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Jaap van Zweden, music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, delivers opening remarks at a press conference announcing this year’s new commission at The Prima Art Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on September 23. At right is composer Jung Jae-il. / Yonhap News |
“When I first showed the score to Maestro (Jaap van Zweden, music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra), I felt like an elementary school student being graded by the teacher. Yesterday was only the first rehearsal, but the Maestro and the orchestra members came so thoroughly prepared that they delivered an almost perfect performance. It was an incredible experience.”
Composer Jung Jae-il, who created music for “Okja,” “Parasite,” and “Squid Game,” said this at a press conference on September 23 at The Prima Art Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the Seoul Philharmonic unveiled its new work.
The orchestra will perform his piece “Inferno” at Carnegie Hall in New York City on October 27. The program will also include Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto” with violinist Kim Bomsori and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2.” The Carnegie Hall concert marks the opening of the orchestra’s five-concert U.S. tour, which runs from October 27 to November 1.
This is especially noteworthy as Jung, who has gained worldwide fame for his work on film and television scores, has for the first time composed a full-scale orchestral work commissioned by Korea’s leading symphony orchestra.
“Inferno” is an 18-minute piece in four movements. The first opens with powerful chords, as the massive gates of hell swing open to reveal its terrifying landscape. The following movements flow through brief moments of calm before reaching a tragic climax. The final movement achieves catharsis as shifting densities of sound unfold over gentle, wave-like figures.
The work was inspired by Italian novelist Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities.”
“In the last chapter, there is a line that says, ‘Hell is not elsewhere, it is here. The question is whether you choose to become part of it or to seek another place.’ While writing, I was constantly thinking about how we live in times filled with tragedies, in situations where the future feels unknowable,” Jung said.
The unusual collaboration between “Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra” and “Jung Jae-il” dates back to January 2023, a year before van Zweden formally assumed his post. At a press briefing then, he pledged to commission new works from “talented young Korean composers like Jung Jae-il.” He personally met Jung that April in Korea to request the piece.
“I never studied composition at a conservatory. I have always written music for (visual) content. I told the Maestro, ‘I’ve never written for orchestra, and I don’t have the ability.’ But he said, ‘Just do what you do best. What matters is that your piece must have a story,’” Jung recalled.
“Even though he says he never studied formally, Jung taught himself and became a remarkable musician. He is versatile and has his own musical world. After our first rehearsal yesterday, I felt this was an intense work that offers comfort to our times. It may seem dark, but there is an exit, and ultimately it leads to peace,” van Zweden said.
Jung joked, “When I heard that my piece would be performed alongside Brahms, I thought, ‘I’m doomed.’ But since I was a child, I studied by poring over scores. I even smuggled Brahms symphony scores into the military when I served.”
The Seoul Philharmonic will give the world premiere of Jung’s piece at its regular concerts on September 25 and 26 at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, ahead of performances of Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” (with pianist Park Jae-hong) and Brahms’ “Symphony No. 1.”
“Life’s greatest risk is refusing to take risks,” van Zweden said. “I believe this is a work worthy of being performed alongside Brahms. It is one of the most uniquely individual pieces I have ever conducted. Once people hear it, everyone will recognize how outstanding it is.”
※This article was translated by an AI tool and edited by a professional translator.
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