Daegwallyeong is the Sound of Music all summer long

The 19th Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Music Festival Artistic Director Son Yeol-eum Press Conference
Opening on July 2 with the theme 'Mask' for a 3-week... The Longest Festival Ever

Pianist Son Yeol-eum, the artistic director of the Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Music Festival, poses at the press conference for the 19th Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Music Festival held on the morning of the 16th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. This year's festival, themed "MASK," will take place from July 2 to 23 across Gangwon Province. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "I want music to flow through Daegwallyeong all summer long."

The 19th Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Music Festival, held this year, has moved its opening date to early July, welcoming audiences with the longest duration and largest scale in its history.

At a press conference held on the 16th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, artistic director and pianist Son Yeoreum said, "The biggest problems of the music festival in recent years were the accommodation shortage and traffic congestion during peak season. Since Gangwon Province became a hotspot during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became even more difficult, so we decided to hold the festival for three weeks starting from July 2 by moving the schedule earlier."

This year’s theme of the music festival is "MASK." Director Son explained, "When I thought about what is closest to us right now, the first thing that came to mind was the mask. In an interview with Professor Lee Eoryeong, I learned that masks are not only to protect oneself but also to prevent spreading to others, and that 'I live, you live' is the answer to overcoming the COVID-19 era. This idea of meeting and connecting with each other even in a pandemic situation reminded me of the mindset we have in preparing this festival."

The opening concert of the festival will be held at the Alpensia Music Tent, featuring Son Yeoreum, cellist Kim Dumin, and flutist Jo Sunghyun performing "On the Earth" and "Song of the Whale" by recently deceased American composers Frederick Rzewski and George Crumb. George Crumb wrote on the score of this piece, composed in 1971, "for three masked players." It is a perfect opening piece for this year’s mask-themed festival. Director Son said, "As the COVID-19 situation is coming to an end, I thought that one era is passing and another is coming, so I chose works by recently deceased composers to open the festival."

Additionally, the festival will present "Night of Poetry and Music," where vocalists perform art songs, twice during the event. This program, consisting solely of art songs, is a first for the Daegwallyeong Music Festival, and soprano Lim Sunhye and pianist Alexander Melnikov are scheduled to perform together on stage.

This year’s festival will be held on the largest scale with 18 main concerts, 4 special concerts, and 5 outreach concerts. The music education programs, which had been scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be revived.

Director Son said, "In Germany, every orchestra has an orchestra academy, and musicians trained there create the next generation of orchestras, making Germany a classical music powerhouse. I have a dream to make our music festival such a platform as well."