Korean Job Discussion Forums

tomato · Last edited by tomato on Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:31 pm; edited 2 times in total

Here is a list of classical compositions which I didn't even know in the United States but have heard repeatedly in Korea:

Slavonic Dance, op. 72 no. 1 by Antonin Dvorak

Written in much the same style as the slow movement to his Eighth Symphony--in other words, delightful.

Romance by Georges Bizet

Best known for Carmen.

Salud d'Amour by Edward Elgar

In my country, Elgar is well-known for the Enigma Variations. Of course, he is also remembered at every graduation ceremony with Pomp and Circumstance.

Nocturne from String Quartet in D by Alexander Borodin

In my country, Borodin is most noted for the Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor, from which the song Stranger in Paradise is an adaptation.

Waltz from Jazz Suite by Dmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovish must have a very wide definition of jazz. There is nothing jazzy about this work except that all the pieces are written in a light mood.

second movement from Sextet in Bb, op. 16 by Johannes Brahms

Brahms must have decided to go Spanish when he wrote this piece. It uses the harmony, but not the melody, from the Spanish song La Folla, and it has a very strong Spanish flavor. Ole!

The Maiden's Prayer by Tekla Badarzewska

I used to sneer at this piece until just now, when I learned that the composer wrote the piece when he was only 18 years old.
It is unfortunate that he died when he was 23 years old. He might have become a great composer.

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

Yes, Koreans seem to be better educated in the arts than we stupid North Americans.....too much studying.....

No, seriously, I am happy to live in a city with so much cultural awareness. Many say Koreans are not aware of the outside world. Obviously not. Many Koreans know American singers I have not heard of.

VanIslander · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 6:38 pm Post subject:

Great list.

Yet what I've heard the most is Beethoven, and lots of it: on cell phone rings, in the supermarket, on the radio and T.V.

It's understandable since Koreans are Romantics at heart.

Further, even ten year olds know Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker".

Yet classical musical tastes in Korea are understood by many I've met to be more concentrated in the big cities, with upper class consciousness (much more like in the U.S. and Canada and less like in Europe) and with those setting the school curriculum these days - at least that's what my adult students and acquaintances think when we've discussed foreign composers and musical styles.

Of course they tend to lump classical music and jazz together. Perhaps it's a prejudice of this region.

As one student re-affirmed while giving me a ride in his SUV: "Classical music and jazz are not popular in Korea" as his burned C.D. played Ella Fitzgerald and Yanni.

And, of course, a few of the 28% of Koreans who are Christian have asked me about Bach.

Edited in extra: 49 % of Seoulites are Christian kangnamdragon, much less nationwide. My figure comes from a major university-backed study done last year. But this thread is not the place to argue it, so let's agree to disagree.

tomato · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 8:57 pm Post subject:

Right now the radio is playing the Saint-Saens Rondo Capriccioso.
In the United States, I was in an orchestra which played that piece with the concertmaster (who certainly was not me!) playing the solo.

I had heard it only a few times since then, but it seems to be a KBS favorite.

I just thought of another: Voices of Spring by Johann Strauss.
Incidentally, the Korean name for Voices of Spring is �� Ҹ�.
The Korean name for The Maiden's Prayer is �ҳ�� ⵵.

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

Medic · Joined: 11 Mar 2003

Was teaching at a middle school in a university, and the middle school happened to be adjacent to the university school of music. Anyway I'm fond of the piano, so I used to go to their afternoon recitals, and the end of the year student performances. Found that their choices of music corresponded to the music played by artists making their debuts at world renowned concert halls. I think Evegny Kissing had just made his debut with Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody on his programe, and lo and behold what should 3 of the graduating students play for their end of the year performance. Liszt's"Spanish Rahpsody"

tsgarp · Joined: 01 Dec 2003

I find it charming when middle school kids will say things like, "my favorite musicians are Seo Taeji (rocker) and Segovia (Spanish Guitar)." It's certainly more eclectic than I was at that age. Doors and Eagles, talk about a range of music.

The Lemon · Joined: 11 Jan 2003

You forgot the #1 classical piece in the country, which is actually far more obscure in the rest of the world: Luigi Boccherini's Minuet from String Quintet.

This is the piece that's played on Seoul garbage trucks... Samaeul trains... buses... KBS radio, just before the news... You hear it OVER AND OVER AGAIN here, everywhere you go. It's a very nice piece, but it's weird that they've grabbed onto it like a dog with a bone.

kiwiboy_nz_99 · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Location: ...Enlightenment...

Pachelbell's Canon ... great peice, but I'm a populist so there you go, and every one knows Bach's Air on the G string ( which I've always thought a bit of an unfortunate name in light of current underwear trends )

tokki · Joined: 26 Jul 2003

If its not Chopin...its crap.

Zed · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Shakedown Street

Bach's Menuet in D Minor is often recognized by some of my students.

I had a class of girls in my first year that were mad about Czerny.

Harvard Material · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

I have heard Debussy's 'Claire duLune' lots here...t.v. programs and what not. Seems very popular, however short. Korea is full of powerful violinists, pianists, guitarists...no messin' around.

ohahakehte · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The State of Denial

has Steve Reich ever played in Seoul? or has anyone ever done Steve Reich pieces at a performance? i love his stuff, amazing.

tomato · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 6:21 pm Post subject:

Here's one more item for the list:

Vocalise by Rachmaninoff

KBS played this piece three times within the past week.

tomato · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 6:45 am Post subject:

Plaisir d'Amour by Giovanni Martini (1741-1816)

I've never heard this before I came to Korea, but that seems to be a gap on my part. A Web search reveals that the song has been recorded by Joan Baez, Brigitte Bardot, and the King Singers.

The song "I Can't Help Falling in Love" from Blue Hawaii sounds suspiciously like Plaisir, and the writer of that song admits copying a few measures.

The composer seems to have learned three languages the easy way. One Website calls him a "German-born French composer." His name is given variously as Johann Paul Aegidius Martini, Jean Paul Egide Martini, and Jean Paul Egide Schwarzendorf. He was nicknamed "Martini il Tedesco," which in Italian means "Martini the German." I can't find out how many generations back his Italian heritage was.

Anyway, I wish I was a Korean-born American.