Traditional Korean music concert to be held in London

Korea’s National Gukak Center and the London Philharmonic Orchestra will play on the same stage.

“We will play for the 2017 Korean Sounds Series themed spring at Kings Place, a classical music concert hall in London on April 12 (local time)," the center said on Tuesday. Part one will be performed by the Court Music Orchestra of the center and part two will be played by the London Philharmonic.

The Korean Sound Series is a regular concert program to introduce traditional Korean music to the British people, organized by the Korean Cultural Center in London. To mark the year of Korea-U.K. cultural exchanges, the center will organize a wide range of concerts offering both Korean traditional and classical music.

The Court Music Orchestra prepared for a repertoire of six pieces themed spring consisting of instrumental and voice music. Notable are "Yeomyangchun,” a piece to be performed by Korean traditional flutes Saenghwang and Danso and "Chunmyeongok (Spring Indolence)." The former is known for a beautiful combination of the clear sound of Danso and the splendid sound of Saenghwang. The letter is a sophisticated vocal piece about a person who gets up late in a spring day relishes the beauty of spring.

In Part two, Kim Jeong-min, a violinist of the London Philharmonic, will play Gabriel Fauré: String Quartet and Astro Piazzolla’s string quartet.

“We hope the concert in London could help promote Gukak (Korean traditional music) throughout Europe," said Kim Hae-sook, director-general of the National Gukak Center.

Sang-Un Kim sukim@donga.com