Chin Unsuk-led musical festival begins on high note with Lim Yunchan's performance
TONGYEONG, South Gyeongsang Province — The Tongyeong International Music Festival, founded in 2002 to commemorate the late composer Isang Yun, opened Friday in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, along the southern coast, as wildfires rage on near the city and political turmoil continues to grip the country.
The annual classical music festival typically includes a slate of fringe performances in smaller and alternative venues across Tongyeong ahead of the main nine-day program. However, the weekend's events were postponed due to a major wildfire in neighboring Sancheong-gun — the birthplace of Isang Yun.
The wildfires, which began March 21, caused extensive damage across the region before forestry authorities announced Sunday that the main blaze in Sancheong-gun had been fully brought under control as of 1 p.m., 213 hours after it first broke out.
Composer Chin Unsuk, now in her fourth year as the festival's artistic director, emphasized that "Many people are suffering due to the wildfires and both domestic and international affairs remain highly complex. With a sense of humility, we plan to carry out the festival."
Explaining the theme 'Journey Inwards,' Chin — recipient of the 2024 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and the 2025 International Classical Music Award for Contemporary Music — said, 'In a time when political and economic conflicts are erupting around the world, and everyone is having to endure so much, perhaps listening to music — even if only for a moment — can be a chance to take an inner journey and rediscover something within ourselves.'
The festival opened with a performance by its festival orchestra, comprising both domestic and international musicians, under the baton of French conductor Fabien Gabel. The concert began with Isang Yun's Overture (1973/74).
The orchestra took the stage twice with the same opening program Friday — once in front of about 1,000 elementary, middle and high school students in Tongyeong in the morning and again for the official opening at 7 p.m.
With performers in casual attire, the school concert aimed to expose students to performances by world-class musicians, nurturing the cultural and artistic sensibilities of local youth.
Attending the official opening performance at 7 p.m. were former President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, who reside in Yangsan, about 80 kilometers from Tongyeong. They returned to the festival after a year's absence, having last attended in 2023.
Following Yun's overture, pianist Lim Yunchan, one of the festival's two artists-in-residence, took the stage to perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18.
Lim's involvement significantly raised the profile of the festival in the remote coastal city. This year's festival features only two performances by Lim — the opening concert and his recital Sunday — both of which quickly sold out.
As the concert began, around 130 ticketless attendees gathered in the hall's lobby, where the performance was broadcast.
The Tongyeong International Music Foundation stopped accepting new members for its sponsorship program as early as October, due to overwhelming interest following the announcement that Lim would be the next artist-in-residence.
In the second half, Gabel returned to lead Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, which drew a standing ovation.
Gabel is a French conductor known for his expressive style and broad repertoire. Born in Paris in 1975 to a musical family, he started as a trumpeter and trained at top conservatories in France and Germany. He gained attention after winning the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2004 and became assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. He later led the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec from 2012 to 2021 and the Orchestre Francais des Jeunes. He is the newly appointed music director designate of the Tonkunstler-Orchester Niederosterreich.
On Saturday, Gabel returned to the Tongyeong Concert Hall to lead the festival orchestra's second performance, featuring Ravel's "Une Barque sur l'Ocean" from Miroirs; Henri Dutilleux's "Tout Un Monde Lointain…" for cello and orchestra (1967–70), with cellist and artist-in-residence Pablo Ferrandez; and Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben," Op. 40.
Isang Yun, who passed away 30 years ago, was honored in a subsequent concert titled "Hommage a Isang Yun."
The Weiwuying Contemporary Music Ensemble, conducted by Yang Su-han, featured two of Yun's works — "Piece Concertante" for ensemble and "Teile Dich Nacht" for soprano and ensemble (1980) — alongside compositions by his former students: Toshio Hosokawa, Pan Hwang-long and Paik Byung-dong. The concert offered a chance to reflect on Yun's enduring influence on contemporary music.
At 9:30 p.m., pansori performer Lee Ja-ram opened the concert with the question: "You knew this was a pansori performance when you came, right?" The hall was full despite the late hour, and the audience was soon mesmerized by her powerful rendition of traditional Korean storytelling.
The Tongyeong International Music Festival continues through April 6, closing with Britten's War Requiem.
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