hankyoreh

By Chung Sang-young, culture correspondent

The strains of “Ode to Joy” resonated through the warm Saturday night skies from the Yonsei University open air theater in Seoul’s Sinchon neighborhood. The words of the fourth movement from Beethoven’s ninth symphony had a different kind of resonance: “Your magic reunited / where custom strictly divided. / All men become brothers / where your gentle wings rest.”

For this movement, the composer adapted the words of the German poet Friedrich Schiller to convey the message of “all men becoming brothers.” While he could not have known it at the time, he could have been talking about the division between North and South Korea.

Four soloists, male and female, combined with a chorus of more than eight hundred to deliver the words of the finale: “Be embraced, you millions! / This kiss for the whole world!” As the song ended, the audience of four thousand rose for a standing ovation.

The conductor of this stirring performance, Chung Myung-whun, 59, is artistic director for the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra (APO), which joined forces with UNICEF to stage the charity benefit for North Korean children. The APO was launched in 1997 with members from Korea, Japan, and China to promote friendship and harmony among Asian musicians. North Korean musicians were originally scheduled to take part this year as well, but this failed to transpire for political reasons.

Taking the baton Saturday, Chung said he was “delighted to present music to share my desire to help our brothers in North Korea.” He also said he thought the concert was the “most meaningful that I’ve done to date.” His words were met with thunderous applause.

Chung expressed disappointment that the North Korean musicians were unable to participate and asked the audience to “continue helping North Korea’s children through music.”

Among the performers at the concert were 75 of South Korea’s top musicians, along with another 30 from other Asian countries who perform with some of the world’s major orchestras. “Ode to Joy,” in particular, featured a gigantic choir combining members from civic and church choruses for a truly grand finale to symbolize liberty, harmony, and love for humankind.

Viewers continued their ovation after the one-hour, 15-minute performance, prompting Chung to come out once again for an encore performance of “Arirang,” which met an even stronger reception.

Civic chorus member Hong Seong-il, 55, said he was “deeply moved to be part of such a meaningful performance at a time when inter-Korean contact has been shut off.”

“Seeing the audience moved like that, I felt certain that exchanges would start again quickly,” he added.

After watching the performance, Saarbruecken University of Music professor Armin Aussem said he was astonished at how well the musicians played despite having only a short time to rehearse. He also said efforts like this would bring change to inter-Korean relations, likening them to droplets of water breaking apart solid rock.

Forty-year-old Park So-yeon, who watched the performance with her family, said, “It was terribly hot out, but I felt very gratified to watch a concert to help North Korean children.”

The APO will be coming to the stage again on the evening of August 7 at the concert hall of the Seoul Arts Center.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]