Romantic octet to play Schubert’s homage to the Swiss alps

The Berlin Philharmonic Octet, an ensemble formed by members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform at Seongnam Arts Center’s concert hall next Tuesday.

The octet was founded in 1928 to perform an octet piece by Schubert. Since then they have specialized in classical romantic music. Among the composers who have written music for the Berlin Philharmonic Octet are Paul Hindemith, Hans Werner Henze, Boris Blacher, Karl Heinz Stockhausen and Yun I-sang.
The octet consists of first violinist Lorenz Nasturica, second violinist Peter Brem, violist Wilfred Strehle, cellist Christoph Igelbrink, contrabassist Esko Laine, clarinetist Wenzel Fuchs, horn player Redek Baborak and Bassoonist Daniele Damiano.
The octet has been invited to renowned music festivals, including Salzburg, Lucerne and Edinburgh and performed at the 100th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Much of the program is dedicated to Franz Schubert (1797 to 1828), In commemoration of his 210th birthday. The octet will perform Schubert’s Piano Quintet “The Trout” and Schubert’s Octet in F Major Op.166 D.803. They will also perform Mozart’s Horn Quintet K.407. Korean pianist Kim Jung-eun will join the ensemble to play piano for the Schubert Quintet. Inspired by his trip to the Austrian Alps, young Schubert reworked a song into a chamber piece, and called it “Die Forelle” or “The Trout.” It consists of five alternating movements and substitutes a double bass for the second violin. The piece places an emphasis upon the piano.
A distinguished pianist, Kim Jung-eun has won awards at many competitions, including first place in the Dong-A Music contest and second place at the Porto International Music competition in Portugal.

The performance starts at 8 p.m. Ticket prices are 40,000 won ($41) to 100,000 won. Seongnam Arts Center can be reached from exit No. 1 at Imae station on the Bundang line. For information, call 031-783-8000 or visit www.snart.or.kr.

by Limb Jae-un