Classical music prodigies will take the spotlight in Seoul this spring, performing works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — often cited as history’s greatest child prodigy — alongside older, established musicians.
Violin prodigy Kim Yeon-a, 11, spoke at a news conference April 13 at the Yun Posun House in Seoul for the 21st Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival, known as SSF.
“I’m so excited and nervous — and happy,” she said.
Kim, a widely watched young violinist whose YouTube videos have surpassed 160 million views, called the violin “a lovely friend that listens to the sound of my heart.” She said she hopes the festival will help her learn chamber music by “breathing together, listening to other people’s sound, and learning how to do chamber music.”
SSF is regarded as a launching pad for rising musicians. Performers now active on international stages — including Cho Seong-jin, Sunwoo Yekwon, Kim Sunwook and Son Yeol-eum — also appeared at the festival when they were young. Artistic director Kang Dong-suk, who has led the festival for 21 years, is also a former prodigy who won the top prize at the Dong-A Music Competition at age 12.
Marking the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, SSF is putting “prodigies” at the center of this year’s programming. Under the theme “Mozart and Prodigies,” the festival will run from April 21 to May 31 with 13 performances featuring works by Mozart as well as other early-blooming composers, including Camille Saint-Saens — sometimes called “the Mozart of France” — and Claude Debussy, who entered the Paris Conservatory at age 10. The lineup also includes works by later-blooming masters such as Joseph Haydn and Antonin Dvorak.
A May 2 program titled “Family Concert: Prodigies” will feature Kim along with other young performers — Kim Jeong-a, Lee Do-young, the Appassionato Trio (Jeong Hyeon-jun, Jeon Seo-woo and Kim Ju-ho), and Lee Ju-eon — with an average age of 15, performing with senior musicians. The festival said the young artists were recommended by institutions including the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and the Kumho Foundation.
Kang said the festival will also introduce short pieces Mozart wrote at ages 5 and 6.
“When you listen, you’ll feel, ‘He really was a genius,’” Kang said. He added that chamber music can teach young musicians about life and how to see “the overall flow of music,” and he hopes SSF will help them grow.
Kim said she hopes to become a world-class violinist like Chung Kyung-wha and Kang.
“Someday I want to play on the world stage with a Stradivarius, release recordings, and become a violinist who gives people comfort and happiness,” she said.
Kim said applause helps her onstage.
“It doesn’t matter if there are many people or not, but when there are more people, I actually don’t get as nervous,” she said. “If you clap a lot, I relax.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.