Deutsche Grammophon, founded in 1898, is the oldest classical record label in the world.
Deutsche Grammophon, famous for its 'yellow ticket', has established itself as a top classical label, releasing albums from greats such as Karajan and Bernstein.
Currently, Korean musicians who have signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Gramophone include pianist Seong-jin Seong, violinist Bom-sori Kim, and soprano Hye-sang Park.
DG 'Korean Drama Soundtrack' album, famous musicians
However, an album featuring Korean drama music was released on this Deutsche Grammophone.
The faces of the participating artists are also gorgeous.
Deutsche Grammophon representative artist Albrecht Meyer, Principal Oboe of the Berliner Philharmoniker, violinist Daniel Hope, as well as flutists Philip Yunt and James Galway, violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, and pianist Sebastian Knauer participated. .
Arranged by famous European producer and composer Marco Hertenstein.
In addition, two additional songs, 'Shade of Love-Blue and Red', which he composed, are included.
The album was released at the German headquarters of Deutsche Grammophon.
The album jacket with a finger heart that was born in Korea in ink painting has a strong Korean feel.
The origin of this unusual album is Swiss flutist Philippe Yunt.
He was a professor at the Weimar School of Music at Gangnam University in Korea, where he taught and performed actively in Korea for 12 years.
The creator of the album, Swiss flutist Philippe Yunt
Philip Yunt has now returned to Europe after the program has ended, but his love for Korea is still there, and this album is the fruit of his love.
I did a video interview with Philip Yunt in Germany via Zoom.
Obist Albrecht Meyer and pianist Sebastian Knauer also participated in Zoom interviews at their respective locations.
“When I came to Korea, I used to have sleepless nights due to jet lag, and then I watched a lot of Korean dramas and movies. And I fell in love with drama music. I started playing Korean drama music that I arranged as an encore for every performance. I thought of doing it in earnest. My Korean management company, Bom Art Project, said, ‘Then let’s do a concert with only drama music.’ This project has grown over the years and has come this far. ."
(Philip Yunt)
Arranger Marco Hertenstein and he listened to more than 2,000 songs over several months to pick out songs for the album, and went through the process of reducing their picks to 180 and then to 30. And finally, 15 songs with permission from the original copyright holder were included in the album. It took about a year and a half to unravel all the complicated copyright relationships. The arrangement was made very classical by adding a little percussion to the orchestral arrangement of Mozart's songs. The final songs are as follows.
01. Beautiful 'Goblin'
02. Muiiya 'Six Flying Dragons'
03. Mr. Sunshine Theme Song 'Mr. Sunshine'
04. Always 'Descendants of the Sun'
05. Don't Worry You 'Reply 1988'
06. The World That Is You Legend of the Blue Sea'
07. Stay With Me 'Goblin'
08. Shades Of Love – Blue
09. I'll go to you like the first snow 'Goblin'
10. B Rosette 'White Tower'
11. Good Day 'Mr. Sunshine'
12. Snow 'Sorry, I love you'
13. Muiya (Rock Version) 'Six Flying Dragons'
14. Shades Of Love – Red
15.Brain(Main Theme) 'Brain'
16. Going
back in time 'The Moon Embracing the Sun'
17. A song for my brother 'Crash Landing on You'
▶ Album introduction video
Albrecht Meyer and Sebastian Meyer had never seen a Korean drama, but they thought it was an interesting project, so they decided to take part in the album, and they recalled that the recording process was really fun.
"It's been years since I've known Philip. One day he called and said, 'Would you like to work on a Korean drama music project? We're going to work with good people like Daniel Hope, James Galway, etc.' So I immediately said 'Okay, send me some music'. I really like the music, so I did it too. I especially like 'A Song for My Brother' (Crash Landing on You Soundtrack), but I love the whole album. There's also electric music. I'm fascinated by this album."
(Albrecht Meyer)
▶ 'A song for my brother'
“When I first got the sheet music, I didn’t know what it would be like because there was only my part. But as soon as I started playing in the studio, it felt like the music immediately entered me. I’ve never seen a Korean drama. I don’t know Korean well. But the music is international. It speaks for itself without needing to translate. These songs instantly penetrated my ears and heart, and they were very beautiful."
(Sebastian Knauer)
From 'The White Tower' to 'Crash Landing on You'
Of course, this is the first time a Korean drama soundtrack album has been released from Deutsche Grammophon. Drama music from a classical record label? If you're a 'strict' classical music aficionado, you might be scratching your head, but the performers who actually participated say it's nothing new.
