Ars Nova concert celebrates 10th anniversary

An Ars Nova performance / Courtesy of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Composer Chin Un-suk who heads the Ars Nova series speaks during a press conference held on March 24. / Courtesy of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

By Yun Suh-young

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s (SPO) Ars Nova series, a series of contemporary classical music concerts, will open Wednesday at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul.

This is the 10th anniversary of the Ars Nova series, co-created by composer Chin Un-suk and former SPO conductor Chung Myung-whun, since it was established in April 2006.

The Ars Nova series has, for the past decade, hosted 40 concerts introducing new and rising local musicians to audiences as well as styles that have never before been played on Korean soil. It has also commissioned a composer every year to introduce a new work for the first time to the public.

During a press conference held ahead of the first concert marking its 10th anniversary, composer Chin, who has led the Ars Nova series since its inception, said she was overwhelmed to have continued the series for a decade.

"It's very meaningful to be hosting this event. The Ars Nova series has for the past decade introduced important and rare repertoires that were not easily accessible and have barely been introduced to the public," she said.

"The number of Korean premieres amount to 170 and there were numerous Asian premieres and even a handful of world premieres. We are very proud of our achievement in raising Korea's classical music scene to the global standard. The event has grown to become the most influential contemporary music performance in Asia."

Chin noted that the series will continue to introduce more pieces to audiences.

For this year's Ars Nova series, Canadian conductor Kwame Ryan will raise the baton and Isang Enders will play the cello. Korean-German Enders is participating in the event for the second time following his first and widely praised appearance in 2014.

"Two years ago I discovered that it's possible to establish something very good by having a vision about how music should improve," said Enders, when asked how he felt about participating in Ars Nova when he was first approached two years ago.

"It was not about trying to please the audience. It was important to make contemporary music audible to the general public and even for the few people it's worth doing," he said.

The Ars Nova series will offer two concerts this year ― the first, a chamber concert, on March 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the second, an orchestral concert, on April 5 at 8 p.m. at LG Arts Center.

For the first concert, York Holler's "Fluchtpunkte for 5 Instrumentalists" will be making its Asian premiere and Esa-Pekka Salonen's "Mania" for solo cello and ensemble will be making its Korean premiere. Commissioned composer for this year Choi Ji-youn will be showcasing her new work for ensemble, "Delusion." Other works include Gyorgy Ligeti's "Sonata for cello" solo and Paul Hindemith's "Kammermusik Nr. 1, Op. 24."

For the second concert, Ivan Fedele's "Lexicon II" for orchestra will be making its Asian premiere (jointly commissioned by SPO and Radio France) while Dmitrii Shostakovich's "Suite from the Opera 'Lady Macbeth of Mzensk'" (arranged by James Conlon) will be making its Korean premiere. The highlight of the concert will be French contemporary music legend Henri Dutilleux's representative work "Tout un Monde Lointain..." for cello and orchestra performed by Isang Enders. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Dutilleux's birth.

Meanwhile, for those who are not well-acquainted with contemporary music, a free pre-concert lecture by Chin will take place 40 minutes before each concert to explain the program notes.

For more information, call 1588-1210.