The sounds of traditional Korean gugak music and of European classical music will together usher in the arrival of spring in Daegu this April.

Master gugak singer Ahn Sook-sun will help people enjoy the new season with her signature profound, doleful voice, as she performs at the Daegu Citizen Hall in central Daegu on April 15.

During the show, the master will sing the pansori narrative “Jebinojeonggi,” accompanied by the 12-stringed gayageum zither. She will then perform another pansori song, “Heungboga,” from the well-known fairy tale “Heungbu & Nolbu,” and also the “Namdo Minyo,” a folk song from the region of Jeolla-do.



Beyond gugak, a series of concerts that will shine light on some masterpieces of European classical music will be on offer at the same venue throughout the month. The series will start on April 10 and continue on April 21, 22, 23 and, finally, 29, featuring a total of five much-lauded musicians.

The starter will be a recital given by pianist Yoon Hong-chun. Highlighting his career, the pianist has collaborated with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra four times. He was even outstanding enough to be recognized by the late maestro Lorin Maazel. For the upcoming April 10 show, Yoon will play Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8 and Piano Sonata No. 2, Schubert’s “Wanderer Fantasy” and “The Trout” and, also, Schumann’s “Spring Night.”



On April 21, cellist Kim Ho-jung will play Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello & Piano and Rachmaninoff’s only cello piece, his Cello Sonata. The next day, baritone Jung Rok-ki will bring to the audience the Romantic sounds unique to Robert Schumann, singing the composer’s “The Poet’s Love” and “Zwölf Gedichte von Justinus Kerner.”

On April 23, clean, high-pitched notes will ring across the hall as Soprano Kim Jeong-a presents some works by Strauss, Poulenc, Gershwin and Ahn Jeong-jun. Each composer represents Germany, France, the U.S. and Korea, respectively, and she will sing each in its own language. She will then sing three famous arias: from Bellini’s opera “The Sleepwalker,” from Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers” and from Puccini’s “The Swallow.”

As the curtain goes down, the final show on April 29 will be a collaboration between violinist Cho Jin-joo and pianist Kim Hyeon-soo. The duo will collaborate on Prokofiev's "Suite from Romeo and Juliet,” Ysaÿe's Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2, Kreisler's “Liebesfreud for Violin and Piano” and, finally, Waxman's “Carmen Fantasy for Violin and Piano.”



By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Daegu Citizen Hall
jiae5853@korea.kr