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This May, Busan’s performing-arts calendar offers a slate of subscription concerts that blend gugak, Korea’s traditional music, with Western classical repertoire. The Busan Metropolitan Gugak Orchestra and the Busan Youth Symphony Orchestra will present consecutive programs that probe tradition and innovation, nature and emotion, enriching the city’s cultural life.
■ Busan Metropolitan Gugak Orchestra: Commissioned-Composition Series V, “Master and Disciple — Ties and Resonance”
The Busan Cultural Center Foundation will present the Busan Metropolitan Gugak Orchestra’s 235th subscription concert — Commissioned-Composition Series V, “Master and Disciple — Ties and Resonance” — at 7:30 p.m. on May 14 in the Busan Cultural Center Small Theater.
The program examines the mentor–apprentice relationship as a way to explore how tradition is passed on and how new works emerge. Teachers and their students perform together to show how traditional musical grammar and aesthetics meet contemporary sensibilities and generate fresh compositions.
The concert opens with the gugak orchestral piece “Chukje” (Festival) and continues with an ajaeng double concerto “Sijeol Pungnyu,” a pansori concerto “Jeokbyeok, Beyond That,” a daegeum double concerto “Manpa (Ten Thousand Waves),” and a piri double concerto “Mun.”
Traditional instruments and vocal forms — including the ajaeng (bowed zither), pansori (narrative vocal art), daegeum (large bamboo transverse flute), and piri (a double-reed, oboe-like instrument) — will be integrated with the gugak orchestra to create textured dialogues between soloists and ensemble.
Tickets are R seats 20,000 KRW (≈ $15.00) and S seats 10,000 KRW (≈ $7.50). Purchase tickets on the Busan Cultural Center website or by phone.
■ Busan Youth Symphony Orchestra: “Forest and Breath” — a program of nature and feeling
The Busan Youth Symphony Orchestra will present its 80th subscription concert, “Forest and Breath,” on May 14 at the Nakdong Art Center Concert Hall.
The program translates forest imagery and the rhythm of human breath into music. Conductor Baek Seung-hyun will lead the orchestra, with cellist Lee Ho-chan appearing as soloist.
The program features Weber’s overture to the opera Der Freischütz, Schumann’s Cello Concerto, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2.
Schumann’s Cello Concerto showcases the instrument’s warm tone and lyricism; Lee Ho-chan’s nuanced playing is expected to bring out those qualities. Sibelius’ Second Symphony, with its sweeping architecture and national sentiment, will provide a grand close to the evening.
Conductor Baek Seung-hyun studied orchestral and choral conducting at the Nuremberg State Music Conservatory in Germany. He currently serves as associate conductor of the Busan Philharmonic and principal conductor of the Busan Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Cellist Lee Ho-chan studied at the Korea National University of Arts and continued his training in Germany and Austria. He performs widely at major venues at home and abroad and participates in broadcasts and documentary music projects.
All seats are 5,000 KRW (≈ $3.75). Tickets are available through the Busan Cultural Center website.
Busan — Reporter Seojin Hyuk seojh613@viva100.com
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