Tickets sales for the annual Tongyeong International Music Festival 2017 have officially opened. Next year’s TIMF is of particular importance as it celebrates the centennial year of the birth of the late Tongyeong composer Yun I-sang.

The event will be held from March 31 to April 9 under the theme, “From Asia to the World.”

“A 100th anniversary is important. Maybe more important than any other anniversary,” said Florian Riem, CEO of Tongyeong International Music Festival Foundation, during a press conference held at the ADM Community Gallery in Seoul on Thursday morning.

“For the image, for the legacy, for the heritage of personality -- our aim is to revive the legacy of Yun I-sang. To make his music heard again, to give his name the importance and prominence it deserves.”

The Korean-born composer was praised for his attempt to bridge music between Europe and Asia as well as for his personal voyage to create different styles and sounds with his compositions. Next year’s festival pays homage to his work.

“We are not interested in political maneuvering, historical blackmailing about events that happened 50 years ago. We believe that Yun I-sang is a great cultural asset for this country,” Riem said, referring to the controversy over the composer‘s involvement in North Korean espionage. In the late 1960s, Yun received a life sentence for his involvement in a North Korean spy ring based in East Berlin. He served two years in prison before he was released amid mounting international pressure, including a petition signed by 200 artists around the world. He subsequently returned to Germany where he became a naturalized German citizen. He passed away in 1995.

“He is the only Korean composer of the 20th century that gained international importance,” he added. “He is still a household name in Western contemporary music and he opened the door for a new generation of young Korean composers.” 

The anniversary celebration kicked off Friday with a special performance by Paris-based Ensemble InterContemporain as part of the Tongyeong International Music Foundation’s fall concert lineup.

The Ensemble performed works by Gyorgy Ligeti, Matthias Pintscher, Yun I-sang and Chin Un-suk, who was recently appointed Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra artistic adviser.

On schedule for next year’s much-anticipated anniversary festivities are performances by the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra, the Golden Dragon opera, Vienna Philharmonic Ensemble, Basel Chamber Orchestra and the Arditti Quartet.

In addition, soprano Annette Dasch, cellist Jens Peter Maintz and pianist Kim Hong-gi are all slated to hold solo recitals.

The concert event will conclude with a finale performance by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of American conductor Dennis Russell Davies. The orchestra will bring to life the sounds of John Adams and Stravinsky as well as two of Yun’s classical pieces -- “Fanfare & Memorial” and “Clarinet Concerto.”

Ticket prices for the upcoming TIMF varies for each performance. For more information on pricing or scheduling, visit www.timf.org.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)