"As a musician, I love all kinds of music. I've played with hardcore jazz and pop players. It's always interesting to learn new things. Germans were strict about classical music 30 or 40 years ago, but now No. These days, classical music is very open and constantly changing. There is a German saying, 'Classical music or popular music, there is no such classification. There's only music' And these Korean drama songs were really beautiful." (Albrecht Meyer)
The Korean dramas featured in this album range from the relatively old 'White Tower' to the latest 'Crash Landing on You'. Philip Yunt said he particularly liked 'Don't Worry My Love', which was inserted into 'Reply 1988'. He also said that he enjoyed the historical drama 'Six Flying Dragons', and said that you can tell where Korean culture came from by looking at the historical drama. He said that in Germany, there are not many cases where stories from hundreds of years ago are made into dramas, and he said that Koreans seem to be very interested in their past.
He also said he likes 'Always', the insert song for 'Descendants of Taeang', and shared his memories of going to Zakynthos Island, Greece, where this drama was filmed, when he was in high school.
Many scenes were filmed in this drama at Navagio Beach, where the shipwreck of Zakynthos is located, and Philip Yunt said that he remembered his memories while watching the drama.
Also on this album, there were three soundtracks for 'Goblin', and he said that 'Goblin' is like a Shakespeare play featuring fairies, and the drama is good, but the music is great.
Interest in this album was also high in Germany, and I heard that the participating musicians had several interviews with local media.
When asked how it was, Philip Yunt said, 'Young journalists already know surprisingly well about Korean dramas, music, and Korean actors', and said that Korean culture is very popular among young people in Europe.
“This is a project to be thankful for in Korea. I have had so many good experiences in Korea for 12 years. So I wanted to give something back. Second, in Korea, most musicians mostly only play Western music, and I wanted to do it in reverse. So we want Western musicians to celebrate Korean culture by performing Korean modern drama music.”
"A country that can really sing? Korea!"
Philip Yunt talked about the characteristics of Korean culture that he felt, and said that he is rich in emotion and changes rapidly. He also said that Korean dramas and music contain rich emotions and expressions. But as I listened to the story, the remarks of violinist Pincus Zuckerman, who suddenly became controversial a while ago—'Koreans can't sing. It reminded me of the saying 'there's no song in their DNA'. So, I asked him what he thought of Pincus Zuckerman's remarks, and in a similar vein, Asian musicians are often evaluated as 'too technical', so I asked him what he thought.
"Pinkers Zuckerman is my hero and a great musician. But if he said 'Koreans don't sing', he doesn't seem to know much about Korean culture. There are so many Korean musicians working in Germany, and they all sing great. . So if you ask, 'Which country can really sing?' I'd say Korea. My Korean students are also really good and expressive." (Albrecht Meyer)
"When I was in Korea, I thought, 'You have to learn about singing from Koreans.' Koreans enjoy singing and are good people. They sing all the time. Of course, they also sing on instruments." (Philip Yunt)
"German musicians sometimes play 'too
fine
' (Sebastian Knauer)
Pincus Zuckerman, which I did not think about when we first started the interview, even talked about remarks, and the video interview passed the promised time.
I asked for my last goodbye.
"Close your eyes and just listen to the music. And think of a familiar scene from the drama. You can imagine the story behind the music. But even if you don't know the drama, if it's good music, just listen to it and enjoy it. That's it."
(Sebastian Knauer)
"It was really fun to be able to play together. It's really cool and beautiful music. I'm thinking of watching a Korean drama in the future too. I hope everyone is healthy."
(Albrecht Meyer)
“Many European students want to go to Korea because of K-pop, Korean drama, and Korean culture. Not only K-pop but also classical music. There are many Korean classical musicians active, and I have been in Korea for 12 years. I'm proud of it, and I'm really happy to be able to give this great gift of appreciation to the Korean people."
(Philip Yunt)
K-pop, Korean dramas, movies, classics… Reflecting interest in Korean culture
This album was released in Korea after Germany. The Korean version is the same as the German version, except that a Korean translation is inserted on the album cover in German and English, and the Korean Music Copyright Association stamp is attached. Although the driving force and networking of Philippe Yunt, a musician who loved Korea, played a big role, it is meaningful that the Deutsche Grammophon headquarters willingly released this album. That means that the Korean market is important, and it also means that we have judged that there will be a significant demand for this album in the global market including Europe.
Throughout the interview, they referred to the Korean drama soundtrack as 'K-pop'. 'K-pop' usually refers to the music of a Korean idol group, but it also refers to Korean popular music in a broader sense, so the soundtrack of a Korean drama is also called 'K-pop'. The Korean drama soundtrack album from the classic classic Deutsche Grammophone is another example of the global popularity of Korean cultural contents such as K-pop and Korean dramas.