As a long-standing tradition in the UCSB Arts & Lectures programming, attention is paid to both western classical music and, to a smaller degree, music of the non-western world, a k a the controversially-monikered realm of “world music.” With the local debut of the unique duet CelloGayageum, in the “Hear and Now” series at Hahn Hall, on Thursday, October 29, both worlds of interest converge, between Austrian cellist Sol Daniel Kim and respected Korean gayageum virtuoso Dayoung Yoon.
Formed in 2016 between the two young musicians, CelloGayageum took as a formative influence the extra-musical source of the “Pavilion of Unification” at the Korean embassy in Berlin, a traditional Korean wood-and-stone pavilion intended to commemorate the 25th anniversary of reunification of East and West Berlin, and as an expression of promoting the eventual reunification of North and South Korea.
Accordingly, the duet sought to create a peaceful musical east-west dialogue between the relatively young cello — dating back only about 500 years — and the gayageum, a 12-string zither used in the traditional Korean gugak folk tradition, dating back more than a millennium. Among their accolades thus far are a win of the Soorim Cultural Prize in 2018 and a grant from the Seoul Foundation of Arts and Culture enabling them to record their debut album, South Wave, North Wind.
As heard on their 2023 album 2.0 (hear at bit.ly/4Bflkrk), the musical content they put forth — written by the pair — is of an accessible and friendly sort, a kind of cultural crossover source, in terms of geo-cultural considerations and the more easy-does-it end of the classical crossover/new age scene. Their work functions as both background and foreground music. Gentle bubbling grooves and romantic-leaning melodic sonorities line the way, rather than any more esoteric or ear-challenging modes.
In short, the Hahn Hall concert promises to be a trans-cultural experience which remains in the realm of lighter fare on the serious music spectrum.
See CelloGayageum on Thursday, October 29, at 7 p.m., at the Music Academy of the West Hahn Hall, see artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/events-tickets/events/26-27/cellogayageum.
