[Reporter’s Reading] Classic Stories Beyond Books... Visible Through QR Codes

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Violinist Lee Ji-yoon (28) was appointed in 2017 as the first Asian concertmaster and the youngest concertmaster in the 450-year history of the Berlin Staatskapelle, Germany. World-renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim, who had applied for the deputy concertmaster position, selected Lee Ji-yoon by telling him to apply for the concertmaster position instead. Lee Ji-yoon described Barenboim as "friendly and warm, like the grandfather next door."

Lee Ji-yoon's description of Barenboim's approachable nature can be seen in the 2009 New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. The performance video is available on YouTube. At 1 hour 29 minutes and 40 seconds into the 1 hour 56 minute video, an amusing event occurs. A horn player suddenly stands up after finishing his part. Barenboim, surprised, signals him to sit down, but the horn player shakes his head and exits the stage.

Barenboim is momentarily taken aback but quickly regains his composure to continue conducting. At that moment, violinists and violists on both sides also stand up and leave the stage one after another. Eventually, the orchestra members leave one by one, leaving Barenboim alone on the empty stage.

Scan the QR code on page 66 of 'A Classic Story as Beautiful as a Novel' with your smartphone to watch an 8-minute video of the orchestra members playing and gradually leaving the stage. 'A Classic Story as Beautiful as a Novel' is designed to enhance understanding of classical music by providing various classical performance videos. The piece performed by Barenboim and the Vienna Philharmonic is the approximately 8-minute symphony 'Farewell' by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732?1809).

'Farewell' was composed by Haydn to subtly signal Prince Esterh?zy, whom he served, that it was time to leave. The prince enjoyed music at his summer palace in southern Hungary during the summer. In 1772, the prince had no intention of leaving the palace even by November. As the prince stayed away from home for a long time, the orchestra members grew increasingly dissatisfied. Haydn composed 'Farewell' in a way that each musician would leave the stage after finishing their part, gently indicating to the prince that it was time to return. Barenboim and the Vienna Philharmonic humorously reenacted the situation where Haydn and his orchestra could finally leave the Esterh?zy summer palace, adding a rare element of fun to the classical concert.

Author Lee Chae-hoon of 'A Classic Story as Beautiful as a Novel' explains classical music using various videos like this. He helps readers understand pieces through interesting episodes, the lives of musicians, or his own impressions, making classical music more accessible. The author also offers ways to become familiar with classical music. For example, since the symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860?1911), a representative composer of the late German Romantic era, are generally long, he advises listening first to the shorter Symphony No. 1 'Titan' and No. 4 'Das himmlische Leben' ('The Heavenly Life'). He also recommends comparing 'The Heavenly Life' with Mahler's song 'Das irdische Leben' ('The Earthly Life').

The book, composed of seven chapters, contains stories of 27 musicians. However, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756?1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770?1827) are given special focus, covered alone in chapters 2 and 3 respectively. At the end of each chapter, the author shares his own story under the title 'Boy Meets Classical Music.' He writes that when he was in the first year of middle school, his sister, nine years older, passed away, and through listening to Beethoven's Symphony 'Fate' from her LP collection, he fatefully encountered classical music.

The author worked as a producer at MBC for nearly 30 years, producing many documentaries. Although he made various historical documentaries such as those on the Jeju 4.3 Incident and the Yeosu-Suncheon Rebellion, he says his happiest moments were when making music documentaries.

Among the seven musicians introduced in the final chapter is Yun Isang (1917?1995). The author regards Yun Isang as one of the five major composers of the 20th century and praises him for revitalizing Western music, which had been drifting in extreme abstraction, with new blood.

(A Classic Story as Beautiful as a Novel / written by Lee Chae-hoon / Hyeda / 16,000 KRW)

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