2020 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival Opens Today... A Genre-Mixing Festival

A Total of 8 Teams and 18 Performances Until the 25th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The 2020 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival opened on the 9th and will continue until the 25th.

The 2020 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival is held in commemoration of the successful hosting of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, operating in line with the opening and closing schedules of the Olympics in 2018. Additionally, the cities hosting the 2020 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival include Pyeongchang, Gangneung, and Jeongseon?the Olympic cities?as well as Wonju, Chuncheon, the border areas of the province such as Cheorwon and Goseong, and Seoul.

The opening of the 2020 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival begins at 5 p.m. on the 9th at the Gangneung Arts Center Saimdang Hall with an authentic classical chamber music performance by the Beethoven Trio Bonn. This year marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, celebrated worldwide. The Daegwallyeong Music Festival has also prepared several Beethoven programs.

The Beethoven Trio Bonn is a piano trio formed in Beethoven’s hometown of Bonn, Germany, consisting of violinist Mikael Obratzky, cellist Grigory Alumyan, and pianist Lee Jin-sang, a professor at the Korea National University of Arts. The Beethoven Trio Bonn will perform Beethoven’s piano trio "Ghost," Shostakovich’s "Piano Trio No. 1," Shchedrin’s "Three Cheerful Pieces," and Mendelssohn’s "Piano Trio No. 2."

The cello and harp duo "Lavinia Meijer & Jeffrey Zeigler" will showcase the essence of classical music, while the Macedonian folk music group "Makedonishimo," violinist "Jul Apap"?who breaks genre boundaries by combining classical repertoire with jazz and various folk music?and his founded string quartet "Colors of Invention," Japanese jazz pianist "Makoto Ozone" and his "Makoto Ozone Quintet," the hybrid piano duo "LP Duo" exploring infinite possibilities of music, science (quantum mechanics), and performance through piano, the festival’s artistic director "Son Yeol-eum," North Korean-born "Kim Cheol-ung," "Duo Amal" from Israel and Palestine?four pianists performing together the melody of peace "Peaceful NEWS," and the winter music festival’s signature content "Winter Traveler" will altogether present eight teams offering fresh and special performances ranging from classical to jazz and new genres that belong nowhere throughout the festival period.

Artistic Director Son Yeol-eum stated, "The Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival contrasts with the Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Summer Music Festival, which pursues traditional classical music. Through the 2019 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival, we aimed to create a genre-mixing festival featuring diverse music and performances such as classical, light classical, and crossover, and we intend to continue this in the 2020 Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival. This winter music festival will present original and groundbreaking music and stages centered around four major storylines: 'Beethoven’s 250th Birth Anniversary,' 'Somewhere in Between,' 'Melodies of Peace,' and 'In Winter, Winter Traveler.' A total of 8 teams and 18 performances (13 main concerts and 5 free visiting concerts) will be held, making it the largest event in history," he said.

The Gangwon Cultural Foundation, which organizes the festival, said, "To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, we have prepared thermal imaging cameras and hand sanitizers inside the performance venues. We are making efforts so that the audience can enjoy the performances with peace of mind."

Tickets for the Daegwallyeong Winter Music Festival can be purchased through Interpark and the Gangneung Arts Center website (only for Gangneung Arts Center performances). Residents of Gangwon Province can purchase tickets at a 50% discount, and visiting concerts are free to attend. Detailed information on the full schedule, programs, and performers can be found on the website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.