is the ninth of Mahler's symphonies, but is not titled ``Symphony No. 9'' due to the supposed ``jinxed'' number nine. Nevertheless, it is a tribute to Beethoven's famous ``Choral'' and possesses strong remnants of early 20th-century Romanticism. Conductor Gerhard Muller-Hornbach will lead Ensemble TIMF, joined by tenor Kim Suk-chul and alto Melinda Paulsen will.
Tickets for the 17 official concerts range from 10,000 to 80,000. Festival-goers can purchase a Red Pass for 150,000 won or Blue Pass for 90,000 won for admission to all 17 official concerts. The former grants access to ``R'' seats (50,000 won) in large halls or ``A'' seats (20,000 won) in small halls, while the latter is for less prestigious seats.
For more information about the festival, visit www.timf.org.
Tongyeong, Naples of Korea
Tongyeong is often called ``the land of the sea'' that glistens with waves and pearls. One major attraction is a pedestrian underwater tunnel, which connects the city with an island called Mireukdo. At Mireukdo, visitors will hardly miss the pencil-shaped lighthouse. Other sites to visit are Chungryeolsa Temple, situated not far from the Tongyeong Bridge, the Pearl Museum, and Hallyeo National Marine Park.
Visitors cannot leave Tongyeong without tasting the local cuisine. Some favorites are ``chungmu gimbab,'' or laver rice rolls served with kimchi, fresh ``hoe'' (sashimi) and ``bukguk,'' or spicy swellfish hot pot. Seoulites can also get a taste of the region in the city, at Choongmoojip in downtown Seoul (see related restaurant review on the dining section).
Korean Air offers one-hour flights between Seoul's Gimpo Airport and Sacheon Airport in Jinju. Call 1588-8000. Buses between Seoul and Tongyeong run up to 18 times a day. There are also buses to and from Jinju, Gwangju, Pohang, Daejeon, Daegu, Masan and Busan. Call (055) 644-0017~8.
For more information, visit eng.tongyeong.go.kr.