[On Stage] Violinist Kim Eungsoo Seeks the Essence of Music Through "Layers"

Second "Aesthetics of Layers" Concert at the Seoul Arts Center on the 24th
Performing the "Philosophical" Works of Max Bruch and Leonard Bernstein

The process through which classical music performed in a concert hall comes into being is anything but simple. The ideas that the composer puts into the score are realized as sound through communication with the performer, and that sound is then completed as a single piece of music only through communion with the audience filling the hall.

Violinist Kim Eungsoo, Professor in the Department of Orchestral Instruments at Hanyang University, explains the process by which a single performance is completed through the concept of "layers." Just as dots gather to form a line, and lines again form a surface that gradually takes shape, music as well is the result of multiple layers of process accumulating toward completion. In its essence, this resembles the way our own lives are formed through many stages.

Since last year, Professor Kim has been continuing a concert series titled "The Aesthetics of Layers." It is an attempt to retrace the process by which music is created and to explore its essence. On the 24th, he will present the second concert of the series at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. The program includes the overture to Leonard Bernstein's (1918-1990) operetta "Candide" and "Serenade after Plato's Symposium," as well as Max Bruch's (1838-1920) "Violin Concerto No. 1" and "Scottish Fantasy."

Professor Kim Eungsu of Hanyang University is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily in his research lab.

Professor Kim explained that the works to be performed are imbued with philosophical meaning that aspires to the realm of the soul. He said he has always been interested in the idea, which in Plato's philosophy signifies an unchanging essence (in Plato's thought, the soul and the idea are closely related). He added that arts such as music, visual art, and dance differ only in their means of expression, while the essence they ultimately pursue is the same.

Professor Kim said, "Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 is passionate and intuitive, and the Scottish Fantasy, which Bruch wrote without ever having visited Scotland, is a work imbued with a longing for an ideal world and a sense of nostalgia." He added, "Bernstein's works express a longing for the idea; Bernstein was someone deeply fascinated by the ideal realm."

Professor Kim stated that music should not be a mere outpouring of emotion. "Expression may be the essence of art, but it cannot be its goal. It must contain philosophical questions that can generate question marks." He explained that, by expanding thought through music, posing new question marks, and then erasing those question marks one by one, human beings can gradually draw closer to the essence. Professor Kim added, "This is a journey that continues as long as we are alive."

Professor Kim said, "In art, depth is added over time," explaining that he is more deeply moved by the performances of older masters than by those of young performers. He cited pianist Menahem Pressler and violinist David Oistrakh as examples.

"When you listen to Pressler playing Chopin's Nocturnes around the age of 93, you can hear his life, the depth of his time. I do not think there is any performer who conveys depth the way Pressler does. And when I listened to Oistrakh's performance after he had turned sixty, I felt utterly overwhelmed. Hearing him play, I thought, 'I am so glad I chose the violin, I am so grateful.'"

Professor Kim explained, "The violin has a wide range, and the sound varies greatly depending on the register, which makes it well suited to dramatic expression that can contain multiple layers."

The "Aesthetics of Layers" concert will be conducted by American-born Garrett Keast, and will feature Anton Sorokow, concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony and professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, together with Camerata Sol, an ensemble whose core members are Professor Kim's students. Regarding Camerata Sol, Professor Kim explained, "I created this ensemble in the hope that it would become a framework in which we can explore essential meanings together and in which the students themselves can generate their own question marks." He added that he hopes audience members will leave the concert hall not only with the impression that "the performance was good," but also with their own personal question marks about the performance.