[On Stage] Arete Quartet "We Want to Share the Charm of Chamber Music"

Kumho Art Hall's First Resident String Quartet
Four Solo Recitals Scheduled This Year Starting with New Year's Concert on the 9th

"In the relatively small Korean classical music market, soloists tend to receive a lot of attention, but we want to promote the charm of chamber music as a team."

Cellist Park Seong-hyun (32), leader of the string quartet Arete Quartet, expressed this determination at a press conference held on the 6th at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei, ahead of their activities as resident musicians at Kumho Art Hall this year.

Composed of first violin Jeon Chae-an (28), second violin Park Eun-jung (24), viola Jang Yoon-sun (30), and Park Seong-hyun, the Arete Quartet was formed in 2019. They debuted in 2020 with the Kumho Young Chamber Concert and will present a total of four solo performances this year as Kumho Art Hall resident musicians, starting with the New Year's concert at Kumho Art Hall on the 9th.

Since 2013, Kumho Art Hall has operated the resident musician system, the first of its kind in domestic concert halls. Arete Quartet is the first string quartet to be selected. As Park Seong-hyun mentioned, the attention given to string quartets is not very high. Until now, pianists and violinists have mainly been selected as Kumho Art Hall resident musicians.

From the left: Jeon Chae-an, Park Sung-hyun, Jang Yoon-sun, Park Eun-jung [Photo courtesy of Kumho Cultural Foundation]

In the relatively less spotlighted field of chamber music, Arete Quartet has carved out opportunities for themselves through competitions.

Starting with the 2021 Prague Spring International Music Competition, Arete Quartet consecutively won first prizes at the 2023 Mozart International Competition and last year's Lyon International Chamber Music Competition. They currently hold the record for the most international competition wins among Korean string quartets registered with the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC).

The reason they focus on competitions is to gain more performance opportunities. Park Seong-hyun explained that when selecting competitions to enter, they consider not only the prestige of the competition but also whether the prizes include performance opportunities. This shows how desperately they crave chances to perform.

Jeon Chae-an said, "There aren't as many opportunities to perform as a team as we thought. We participate in competitions to talk with fellow musicians and teachers and to gain stage experience."

Park Seong-hyun said, "Competing is physically demanding and involves costs such as airfare and accommodation, so we want to avoid it as much as possible. However, our top priority is stable activities in Europe, and if more effort is needed for that, we are prepared to prepare for competitions."

In a situation where the desire for performance opportunities is great, being resident musicians who can create four self-curated stages is a very precious opportunity. Kumho Art Hall is especially meaningful as it was the stage where Arete Quartet made their debut.

Park Seong-hyun said he is indescribably happy. "It is a great honor and joy, but I also feel a great sense of responsibility. I have always thought that what chamber music groups need most is resident musicians, and through the resident musician system, we believe we can develop and present a direction for the Korean classical music scene. I feel a strong responsibility and hope that this responsibility is conveyed on stage."

At the New Year's concert on the 9th, they will perform Haydn's 'The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross.' 'The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross' is an orchestral work Haydn published in 1786, and the following year he composed and published a string quartet version. Haydn showed great affection for string quartets, leaving a total of 68 string quartet works throughout his life.

Jeon Chae-an said, "Haydn is the composer who laid the foundation for the string quartet. Our concert theme is 'Resonance,' and we aim to express Haydn's intention to convey the diverse emotions of humans through the music of the string quartet."

From the left: Park Eun-jung, Jeon Chae-an, Jang Yoon-sun, Park Sung-hyun [Photo courtesy of Kumho Cultural Foundation]

On May 29, they will perform string quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Wittmann, and Brahms, and on September 4, they will perform string quartets by Shostakovich and Ravel, as well as Bart?k's piano quintet.

Youngest member Park Eun-jung said about the September concert, "This year marks the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich's death, the 150th anniversary of Ravel's birth, and the 80th anniversary of Bart?k's death, so it will be a very meaningful concert."

The final concert on November 13 will feature string quartets left as the last works of Beethoven and Schubert.

The team name Arete comes from ancient Greek, meaning 'the highest excellence inherent in a true purpose, person, or thing.'

Jeon Chae-an said, "We gathered because we sincerely wanted to play string quartets, so we named the team with the thought of becoming 'excellent musicians.' We want to perform music where the composer is heard first by the audience, not music where we are the focus."

Park Seong-hyun said, "We want to convey to the audience the charm of string quartet music, why many composers wrote string quartets, what stories are contained in the pieces, and why they specifically chose the string quartet format."