Wonder Boy

Daniel Harding is one of the new stars in the European conducting world. Playing the trumpet but interested in conducting, he created an orchestra with his school friends when he was seventeen years old. Harding sent a tape of his orchestra’s recording of Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” to Birmingham Symphony conductor Simon Rattle. Rattle was curious to see this bold stripling and said when they met;

“Your conducting in this tape was more accurate than my conducting in Berlin last week!”

In 1994, Rattle pulled this 19-year-old boy onto the podium for the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s rehearsal, introducing him, “Ladies and gentlemen, you will never forget this boy.”

The rumor of this bright new generation conductor even spread to Berlin. Berlin Philharmonic conductor Claudio Abbado gave Harding, who was 21 years old, an opportunity to conduct the orchestra as the youngest conductor ever. Abbado called Harding “my little genius” and handed his Mahler Chamber Orchestra over to him.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra, composed of 49 musicians from 15 countries, reinterprets a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to Modern. It plays regularly at the Ferrara Festival, Aix-en-Provence, and the Lucerne Festival and is invited to play at the Salzburg Mozart Festival from 2005.

Harding, currently principal guest conductor of London Symphony Orchestra, will also be music director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2007. He has also been excellent in conducting operas. In the Aix-en-Provence Festival whose music director he is, he has led the festival together with Peter Brook directing “Don Giovanni” and Luc Bondy directing “The Turn of the Screw.” Harding conducted “Idomeneo” at La Scala in Milano in December of 2005 and Berg’s “Wozzeck” at Covent Garden, England recently.

Harding, a passionate supporter of England’s pro soccer team Manchester United, said in an interview, “Park Ji-seong is a player with extraordinary speed and creativity.” He added, “These days, young conductors have fewer ‘genuine’ opportunities to conduct a big orchestra. Please, pay more attention to young conductors for the future music world.”

Europe’s ‘Wonder Boy’ Harding will conduct his Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center on October 1. The music to be played in the concert includes: Mozart’s “Symphony No.6 in F major, K. 43,” Schumann’s “Piano Concerto in A minor,” and Brahms’ “Symphony No.2.” Tickets range from 30,000 won to 140,000 won. For any inquiries, call 02-751-9607.

raphy@donga.com