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| The 4th M-PAT Classical Music Festival will kick off on Sept. 3 and run through Oct. 24. From left, soprano Choi Yun-jung, baritone Park Soo-kil, Mapo Cultural Foundation CEO Lee Chang-ki, and opera director Lee Hoe-soo join a press conference held at the Press Center in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Mapo Cultural Foundation |
By Anna J. Park
Programs of the 4th M-PAT Classical Music Festival unveiled
A slew of classical concerts and operas are in store at various places throughout Seoul this autumn.
The Mapo Cultural Foundation, the organizer of the 4th M-PAT (Mapo Performing Arts & Tourism) Classical Music Festival, has released its full-packed program of some 70 concerts and performances with over 500 artists joining at the fall festivities.
During a press conference in Seoul Tuesday, Lee Chang-ki, CEO of Mapo Cultural Foundation, explained that the annual festival aims to increase the public's accessibility to diverse classical performances.
"We hope to see pure fine arts go into the lives of the public at a very close distance. That's why we come up with ideas of holding classical music concerts at very ordinary places in Seoul, providing special meaning and values to those places with artistic experiences. I hope attempts like this would lower the public's psychological bar to try out fine arts concerts and performances," CEO Lee said during the press conference.
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| 4th M-PAT Classical Music Festival will begin with an opening performance on Sept. 3 at Mapo Art Center. Courtesy of Mapo Cultural Foundation |
The 4th M-Pat Classical Music Festival will begin its seven-week program on Sept. 3 at Mapo Art Center, with an opening performance of Beethoven's "Violin Concerto in D Major," played by 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition winner violinist Lim Ji-young and the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra. Soprano Choi Yun-jung and tenor Alex Kim will also present a few arias from Mozart's "The Magic Flute."
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| Mozart's "The Magic Flute" will be presented at an outdoor theater at World Cup Park in Seoul on Sept. 6 and 7. Courtesy of Mapo Cultural Foundation |
The opening performance will be followed by the annual music festival's signature outdoor opera production: this year's installment presents Mozart's "The Magic Flute" at the 2,000-seat outdoor theater, located at World Cup Park in Seoul's Sangam-dong for two nights on Sept. 6 and 7. The director of the opera Lee Hoe-soo said some parts of the opera's libretto will be performed in Korean to enhance understanding.
"It is a perfect piece for both young and adult audiences. Since the opera will be performed at the outdoor stage, we decided to perform the dialogue parts of the opera in Korean, while all arias will be sung in German. We hope audiences can watch with ease and fun," Lee told reporters at the press conference.
Admission to the outdoor opera is only $2.50 (3,000 won); admissions for other concerts and performances at the festival range from free to about $17 (20,000 won) at most. The festival organizers hope, while the quality of the performances remains top-notch, the public's accessibility would be maximized with those low costs.
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| th M-PAT Classical Music Festival will kick off on Sept. 3 and run through Oct. 24. Soprano Choi Yun-jung, left, and baritone Park Soo-kil join a press conference held at the Press Center in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Mapo Cultural Foundation |
One of the other notable events is a two-day concert series on "gagok" or Korea's original lyric vocal music. One hundred carefully chosen gagok songs will be performed by 100 vocalists, ranging from renowned senior vocalists to up-and-coming young ones. It is estimated that the modern gagok genre began back in 1919, with the song "Bong Sun Hwa" by legendary Korean composer Hong Nan-pa, who is often dubbed Korea's Schubert. With heartfelt melodies and simple yet soul-stirring lyrics, gagok songs became highly popular among the public during the early 20th century.
"The popularity of gagok songs reached its apex during the 1980s. But during the 1990s and onward, it seems the genre has been somewhat isolated amid the popularity of pop music. We hope the performances could bring those forgotten melodies closer to the public's hearts," baritone Park Soo-kil said at the press conference.
CEO Lee said the gagok concerts aim to help Korea's young generation to learn about the nation's long-sung lyrics and melodies that touched many previous generations' hearts.
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| 4th M-PAT Classical Music Festival will kick off on Sept. 3 and run through Oct. 24. Courtesy of Mapo Cultural Foundation |
Throughout the festival, many performances are also scheduled at "unlikely classical venues," such as live clubs near Hongik University, guesthouses for tourists, local churches and traditional street markets. The organizer said this is intended to transform the public's perceptions of the familiar locations into something new and fresh, with the beauty of classical music adding special meaning and memories to those venues.
According to the organizer, a total of 246,000 people have attended events at M-PAT Classical Music Festival over the last three years since its inception in 2016, with over 150 performances and 3,000 artists participating.
Visit m-pat.kr for more information on the program.
