Korean Composers Festival: Concert No. 3

All are welcome to attend the Korean Composers Festival September 23–24. The Korean Composers Festival will feature not only musical performances, but also presentations, lecture-recitals, and a Korean cuisine–inspired dinner reception. A full schedule of events is available on the festival’s website.

The program for the Korean Composers Festival Concert No. 3:

Dan poong (“Autumn Leaves”)
by Jungyoon Wie (b. 1990)

Premiered virtually by Harumi Rhodes and Edward Dusinberre in 2022 – Dan poong in Korean refers to the phenomenon of green leaves changing its color to yellow, orange, and brown in the late autumn. In Korea, this happens in November when the temperature drops, telling us winter is near. Beautiful fall colors form and yet disappear into bare tree branches within the span of just two to three weeks. In November 2021, I got to visit Korea and spend time with my mom. It was after two years of not having been able to go back, due to the coronavirus. I arrived at Seoul with all the fall colors that had just begun to form – everyone was talking about how beautiful dan poong was and yet mourning how short-living it was. In my memory, I associate these fall colors with the time I spent with my mom. The time feels short but also long because my memory is so vivid and warm. I remember walking with her to get lunch, holding hands, and enjoying the view of dan poong. In this piece, I wanted to capture this moment in my life as this is also one that had passed, yet my memory can continue to live in this piece without restrictions to time.

Ashley Ng and Julia Bae, violin

ARARI
by Eunhye Kim (b. 1956)

XII: Arirang Variation, from the “Arari” series

Eunhye Kim has composed her “Arari” series since 2002 with various instruments, including the Haegeum, a vertical fiddle with two strings, and the Daegeum, a bamboo flute. The title “Arari” comes from the refrain “Arirang Arirang Arariyo” from the song Arirang, which is derived from Korean oral tradition and includes many regional variations. The Arirang expresses Koreans’ Han, an internalized feeling of deep sorrow, resentment, grief, regret and anger. ARARI XII: Arirang variation for solo piano has a theme and five variations, and is based on the melody of ‘Gyeonggi Arirang.’ This Arirang became popular as the theme song of the movie “Arirang” directed by Na Woongyu in 1926 when Korea was under Japanese rule.The Arirang traditionally is in a compound triple meter.

In ARARI XII, the theme is instead in a compound duple meter. The variations include dissonant harmonies and fast rhythmic figurations in common time. The compound duple meter reappears in Variation 5 in the style of a Huapango: a fast and complicated Mexican couple’s dance that accentuates the rhythmic beating of heels and toes.

ARARI XII integrates Korean culture and tradition with Western European musical elements. This performance will be a US premiere.

Kowoon Lee, piano

H. A. N. Y. U. N. I. M.
by Soomin Kim (b. 1995)

Han Yunim is the name of my grandmother who passed away in March 2022. She lived in Seoul, South Korea, and I was not able to fly back to attend her funeral or to be with my family. The process of writing this piece, therefore, was like a personal ritual for me, where I tried to mourn her death, celebrate her life, and remember her, even when I was so far away from home.

H. A. N. Y. U. N. I. M. is a set of four songs, and each of them is my letter of some sort to my grandmother. The last one, “Wherever you are,” is my answer to a letter she wrote me when she was still alive.

Soomin Kim, soprano • Harris Bernstein, viola

À la barre avec coda pour le piano (1996/2016)
by IeDon Oh (b. 1958)

I. Plié (To bend)
II. Tendu (Tight/Stretched)
III. Dégagés (To disengage)
IV. Ronds de jambe (A circular movement)
V. Frappé (Hit/Struck)
VI. Adagio (Slow, enfolding movement)
VII. Grand Battement (A large beating movement)
VIII. Coda

A prominent Korean woman composer, IeDon Oh’s Á la barre avec coda pour le piano (1996/2016), has been praised as “beautiful contemporary music” by the audience and composers. She was inspired to write this work while accompanying a ballet class at the University of Iowa. Each short piano piece accompanies a ballet exercise on the handrail (barre) and floor. The structure is clear and concise in symmetrical phrases, rhythmic and metric regularity, and transparent texture with a short intro, which makes it easy to follow the flow. A rhythmic motive and its variations reflect the characteristics of each ballet exercise. Dr. Oh embodies a sense of friendliness in her music without much complexity. She actively promotes contemporary music in Korea and teaches composition at Hoseo University in Cheonan.

Koeun Grace Lee, piano

Freestyle Battle
by Jiyoun Chung (b. 1982)

Freestyle Battle by Jiyoun Chung explores the relationship between western classical music and the current music of pop culture and popular western art genres – the music of Korean B-Boy styles more specifically (breakdance and other street dance forms). While watching B-Boy dance battles, Chung quickly realized that the style very similarly resembled classical styles. It plays with structure and polyphony, has improvisation, technique and artistry and requires mastery for a great performance. In writing Freestyle Battle, Chung aimed to reinterpret and reimagine the various B-Boy dance moves with her use of rhythm and texture through musical depiction.

10th Wave Chamber Collective Musicians:
Ashley Ng, violin
Nora Doyle, cello
Paul Schimming, clarinet
April Ryun Kim, piano