Maestro Chung leads One Korea Orchestra, aiming to promote inter-Korean peace

Aug 5, 2019

Maestro Chung Myung-whun and the One Korea Orchestra hold an annual concert, aiming to promote inter-Korean peace and cooperation in arts and culture

Maestro Chung Myung-whun will be performing Mozart's "Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488" as a pianist during an upcoming concert with the One Korea Orchestra, Aug. 18 at the Seoul Arts Center.

It is a rare chance for the audience to watch the 66-year-old maestro playing his original instrument, while conducting the orchestra, who began his music career by winning second prize at the 1974 Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.

The internationally renowned conductor has played the piano at some previous concerts, but this will be the first time for the maestro to play a concerto since a special concert with the Seoul Philharmonic in 2015.

Following the Mozart concerto, Chung and the One Korea Orchestra will present Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 "Pathetique." The symphony is one of Chung's most frequently performed pieces ― he and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra released a recording of the symphony in 2013 on Deutsche Grammophone, and received positive reviews from international music critics.

The August concert is the third annual concert presented by the Chung-led One Korea Orchestra. Aiming to promote inter-Korean peace and cooperation in the areas of arts and culture, the maestro started the One Korea Orchestra in 2017, and has been presenting special concerts annually.

Star pianist Cho Seong-jin performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.5, "Emperor," during the first of the concert series in 2017. The following year, the One Korea Orchestra presented Beethoven's Symphony No.9, "Choral." This year, the winner of 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition Lim Ji-young joins the orchestra as the concertmaster, along with cellist Mun Tae-guk, winner of 2014 Pablo Casals International Competition.

Maestro Chung Myung-whun will perform and conduct Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 during an Aug. 18 concert with the One Korea Orchestra.

Chung had previously explained that this project was born out of his belief that solving inter-Korean issues was one of the most integral and pressing matters for Koreans. He often shares his vision of the two Koreas becoming one through the power of music. His performance fee will be donated to help North Korean children.

Despite the annual concert series' goal to perform music with North Korean musicians on the same stage, no musicians from the North are participating in this year's concert. Still the Korean maestro is continuing his efforts to realize his vision of a united Korean peninsula through music.

In 2012, maestro Chung conducted a landmark joint concert in Paris, with North Korea's Unhasu Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in a specially organized event to enhance cultural exchange between the two countries.

Hailed as a spiritual conductor, Chung has served as a music director for the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrucken Kaiserslautern, the Opera Bastille, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra over the past 30 years.