[Herald Review] Herald Phil’s debut concert befits its mission

The famous trumpet fanfare of “Triumphal March” from Verdi’s opera “Aida” opened the debut concert on Wednesday night of Herald Philharmonic Orchestra, an ensemble founded by Herald Corp., the publisher of The Korea Herald.

Befitting its mission of making classical music more accessible, the concert was filled with proven crowd pleasers, each accompanied by witty introductions from the orchestra’s music director and conductor Kim Bong-mee.

“Like the orchestra members who rehearsed for hours for this concert, I think audience members could do some rehearsing to make this concert a truly wonderful time for all of us,” Kim said, before she reintroduced herself and her 80-member ensemble. The almost packed concert hall then erupted into laughter and a more passionate applause.

The warmed-up audience was then presented two virtuoso performances: Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (Op. 28) by violinist Kim Eung-soo and Arban’s “Carnival of Venice” by trumpeter Ahn Hee-chan.

Soprano Oh Eun-kyung and tenor Lee Jung-won performed some of the most beloved opera arias and duets: “Caro Nome” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini‘s “Turandot” and “Libiamo ne Lieti Calici” from Verdi’s “La Traviata.”

“I chose this aria with the hope that you fall in love with our music and become a fan of our orchestra for the rest of your life,” Kim said in her introduction to “Caro Nome,” meaning “dear name” in English.

The aria is a love song of Gilda, the opera’s heroin, who ponders the name of her suitor and vows to love him until her death.

The concert was completed with a 48-minute symphonic masterpiece and a Korean favorite ― Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

Introducing it as the “Min Hye-kyung” symphony, the conductor familiarized the audience first with the famous theme from its first movement, which was used in the Korean singer Min’s 1987 hit song.

A young woman and self-claimed novice to classical music said after the concert she was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the concert was.

“I had a wonderful time. The conductor’s introductions were very helpful in understanding music,” she said.

Herald Philharmonic is scheduled to perform at various venues, both in the pit and on stage, in the next few months.

“From prestigious concert halls to small community center stages, the ensemble will go anywhere it takes if it is to share with you the joy of classical music,” Kim Seok-dong, the former chairman of the Financial Services Commission who has assumed the role of chairman for the new ensemble, wrote in the program note.

On Oct. 18, it will give a free outdoor at Seoul Arts Center as part of a community festival organized by Seoul’s Seocho District.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)