Prestigious cello festival Seoul-bound

Before now, talented young Korean cellists who wanted to study with international mentors had to cross an ocean to do it. Korean students nevertheless continued to flock to the Kronberg Academy in Germany, hailed by the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich as “the cello capital of the world.”
This month, four cello masters will be flying to Korea for the biennial Kronberg Cello Festival, which will be held in Seoul for seven days ― its first time outside of Europe.
The festival features Arto Noras, a professor at Sibelius Academy, Miklos Perenyi of Budapest Academy and Frans Helmerson and David Geringas, both from Berlin Hanns Eisler. From Jan. 25 to 31, starting daily at 10 a.m., they will give a combined 30 hours of master classes over six days to 600 students in the College of Music at Yonsei University.
From Jan. 26 to 29, four solo recitals by each of the featured artists will be held at Hoam Art Hall at 8 p.m. Audiences will get to hear less frequently performed selections from the cello repertoire, including Debussy’s Cello Sonata (performed by Helmerson) and Kodaly’s Sonata for Piano and Cello op. 4 (by Perenyi). Geringas will perform Prokofiev’s Sonata in C Major with his wife, Tatjana Geringas, on piano.
On Feb. 1, the last day of the fesival, the “Cello Big 4 Final Concert” will be held at Seoul Arts Center at 4 p.m. The masters will perform the Triple Concerto for Cello by Penderecki and the Cello Concerto by Schumann with the Korean Chamber Ensemble.
The Kronberg Academy was founded in 1993 to build a permanent educational colony for young elite musicians. It has quickly become an international platform for the promotion of new musicians, and sets standards with its internationally recognized competitive examination system.
The chairman of the Kronberg Academy, Raimund Trenkler, has praised young Korean students who visit the academy as highly talented up-and-coming musicians. Korean students make up about a tenth of its 1,200 students from around the world.
For more information about the festival, call (02) 541-6234.

by Song Hee-jung