Composer Choi Jaehyuk's New Work, World Premiere at Philharmonie de Paris, the Center of Contemporary Music

by Jung Jin

Published 16 Mar.2023 09:22(KST)

Updated 17 Mar.2023 15:00(KST)

Composer Choi Jaehyuk's New Work, World Premiere at Philharmonie de Paris, the Center of Contemporary Music

On March 11th at 6:45 PM (local time), at the Philharmonie de Paris in France, the world premiere of composer Choi Jae-hyuk's work 'Straight to Heaven' was performed under the baton of Toby Thatcher and by Ensemble Intercontemporain. The concert, titled Tremplin de la Creation, explored works by young composers from around the world throughout the day. Particularly, attention was focused on the seven young composers whose works were premiered by the world-renowned contemporary music ensemble Ensemble Intercontemporain.

The seven participating composers of various nationalities were Lisa Heute, Emmanuelle Da Costa, Manuela Guerra, Langing Ding, Choi Jae-hyuk, Matt Schultheis, and Tom Bierton.

Among these works, 'Straight to Heaven' by the young South Korean composer Choi Jae-hyuk was commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain and completed in December 2022.

Composer Choi Jae-hyuk stated, “It was an honor and I was very grateful and happy that the world-class Ensemble Intercontemporain premiered my work. Their artistic and delicate performance perfectly completed my composition. This summer, I plan to don the conductor’s attire again at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.”

The concert, co-hosted by Philharmonie de Paris and Ensemble Intercontemporain, was live-streamed on YouTube so that many people could watch.

Founded by Pierre Boulez, Ensemble Intercontemporain first visited Korea during the opening concert of Lotte Concert Hall in 2016, meeting Korean audiences. Having proven their delicate performance skills, they are scheduled to be invited for their second visit to Korea in April as part of the Arts Center’s planned contemporary music series.

Conductor and composer Choi Jae-hyuk, the youngest-ever winner of the composition category at the 72nd Geneva International Competition, made his international debut the following year conducting the London Symphony Orchestra with Simon Rattle at the Lucerne Festival. Having earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, Choi is currently pursuing an artist diploma at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, actively working as a composer and conductor between Korea and abroad.