With the long-awaited arrival of spring, trees and flowers burst forth with a splendor of color and fragrance. Every year around this time, the Korea Foundation invites remarkable young musicians from abroad to present a touring concert in Seoul and major other cities, providing an opportunity for local audiences to appreciate performances by emerging young musicians of global renown who stand out in diverse genres. Through these concerts, foreign artists can also interact with Korean audiences who crave fine classical music on the balmy spring night.

This year’s KF Spring Concert featured the world-renowned German cellist Jan Vogler, who is currently serving as the general director of the Dresden Music Festival and the music director of Moritzburg Chamber Music Festival. Vogler led a quintet of all accomplished musicians in their own right: Colin Jacobsen (violin), Lise Berthaud (viola), Antti Siirala (piano), and Park Hye-yoon (violin), a fast-rising Korean musician who placed first at Germany’s prestigious ARD Music Competition in 2009.

Well before 8 o’clock in the evening when the concert was scheduled to begin, people started to file in and filled the hall. The concert opened with Mozart’s “Piano Trio in C major, K. 548,” performed by Antti Siiralla (piano), Jan Vogler (cello) and Park Hye-yoon (violin). The three musicians enhanced the concert’s theme “Togetherness” by performing the first movement in graceful unison. After the second movement, which sounded like a lyrical vocal piece, the third movement was as elegant and light-hearted as a gala event held at a European palace.


‘ The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires’
If the Mozart work was a pleasant appetizer, the main course was Astor Piazolla’s “The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires,” known to be a tribute to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and the tango music. Piazolla is a master tango musician of the late 20th century, who is hailed as the greatest musical star in Argentina for revolutionizing the traditional tango by infusing contemporary elements.
“The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires” performed at the concert was a newly arranged version for the violin, cello, and piano, which provided added freshness for those who might have recognized the original composition. Vogler and the group d an energetic atmosphere with a variety of non-conventional techniques, like playfully bouncing the bows on the s, creating percussion effects. Their performance seemed to take the audience on a fascinating journey with a gorgeous concoction of complicated beats.

Delightful ‘Togetherness’

Especially, violinist Colin Jacobsen struck a deep chord with the audience by performing the dynamic melody of “The 4 Seasons” with a dramatic flair. When he concluded the cycle of spring, summer, fall, and winter themes, the audience erupted with a thunderous ovation. After the intermission, violinist Lise Berthaud joined for a performance of Brahms “Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34,” creating an exquisite harmony and colorful variations
. Finally, the quintet wrapped up the program with a rendition of “A Barley Field,” a popular Korean art song composed by Yun Yong-ha, in a gesture of appreciation for the audience’s enthusiastic reception from start to finish. The quintet presented additional performances in three other cities ― Cheonan, Gwangju, and Busan.

About the Musicians

Jan Vogler
A famed cello prodigy, Jan Vogler began to study cello at age six with his father Peter Vogler, and later with Josef Schwab, Heinrigh Schiff, and Siegfried Palm. At 20 he won the principal cello position of the Staatskapelle Dresden, also known as the Saxon State Orchetra, and became the youngest concertmaster in the history of this orchestra. He is the general director of the Dresden Music Festival and founder and Artistic Director artistic director of the Moritzburg Chamber Music Festival.

Colin Jacobsen
Violinist Colin Jacobsen, a 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, first played to critical acclaim at the age of 14, with Kurt Masur and the New York Phiharmonic, in a performance that was hailed by the New York Times. He won the school-wide concerto competition at the Juilliard School Pre-College Division and was also the recipient of the grand prize from both the New York State and the National American Teachers Association competitions. Over the past few years, Jacobsen has entered into a wide range of musical activities

Park Hye-yoon (Hyeyoon Park)
Born in 1992 in Seoul, Park Hye-yoon started to play the violin at the age of four. From 2003 she studied with Professor Piotr Milewski at the Preparatory School of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in the United States. In 2007, she won the first prize at the V International Louis Spohr Competition in Weimar, Germany, as well as its prize for the “Best Interpretation of Paganini’s Capriccio.” She also received the Prince of Hesse Prize, which is given to young violinists who demonstrate extraordinary musicianship and artistic potential. Park has garnered international attention as an emerging young violinist after winning the first prize and two special prizes at the 58th ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2009, becoming the youngest ever winner in the competition’s history.

Lise Berthaud
Violist Lise Berthaud was born in 1982 and started learning the violin at the age of five. She studied with Pierre-Henri Xuereb and Gerard Causse at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de la Musique de Paris and won a prize at the European Young Instrumentalists Competition in 2000. She has regularly been invited on stage by such leading international artists as Augustin Dumay, Renaud Capuçon, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Eric Le Sage, Louis Lortie, Quantuor Ebene, and has performed in prestigious concert venues around Europe. She is widely praised as an outstanding rising figure on the music scene.

Antti Siirala
First Prize winner of three prestigious international piano competitions, including the Leeds International Piano Competition (2003), Finnish pianist Antti Siirala has established himself as one of the finest pianists of his generation. In April 2010, he performed as one of four pianists (others being Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Lang Lang, and Martin Helmchen) on the piano recital series of the Berlin Philharmonic. Especially committed to new music, he has premiered works by Walter Gieseler, Kuldar Sink, Uljas Pulkkis, and Kalevi Aho.

Choi Kyung-sook Freelancer Writer