Still Friday, Day 14: Seoul Symphony

Our day was not ended. My cousin Sarah is married to Seijin Koh, president of the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) Symphony orchestra. Seijin graciously provided us with tickets for last night's concert. Dan and Erika got a baby sitter and everything. We might have taken the subway, but the route took 45 minutes, went way out of the way, and would have dropped us several blocks from the center anyway, so we chose instead the cultural experience of Seoul traffic--for forty-five minutes--but no walking at the end.

Seoul Arts Center is a spectacular facility with multiple venues. The lobby of the concert hall is elegant.

The orchestra is impressive. The women all wore black pantsuits with white shirts, the better to blend with the men, but I was surprised at the high percentage of women. Probably half. The program was Beethoven. First half was incidental music from the 1787 Goethe play, Egmont, with narration and soprano soloist. Excellent. Unlike Erika who recognized a number of the pieces, it was all new to me. Sarah had graciously printed out a summary in English so we were not entirely lost in the story--typical opera melodrama where everyone dies, but with a nationalistic twist of fighting for freedom. We shared the English with a confused Aussie behind us at intermission. Second half was Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Shame that Steve is elsewhere, visiting theological programs int he region. The audience was VERY appreciative, demanding multiple curtain calls until the orchestra finally pulled at a Hungarian Dance as an encore.

The complex includes a musical fountain, which was on when we left the auditorium. When Erika went before, it was for a kids' concert of Carnival of the Animals. Afterwards the fountain was crowded with kids playing in the mist. Tonight was quite tame by comparison.

I can see why the kids are pleased to be living in Seoul with all it's cultural opportunities.

When we got home at 11 PM, Simeon called cheerfully from upstairs--not a sign of sleepiness. The poor babysitter had been sitting with him the whole time, trying to get him to close his eyes. Just when she thought he was asleep, he would whisper her name and ask her something. Like I said, he didn't seem the least bit sleepy when we got home.