Orchestral Music Warms the Soul on a Cold Winter’s Night
Written by Douglas Baumwoll
Photographs courtesy of Gwangju Symphony Orchestra
Blustering winds. And I mean serious gusts. Freezing temperatures. Literally. Way below zero. A friend and I forge a path through the squalls, up the stairs and across the courtyard, and finally enter the Gwangju Culture and Arts Center in Buk-gu, Gwangju. This is the home field for the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra, and we have the pleasure of attending the New Year’s Concert here in late January.
On the program tonight is the symphony orchestra and a special guest pianist (but more about him later). We take our seats and anticipate the beginning of the performance in the hushed warm ambience of the concert hall, a respite from the howling winds outside. I turn and look around the space – it looks as if 90 percent of the 1,500-seat hall is filled. This makes me happy, that folks in this city take advantage of such accomplished talent here. Did I mention that my 20th-row seat cost just 20,000 won?
The lights go down, and the ensemble of about 70 musicians take their seats. The conductor comes out, stage left, and takes the podium. The crowd applauds for him, Kim Hong-jae. He is the orchestra’s 12th permanent conductor and began his tenure in August 2016. Kim, the epitome of the placid artist, raises his baton, and then signals the orchestra to come to auditory life. The group calmly slips into Johan Strauss II’s On the Beautiful Blue Danube (1866), which quickly reaches its recognizable melody (check it out on YouTube – I am certain you will know it). I admit I am no music critic, but adjectives such as festive, marching, grandiose, carnivalesque, triumphant, and joyful come to my mind. I picture scenes of romance and good times spent frolicking in the cobbled streets amid the stone architecture of perhaps Italy or Germany. The piece finishes, and the crowd shows its appreciation through lively and sustained applause. As custom has it, Kim leaves the stage.
A few moments later, the conductor reassumes the stage, again to applause; the orchestra certainly deserves it, but so does Kim. Born in Japan, he is Korean-Japanese, and never set foot in Korea until the age of 50. In Japan, he studied under world-renowned conductor Ozawa Seiji, then becoming the resident conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1978 at the age of 24. Okay, back to the show.
Next, a tall bespectacled man with mad-scientist wavy hair down to his shoulders enters stage right. Applause now reaches thunderous proportions. Sergey Tarasov has arrived on the scene and takes a seat at the grand piano, its wooden body glowing a burgundy hue in the subdued lighting. The cavernous hall becomes filled with the sounds of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 (composed 1874–88). Tarasov, born in Moscow in 1971, is a world-class pianist who has been playing since the age of 6. Born into a family of musicians, he won the Sydney International Piano Competition in 1996.
We are now treated to a 35-minute concerto of three movements, Tarasov’s head and hair bouncing up and down as he alternates between hands flitting up and down the keyboard and pounding out notes, having memorized of course the entire piece. The orchestra and pianist complement each other perfectly, and I find myself wondering if they have even rehearsed together before.
My friend and I sit back and get lost in the beauty of the moment, the music easily filling the air, which reaches upward to the ceiling perhaps 30 meters above. I notice the exposed strings of the piano glowing a soft gold, contrasting against the bright gold of the piano’s gilded feet. The piece ends. Raucous applause. And then we are treated to not one, not two, but three encores. The woman sitting next to us is literally delirious with joy at this gift from Tarasov, and I am pretty much the same. I mean, again, the fact that such greatness is available here to us in Gwangju really speaks to the quality of life here.
Seventy-five wonderful minutes of music have passed, and after the brief intermission, the orchestra begins its final work, a four-movement symphony (No. 9) composed by Antonin Dvorak in 1893. I watch all the players – maybe 35 violins and violas, a dozen basses and cellos, eight woodwinds, and 10 horns – as they transport me into that unique realm of orchestral music for the next 45 minutes. I am amazed that this genre of music has survived so long, its instruments not having changed in design in 500 years. After this final piece concludes, we are treated to an encore of a Johan Strauss III polka, an upbeat, fun piece, as polkas are.
And that is it. New Year’s Concert 2018 is finished. Bravo. My friend and I were entertained for two hours by world-class musicians for a mere 20,000 won. Reserved seating (the first 15 rows, roughly) costs just 30,000 won. Kim, who has experience all over the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York City, Russia, Canada, and at the United Nations Peace Concert, will be leading his players another seven times this year before July. Go to the Gwangju Symphony website at gjart.gwangju.go.kr/gsoen/cmd.do for information in English on this year’s performances. You can also check the venue’s website at gjart.gwangju.go.kr/cmd for performances by other groups and troupes, including the Gwangju Ballet, who will be performing with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (ranked No. 1 in the world) on May 25–26.
Pardon me for stating the obvious, but I think readers should give the symphony and the Culture and Arts Center a try, especially if you have never attended a high-quality orchestra, ballet, or drama event. The prices here are just silly compared to American cities, and tickets can be purchased very close to concert dates. The venue is easily accessible by public transport or taxi (about 5,000 won from U-Square or NC Wave downtown). So jump on over to YouTube and give the pieces I named above a listen. Also, be sure to check these websites and schedules, and get yourself into some aural culture and stress release. Now go and enjoy a night out at the symphony already.
The Author
Doug Baumwoll, a professional writer and editor for 25 years, trains in-service teachers in writing skills and methodology. His personal writing interests include visionary and speculative fiction, climate change, energy, and social justice. He is the founder of SavetheHumanz.com.