{"id":111057,"date":"2025-01-17T07:24:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T12:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=111057"},"modified":"2025-01-17T07:40:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T12:40:59","slug":"preview-brilliant-baroque-tafelmusik-celebrates-korean-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/01\/17\/preview-brilliant-baroque-tafelmusik-celebrates-korean-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Brilliant Baroque: Tafelmusik Celebrates Korean New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Violinist
Violinist and Tafelmusik Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger (Photo: Broadway Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger and Tafelmusik recently went on a tour of South Korea<\/a> with a program they dubbed Bach and Baroque Brilliance. They\u2019ll be performing some of that music along with a new arrangement of the beloved South Korean folk song Arirang by Junghyun Kim in Toronto later this month.<\/p>\n

Directed by Rachel Podger, the concerts will feature soloist Jihyun Back, Traditional Korean drum dancer, with performances from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn November of 2024, Tafelmusik performed the Brilliant Baroque program for incredibly attentive and enthusiastic audiences in six packed houses across South Korea,\u201d says Cristina Zacharias<\/strong>, Artistic Co-Director in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s especially meaningful to bring the success of the tour home to our Toronto audience. We are also excited to welcome Jihyun Back to our stage to share mesmerizing traditional Korean drum dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Korean-born Jihyun Back<\/strong> performed as a child in the Little Angels Dance Company. She studied dance at the Korean Seonhwa School of Arts, followed by the Korean Seonhwa High School of Arts. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from Sangmyung University, and went on to perform in a professional company for five years.<\/p>\n

Based now in Toronto, she works as an independent dancer\/choreographer, and dance educator.<\/p>\n

The Music<\/h3>\n

The Brilliant Baroque program opens with music from Rachel Podger\u2019s native England, including pieces by Handel, Purcell, and Charles Avison.<\/p>\n

Tafelmusik will also perform an orchestral suite by the Bohemian composer Anton\u00edn Reichenauer (1696 \u2013 1730), a piece that\u2019s new to the ensemble\u2019s repertoire.<\/p>\n

Podger will be the soloist for J.S. Bach\u2019s Violin Concerto in A Minor.<\/p>\n

The finale comes in the form of a musical gift arising from its South Korean tour. Arirang is a Korean folk song, one with about 3,600 variations and more than 600 years of history. It\u2019s included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list twice. It has come to be considered as Korea\u2019s unofficial anthem.<\/p>\n

Tafelmusik will premiere a new arrangement of the song by young Korean composer Junghyun Kim. Junghyun Kim<\/strong> earned a BMus at the Yeung nam University, Conservatory of Music in his native Daegu, South Korea, followed by a MMus at the State University of New York, Purchase College. He is known for his chamber and orchestral works, along with compositions for film.<\/p>\n

The arrangement, titled Maeari-Rang, was created specifically for Tafelmusik\u2019s tour, and garnered a heartfelt response from audiences in Korea.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a story of people who go through tunnels of emotions \u2014 with messiness, sadness, and a little excitement and humour \u2014 to reach the light at the end,\u201d says Kim.<\/p>\n