FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Nan Schwetman (512) 476-6064
or 343-6513 (evenings, weekends)
The Austin Symphony Orchestra Executive
Committee announced today that Conductor Sung Kwak is resigning
his position as Music Director of the ASO effective at the end of
the 95-96 season to pursue his increasing overseas guest
appearances. As Conductor Laureate, he will conduct 4
subscription concert pairs during the ASO’s 1996-97 season.
Hailed as "a supreme conductor with a
special talent" by the eminent Austrian maestro Hans
Swarowsky, Sung Kwak has established an international reputation
as one of today’s leading podium personalities with appearances
on four continents. His recently released CD of Tchaikovsky’s
Nutcracker Suite has met with critical acclaim. Recorded with the
St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian press says of Kwak,
"He conducts Tchaikovsky like a Russian." His second
CD, selections recorded with the Austin Symphony, is due for
release early in 1996.
Kwak has served as music director of the
Austin Symphony since 1982 and has led them to the front rank of
American regional orchestras. The ASO, under Kwak’s baton,
performed the Franck Symphony in D minor last month. "His
tempos were exquisite! He conducted a magnificent program!"
commented Harold C. Schonberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and
music critic of the New York Times from 1950-1980, who
attended the performance.
Critical reviews from Hong Kong to Alabama
have referred to Kwak as "miraculous," a sentiment
shared by Koreans around the world who witnessed Kwak’s historic
1991 concert in Pyoungyoung, North Korea, a plea for peace and
reunification between North and South Korea. With frequent
concerts in Seoul, Kwak serves as artistic diplomat to South
Korea and looks forward to playing an active part in the
educational and commercial growth of the Korean community of
Austin.
As Conductor of the New York’s Eglevsky
Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet in New York City Center, Kwak
collaborated with Igor Stravinsky, Leonide Massine and Aaron
Copland. He brings this tradition to his performances with Ballet
Austin.
Sung Kwak has appeared to great acclaim as
guest conductor with the world’s leading symphonic ensembles. In
October he received standing ovations in Paris for his concert
celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of UNESCO. He
has conducted many of the major orchestras of the United States,
including those of Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco,
Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Akron,
Alabama, Nashville and North Carolina. Mr. Kwak’s many
engagements abroad include concerts with the Rheinische
Philharmonie (Germany), the Innsbruck Symphony (Austria), the St.
Petersburg Philharmonia and the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra
(Russia), the Korean Broadcasting Symphony, the Seoul
Philharmonic (Korea), the Valla Dolid Symphony (Spain), the
Ofunam Symphony (Mexico City), the Simon Bolivar Symphony
Orchestra (Venezuela), the Buenos Aires Philharmonic (Argentina)
and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (Canada).
Among Sung Kwak’s international tours have
been three with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony; in 1978, he led
that ensemble on a 23-city tour of North America; in 1984, on a
five-country tour of Southeast Asia, with concerts in Singapore,
Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul; and in 1986, on a
tour of Japan, with appearances in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and
Gobe. Mr. Kwak’s most recent international tour was in 1993 when
he led the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra to five cities in
South Korea.
Sung Kwak has appeared at several notable
events in his homeland, including the Opening Ceremony of the
Main Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea in 1987, during which
he led the combined Korean Broadcasting Symphony and Seoul
Philharmonic and chorus of 1,000 singers in the Celebration
Cantata by Byoung Dong Paek. In 1987, Mr. Kwak conducted the
Korean opera, Shim Chung Jun, by Dong Jin Kim at the
Opening Concert of the Sejong Cultural Center in Seoul.
In addition to his career as a conductor,
Sung Kwak has also been active in the training of young
musicians, having served as Director of the Conducting Seminar at
Caracas, Venezuela, Visiting Professor of Conducting at the
University of Texas at Austin, Professor of Conducting and Theory
at the Mannes College of Music in New York and Professor of Music
at Queens College in New York.
Sung Kwak is married to pianist/lecturer Idee
Kordell Kwak, and they are the parents of three children.
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