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Beethoven's Ninth was the most frequently played symphony in Korean concert halls last year. Of concerti, Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 were most popular repertoires. Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" was the most popular piece among international orchestras visiting Korea.
The Chosun Ilbo analyzed 145 concerts given by 15 Korean orchestras and all given by foreign orchestras visiting Korea to get an idea of what Korean classical music fans enjoy.
There was a clear penchant for Russian orchestral works. With an exception of Beethoven's Ninth, which is standard repertoire for year-end concerts and was played eight times last year, Russian composers occupied the top tier of the symphonic list: Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op.64 was played seven times, Shostakovich's Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op. 47 and Tchaikovsky¡¯s Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36 were played six times each.
When it comes to concerti, preference concentrated on only a handful of famous masterpieces like Tchaikovsky and Beethoven¡¯s violin concertos, played four times each, in addition to Grieg and Schumann piano concertos and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.
"Domestic orchestras do tend to play pieces of certain popular composers only. They should put some carful thought into expanding the repertoire," music critic Hwang Jang-won said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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