Seohyun explores new musical territory

“The mindset I value most is sincerity. My skills may still be unpolished, but when it comes to my love for music and the dedication I bring to it, I approach it as seriously as anyone,” Seohyun said.

Seohyun, a member of the K-pop girl group Girls' Generation and an actress, is now taking on a new challenge as a violinist. She will perform on March 13 at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul’s Songpa District for the eighth regular concert of the amateur orchestra Sol Philharmonic, presenting “Csardas” by Italian composer Vittorio Monti.

“This stage will be a pure celebration created by amateurs who share a passion for music,” she added.

The collaboration has drawn attention as it marks Seohyun’s first official violin performance, roughly seven months after she began learning the instrument in August last year.She first began learning the instrument for about four years in elementary school and grew up in a household immersed in classical music, as her mother ran a piano academy. Although she set the instrument aside to focus on her activities with Girls’ Generation, she rediscovered classical music about two years ago after hearing a performance by pianist Lim Yunchan.

“For someone like me, who had been a workaholic focused solely on moving forward, his performance was both shocking and thrilling, prompting me to reflect on myself,” she said.

Seohyun cited Lim’s renditions of Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Transcendental Études by Franz Liszt at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, describing an “indescribable sense of awe” as she watched him completely immerse himself in the music. Since then, she said, classical music has become a source of the deepest solace, beyond simple appreciation.

Her upcoming performance was suggested by her teacher, violinist Kim Hyun-jung. Seohyun said she felt encouraged by the fact that the concert emphasizes music lovers rather than professional musicians, making her role as a soloist feel in harmony with the event’s spirit.

“I thought I might never again receive such a precious opportunity in my life,” Seohyun said. “Instead of spending time in fear, I chose to practice more and embrace the challenge with gratitude.”

“Csardas,” based on a Hungarian folk dance, is known for its brisk tempo and technical demands. Seohyun described it as a formidable challenge in her life, a piece that would be impossible to perform without courage. She added that its true appeal lies in its ability to build human emotion layer by layer and ultimately release it in a powerful burst.

She now dedicates nearly 10 hours a day to practice. Although she has experienced ligament strain, she has enhanced the quality of her training by focusing on 30-minute practice sessions followed by rest.

“In truth, I run into walls at every moment. My hands do not always move as my heart intends, and reproducing the sounds I imagine in my mind is incredibly difficult,” she said. “But I draw strength from becoming even slightly better than I was yesterday. I think I am learning to sense more quickly what this child, my violin, wants and what kind of sound it wishes to produce.”

All proceeds from the concert will be donated to an orchestra for people with disabilities. “I hope the happiness, passion and sincerity I feel through music will be conveyed to the audience,” Seohyun said. “Because life is given only once, I want to live each moment without regret, devoting my full sincerity to the things I love.”


사지원 4g1@donga.com