Beatles and Vienna Boys sing in the new year

Musical events that represent Austria and England are being held in Korea with the dawn of the New Year.
At the Austrian Ambassador’s residence in Seoul yesterday, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, invited by the Austrian Embassy kicked off their tour in Korea.

The Vienna Boys’ Choir will be holding its first public concert here tomorrow in Suwon. It is the choir’s 11th visit to Korea and they will perform in five cities including Seoul on this tour. The boys will be not only singing church songs dating from the Middle Ages but also the latest pop music. The choir will perform in Seoul at the Sejong Center on Friday.
The choir was first organized under the order of Austria’s Emperor Maximilian in 1498. The group, however, was banned and dismissed in 1918 due to a social democratic revolution in the region. In 1924, the choir was reorganized by Josef Schnitt. Since then the choir has sung not only religious music but expanded their repertoire to include folksongs, waltzes, opera music and songs from movie soundtracks.
Throughout the choir’s existence, famous musicians such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart not only wrote scores for the group but sometime accompanied them on instruments. The choir made their first visit to Korea in 1978.
A more modern musical event is representing England. Since Dec. 23, The War Memorial of Korea has hosted an exhibition titled The Beatles Story.
The show, which is based on one of the globally most popular bands, which shook the world since the 1960s, will be running until March 4. Organized by The Beatles Mania Club Korea, the exhibition is sponsored by the British Council and British Airlines and features more than 150 previously unreleased photographs of the Beatles, including those taken by the German photographer Astrid Kirchherr.

In addition, 12 original albums that were released in England and 18 CD and LP albums that were released in the United States will be on display for the first time in Korea. There are also five movies the Beatles appeared in and three unreleased films, including one of a concert the band held in Hamburg, Germany. Visitors can also see artworks by art students honoring the band.

by Lee Ho-jeong