Maestro Chung, One Korea Orchestra hope to perform with NK artists

One Korea Orchestra, led by Maestro Chung Myung-whun, 66, will hold its third performance, amid hopes for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Chung and the orchestra will present Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor at the Seoul Arts Center on Aug. 18. The pianist has yet to be confirmed, as the organizers are finalizing plans to invite a North Korean pianist.

 

For the performance, the organizers hope to invite two to three performers from the North. However, chances are low that this will be achieved, according to an official from Credia Music & Artists.

One Korea Orchestra debuted in 2017 in the hope that musicians from the North will be able to perform together. It consists of established Korean musicians from orchestras in the country and abroad.

Comprising musicians between 18 and 28 years old, One Korea Youth Orchestra was founded in 2018 with the same mission.

In 2018, Chung tried to collaborate with a North Korean singer, but failed. He has been interested in musical cooperation between the two Koreas. In 2011 he rehearsed with the State Symphony Orchestra of DPRK and Unhasu Orchestra in Pyongyang, North Korea. He led the Unhasu Orchestra and Radio France Philharmonic in a joint performance in Paris in 2012.

“I am a Korean before being a musician. For a Korean, the most important matter is the subject of North and South Korea,” Chung said through Credia. “It is not easy to work out a performance with North Korean musicians, but to dream of reunification and help the North in difficulty, I will keep on performing.”

For the performance in August, Chung will donate his earnings to a fund for helping children in North Korea.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)