Program encompasses wide repertoire from Haydn to Shostakovich


When it comes to symphonies, the most frequently performed composers in Korea are those composed by Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Beethoven.

To encourage classical music lovers to enjoy a broad range of music and to allow extensive study of each composer’s symphonies in chronological order, the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center said it will kick off a seven-year concert series on March 26 offering diverse symphonic programs from Haydn of the late 18th century to Shostakovich of the 20th century, through 2017.

Aram Nuri said it will pick two comparable composers each year. The composers highlighted this year are Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Despite the 24-year age gap, they two were friends who respected each other’s music.

The Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, led by permanent conductor Kim Dae-jin, will open the concert series with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor K.550.

Kim’s pupil Son Yeol-eum, who held a debut recital at the age of 12 at the Kumho Prodigy Concert Series in 1998, will join the orchestra for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major K.467.

Aram Nuri’s symphonic series will continue on May 14 with conductor Jung Chi-yong and KBS Symphony Orchestra’s Haydn Symphony No. 83 in G minor, famously known as “The Hen.” Virtuoso cellist Chung Myung-wha will perform Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major and the orchestra will wrap up the performance with Symphony No. 104 in D Major, or “The London Symphony,” the final symphony of Haydn.

The last concert of the 2011 symphonic series will take place on Oct. 28 with the Korean Symphony Orchestra and flutist Yoon Hye-ri, performing both Mozart’s Symphony No.1, Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major K.314 and either Haydn’s Symphony No. 86 or Symphony No. 103.

“Each year from 2012, we plan to hold five concerts on average for the Aram Nuri symphonic series,” Aram Nuri spokesperson Lee Ji-young said.

The series will continue with Beethoven and Brahms in 2012, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff in 2013, Schubert and Mendelssohn in 2014, Dvorak and Sibelius in 2015, Bruckner and Mahler in 2016 and Prokofiev and Shostakovich in 2017.

The Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center’s first Symphonic Series concert will take place at its Aram Music Hall on March 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from 20,000 won to 50,000 won. Children under seven are not allowed. For more information, call 1577-7766 or visit www.artgy.or.kr.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)