Top news in classical music

Conductor Claudio Abbado (1933-2014) smiles during a recording session in 2011. His death in January saddened many symphonic lovers around the world. / Courtesy of Universal Music

The Korea Times culture desk has selected four major news items in classical music that affected local fans this year. — ED.

By Do Je-hae

Deaths of 20th-century’s conducting icons

The unexpected deaths of two titans in conducting — Claudio Abbado and Lorin Maazel — were sand news for many Koreans fans.

Both in their 80s at the time of their passing earlier this year, they had left behind a profound impact in their profession through countless recordings and performances worldwide.

Abbado, who died at the age of 80 on Jan. 20, was particularly beloved here for his youthful and dynamic interpretations of Beethoven symphonies.

Former New York Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel (1930-2014) / Korea Times file

“Claudio Abbado’s contribution to musical life is inestimable, from the ensembles he created to his positions at La Scala, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Lucerne Festival,” said Max Hole, Universal Music International Chairman and CEO, in a statement. “He was truly one of the greats.”

A Deutsche Grammphon (DG) artist for more than 40 years, Abbado has a prolific discography with the prestigious German label. He made his first recording for DG in 1967 and his last in 2013, leaving behind an exceptional legacy that demonstrates his continuous development as a musician until the very last year of his life.

Some of the major posts that shaped his career are Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1968-86), the London Symphony Orchestra (1979-87), the Vienna Staatsoper (1986-91) and the Berlin Philharmonic (1989-2002).

Shostakovich week: An unprecedented series of Shostakovich concerts at Seoul Arts Center featured the Russian composer’s fifth symphony

His resume as a conductor may have peaked when he was appointed the music director of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1989, but some see his biggest legacy in what he did to nurture and encourage young musicians, as well as founding orchestras and festivals. He was an ardent orchestra builder, founding the Lucerne Festival Orchestra (LFO), the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Only six months after the death of the former Berlin Philharmonic, Maazel, a former violinist who became one of the most lauded conductors in the 20th century, passed away on July 13.

For many Korean music fans, his sudden death from pneumonia brought back memories of a historic peacemaking concert he led in Pyongyang in 2008. In his final season with the Philharmonic, Maazel led more than 100 musicians of his orchestra to Pyongyang.

Orchestral feud: A feud between Seoul Philharmonic CEO Park Hyung-jung, left, and music director Chung Myung-whun has tarnished the reputation of the nation’s top orchestra. Korea Times file / Courtesy of Universal Music

The New York Philharmonic concert in Pyongyang on Feb. 26, 2008 at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater was a breakthrough in North Korea-U.S. cultural relations. No American orchestra had done anything like this before. “It exceeded our expectations,” Maazel said. “After all, we were going to an unknown territory. But I felt so much warmth and enthusiasm coming from the audience.”

An unforgettable moment of the concert was their rendition of “Arirang,” a traditional tune that all of Korea — both South and North — knows. Being the first-rate musicians they are, Maazel and the orchestra performed the song, which was unfamiliar to them, like they had known it for years. “A ravishing tune,” Maazel said of “Arirang” during a WNYC radio interview a few days after the concert. “It’s been in the hearts of Koreans for many years. It’s about separation. It’s very nostalgic.”

He led many of the top orchestras in the U.S. and Europe throughout his career, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, “Orchestre National de France,” Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony. He was the first American to lead the Vienna State Opera. He succeeded Kurt Masur as music director of the New York Philharmonic in 2002.

Many Koreans also remember him as a conducting mentor for the renowned cellist Chang Han-na, who later became a conductor.

Shostakovich week

Orchestral concerts in Korea are predictable. Usually programs will consist of a symphony by either Beethoven or Tchaikovsky, with sporadic renditions of Mahler or Bruckner.

This autumn, it was a breath of fresh air to hear some intensive Shostakovich, a Russian composer and pianist whose music is rarely performed in Korea’s concert halls.

In an unprecedented move, two performances of Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5” took place in the course of a week at the Seoul Arts Center, on Nov. 19 and 22. The renowned Lativan conductor Mariss Jansons and the Munich-based Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra performed the concert on Nov. 19. Russian maestro Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow gave the Nov. 22 concert.

Although underappreciated in Korea compared to symphonists like Beethoven, Mahler or Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich was a prolific symphonist. His very first symphony, written when he was only 19, already showed promise of an incredible sense of musical innovation.

In a period influenced by Prokofiev and Stravinsky, Shostakovich developed a hybrid style, as exemplified by the 1934 opera “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.” This work combined a variety of trends, including the neo-classical style (showing the influence of Stravinsky) and post-Romanticism (after Mahler).

Schubert, another great symphonist who is rarely heard in Korea, appeared on a program of a Seoul Philharmonic concert in October. The orchestra played the Austrian composer’s final symphony “La Grande.”

Feud at Seoul Philharmonic

Korea top orchestra finds itself in an awkward situation, with is music director and CEO seemingly trying to drive each other out of the orchestra.

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) and its music director Chung Myung-whun have spent their last 10 years together with one primary goal in mind — to build a world-class orchestra.

Chung’s musical achievement with the SPO is hard to contest. Under his leadership, the orchestra signed a major contract with DG, a first for an Asian orchestra. It made a historic debut at the renowned BBC Proms in London this year, the only Asian orchestra to perform at such a high-profile event after orchestras in Tokyo.

But the SPO suffered a huge blow to its reputation in the last few weeks because of a feud that erupted in the media between SPO CEO Park Hyun-hung and Chung over a series of disputes regarding personnel management and other issues.

A press release this month by 17 members of the SPO’s administrative department requested the CEO’s removal and an internal investigation into misconduct.

Park claims that Chung and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon have concocted a conspiracy to remove her to ensure Chung stays on as music director after his contract expires at the end of this month.

The SPO board of directors will decide on Park’s removal this week.

Korean sweep at major competitions

Teenage pianist Moon Ji-young became the first Korean to win the Geneva Competition earlier this month. At age 18, she was the youngest participant. She is a student at the Korea National University of Arts, a top college in Seoul for nurturing classical musicians.

Past competition winners have included some of the most iconic pianists, including Martha Argerich, Maurizio Pollini and Friedrich Gulda.

Soprano Hwang Su-mi made headlines in June when she won Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth Competition. No Korean singer had won this competition before.

It is among the most coveted titles for budding musicians, along with Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition and the Chopin Competition in Warsaw.

Hwang began her studies at Seoul National University before pursuing them at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Munich. In 2012, she was a laureate at the International Competition of the ARD in Munich and the Anneliese Rothenberger Competition in Constance, Germany. She has sung with the Korea National Opera and the Prinzregententheater in Munich, among others.