Orchestral Work "Scheherazade" Presented as a Double Bass and Piano Duet

Double Bassist Yoo Siheon to Perform at Seoul Arts Center
Special THE NEXT Concert at In Chun Art Hall on August 14

A stage has been set where audiences can enjoy Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral work "Scheherazade" as a duet for piano and double bass.

Double bassist Yoo Siheon will perform the Scheherazade duet with pianist Park Youngsung on August 14 at the Special THE NEXT concert in the In Chun Art Hall at the Seoul Arts Center. The Special THE NEXT series highlights young musicians who will lead the next generation of classical music. Pianist Lee Jungwoo opened the series in June, and Yoo Siheon now takes up the baton.

Yoo Siheon drew global attention last year by becoming both the first Asian and the youngest winner of the Giovanni Bottesini Double Bass International Competition, where he also received the special prize for performers under 25. This year, he became the first Korean to win the ISB International Competition, further establishing himself as a next-generation double bassist.

Double bassist Yoo Siheon [Photo by Seoul Arts Center]

Six pieces will be performed at this concert. The program begins with Gliere's "Prelude and Scherzo," which reflects the late Russian Romantic style, followed by Liszt's "Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year: Italy, No. 5, Sonetto 104 del Petrarca," Czech composer Hertl's "Sonata for Double Bass and Piano," Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade," Bottesini's lyrical "Dream," and the technically dazzling "Allegro Concertante in the Style of Mendelssohn."

Among these, both Scheherazade and Liszt's Years of Pilgrimage will be performed in arrangements by Austrian double bassist Dominik Wagner. Although Liszt's Years of Pilgrimage was originally written for piano, it will be presented as a duet for double bass and piano in Wagner's arrangement.

Following Yoo Siheon, the Special THE NEXT series will continue with violinist Kim Seohyun on November 15 and violinist Lim Dokyung on November 20. Kim Seohyun set the record as the youngest-ever winner at the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition in Oberlin, USA, in 2022. In 2023, at just 14 years old, she became the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious Tibor Varga International Competition in Switzerland. Lim Dokyung won the Michael Hill Competition in 2019 and the Stuttgart Violin Competition last year.

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