Annual chamber music 'Ditto Festival' offers last season

From left, violinist Stefan Pi Jackiw, violinist Yu-Chien Tseng, a page-turner, pianist George Li, cellist James Kim and violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill play Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44, during a press conference in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Credia

By Anna J. Park

After a successful 12 years, the Ditto Festival, Korea's largest annual chamber music event, opened its final installment this month. Titled “Magic of Ditto,” the 18-day festival is currently underway at various venues, including the Seoul Arts Center and the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center until June 29.

The last season of the annual ensemble music festival began last week, with violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, who has been the music director of the festival since its beginning back in 2007, and pianist Jeremy Denk, performing various pieces including Schumann's “Three Fantasy Pieces” and “Fairy Tale Pictures.”

This week's Ditto performances start Wednesday at the Seoul Arts Center, with Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44 as well as other chamber music pieces that the festival has showcased over the past 12 years.

“It's funny that we've had this festival for so long, and we've never played Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet, which is perhaps one of the most popular pieces. The second half of the program is memories ― memories of the past 12 years, including works by Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak, and it will be a nice tribute to all of our musical memories,” O'Neill said during a press conference in Seoul, Monday.

Long-time Ditto ensemble members, such as violinist Stefan Pi Jackiw, have also joined the festival to commemorate the final season.

“It's such a pleasure to be back here in Seoul with Ensemble Ditto. I was in the Ensemble Ditto for nine years, so pretty much most of my 20s were spent with this group, and I have so many happy memories, and it's also the longest project that I've ever been a part of. Playing with the Ensemble Ditto every summer, they became like my brothers, I learned a lot about the pieces, and just how to be a thoughtful musician through my experiences with the Ensemble Ditto,” said Jackiw.

Grammy-award winning violinist Daniel Chong will hold his long-overdue first recital in Korea next Thursday, presenting Olivier Messiaen's “Theme et Variations,” Prokofiev's “Violin Sonata No. 1” and Schubert's “Fantasy in C Major.”

The festival also shines a light on lesser-known contemporary classical music. Next Friday, one of the most promising young composers, Choi Jae-hyuck, will present some of his original compositions, including “Self in Mind 1,” and “Dust of Light for Ensemble.”

For the finale, violist O'Neill, violinist Yu-Chien Tseng and cellist James Kim will play with the Goyang Symphony Orchestra at the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center next Saturday, presenting Saint-Saens' “Cello Concerto No.1” and Berlioz' “Harold in Italy.”

Violist and Ditto Festival's music director Richard Yongjae O'Neill speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Credia

O'Neill said he was glad that he has contributed to expanding the audiences for chamber music in Korea over the past years with the festival, despite the lesser-known charms of the music genre.

“Chamber music is, all across the world, not just Korea, it's just a little bit of a harder-sell to the general public, it's not quite as flashy or big; it's not quite as a blockbuster in the sense of other genres, but to me, it's the most intimate, direct conversation,” said O'Neill, adding that now the situation is much better with the new audiences, who enjoy the genre.

Addressing why the still-popular music festival is ending with this season, O'Neill said while his love for music stays consistent, it's just time to move on. Yet he stressed that the joy of sharing of music with audiences through the platform of “Ditto Festival” has been such a privilege for him. Expressing deep gratitude for his fellow musicians and audiences, he added he hopes someone from a new generation will carry the tradition forward.

“Music is endlessly fascinating, and maybe my one regret is that maybe we could have gone on longer, I have so many ideas of other pieces that I totally forgot, or I didn't get the chance the chance to perform. The Brahms Piano Quintet, have we ever played Opus 34? No, that's a pity for me, because I'd love to share that. But you know, my final vision is that somebody will step up and do something new, you know. That's the future's job. I want to surround myself with music more and more, I leave the gauntlet to somebody young and fresh that knows what they want do, and I wish them all the best luck,” O'Neill said.

From left, musicians Yu-Chien Tseng, Yongjae O'Neill, George Li, James Kim, Stefan Pi Jackiw, Choi Jae-hyuck and Kim Han pose for a photo after a press conference in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Credia