COURTESY OF UH-MANOA Byungki Hwang will play the kayagum on Sunday.

Soothing sound
of kayagum

Korean Centennial events

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By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

Honolulu is important to Byungki Hwang. The musician and professor from South Korea first came here in 1965, "and it was my debut to the Western world," he said.

His first album featuring the kayagum, a 12-stringed instrument akin to both the Japanese koto and Chinese ku-cheng, was produced through the auspices of the East-West Center.

Now on his third visit, Hwang will have the opportunity to return the favor as he and accompanist and changgu player Woong-Sik Kim perform a concert of kayagum music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Orvis Auditorium this weekend. It's part of a lengthy celebration in honor of the centennial of Korean immigration to the United States.

The duo performed a well-received guest set with the Honolulu Symphony last weekend, playing two of Hwang's works, "Saebom (Early Spring)," with accompaniment by a chamber orchestra, and "ChimHyangMoo," a piece that showcased the duo's work on their native instruments.

As for Sunday's program, Hwang said in a phone interview from his hotel room last week that Kim is often his accompanist of choice. She is considered one of the country's finest instrumentalists on the changgu, an hourglass-shaped, double-headed drum.

"She also plays solo, which will be featured in the first part of our program," a tradition-minded section that will showcase both the kayagum and changgu in solo and tandem situations, "Kayagum Sanjo" and "Changgu Nori."

Part two of the concert will feature three of Hwang's compositions: "Forest," "The Silk Road" and "Spring Snow."

Hwang prides himself on being one of the few composer-instrumentalists on the kayagum who's well-versed enough to play in any style. "Of all my more avant-garde works, I think the most representative is 'The Labyrinth,' a piece for female voice and kayagum. The vocalist combines both Latin and wailing sounds -- sometimes she recites items from a newspaper, which I consider a liberation of material. In the meantime, I play the kayagum with a cello bow (as opposed to the usual method of using bare hands), as we explore entirely new sounds.

"My mainstream work, like the pieces that will be played Sunday, have a rather traditional and contemporary flavor -- more soothing sounds for the human soul," he said.

HWANG learned to play the kayagum in 1951 as a middle school-aged boy during the Korean War, when he and his parents were refugees in Pusan (coming from Seoul). Later, he attended the national Center for Korean Performing Arts for eight years, refining his technique on the zither-like instrument.

"All that time, I practice every day. I loved the kayagum and had no other ambitions other than to be a musician -- it was like butterflies attracted to flowers," he said.

By 1974, he had dedicated his life fully to the kayagum, and since then, he's become a respected instrumentalist, composer, as well as teacher in both university and performing arts schools in South Korea.

"In 1962, I was the first composer to write a modern kayagum piece, 'Forest.' Even though I write in the Western musical notation, I think there is generally a wide gap between performance and score in Oriental music. I think the sound of Korean music is similar to Western brush painting or even calligraphy, where the drawn line is not designed and depends on the chance operation of the brush.

"The sound of Korean music is very individual to the performer, and there's more emphasis on the beauty of the artistry."

Hwang said he's preparing a fifth album of kayagum music, claiming that his albums are steady sellers in his home country. Whether his work is traditional or more aggressively contemporary, he said "my music belongs to classical music, because it's meant to be very long-lasting."

Kayagum music from Korea Featuring Byungki Hwang and Woong-Sik Kim Where: Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawaii at Manoa When: 7 p.m. Sunday Tickets: $12 general; $8 students, senior citizens, military and members of Friends of the East-West Center Call: 944-7177 Also: Professor Hwang will present a free seminar on "Creating Kayagum Music: Focusing on The Silk Road" at 12:30 p.m. Monday at the university's music department complex, Room 116.

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