‘Symphony of Maple Story’ conductor Doo-hyeon Ahn
“Game music will become a genre like movie music. For this, nameless game composers need to be applauded. This performance exists because of them.”
Conductor Ahn Doo-hyeon, who was in charge of the ‘Symphony of Maple Story’ orchestra, praised the future of game music and paid respect to the unknown Maple Story BGM composers. At the same time, he expressed disappointment in an environment where great composers are not well known.
Conductor Ahn Doo-hyeon argued that if game companies widen the awareness of ‘creation’, composers would be more enthusiastic and burned their passion for creation. Although the composer is not revealed in the game, he said that the composer’s name should be indicated in the program book when performing.
Conductor Ahn Doo-hyeon has experience conducting famous orchestras such as Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Yangpyeong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Heart Heart Orchestra. He is working to popularize the classics as general manager of the Facebook page ‘Crazy for the Classics’, which currently has 270,000 followers.
The Symphony of Maplestory Orchestra completed successful performances in Busan and Seoul last July. After a two-month break, the national tour is scheduled to proceed once more in the order of Iksan-Incheon-Yeosu-Daegu from October.
Q. At a previous concert, you introduced yourself as “the hottest conductor in Korea”. What is the competitiveness of a person named ‘Ahn Doo-hyun’ as a conductor?
There are many different genres of music. Each genre has to be approached differently, but it is not natural to treat other genres of music like classical music. In the end, there must be exploration and affection for various genres of music. Ever since I was a child, I loved listening to music of almost all genres. No matter what genre of music is given, I think being able to treat music in a different way is the strength of it.
Q. I wonder if you actually do MapleStory.
I mightn’t afford to play the game at all. I have a console game console, but I haven’t had time to even do it. When are you going to grab me and go to the PC room? However, I prepared the performance following looking for all the gameplay videos and background stories.
Q. Looking at your previous history, you had a strong impression of traditional classical conductors such as the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Heart Heart Orchestra. MapleStory Orchestra must have felt different, but I am curious regarding your feelings.
In fact, among the conductors, there is an evaluation that he is strong in other genres of music, so he has already dealt with various music such as film music, tango, and jazz. He was interested in music that depicts a certain story or setting, such as movie music, so he enjoyed it more happily than anything new. It was expected that game music would grow as big as the movie music market and establish itself as a genre.
Q. How are game-related performances such as MapleStory Orchestra different from existing orchestras?
Game music basically pursues various genres. It is an infinite world where music of almost any genre can be expressed according to the game story, map, and background. However, there is a lot of MIDI music that has not been performed with an orchestra. Concentration is required in the process of realizing music that was not actually performed in the concert hall. The music you hear in the game and the actual sound are inevitably different. It is difficult for game users to feel the gap to a minimum and to convey the advantages of live. It is difficult to express the color of each song in a situation where music of different genres unfolds one following another.
Q. I heard it is manners to not clap between movements, but the MapleStory Orchestra received a lot of applause. You showed a free-spirited image that is not tied to rigid rules or customs, and I wonder what you think of this atmosphere as a conductor.
Classical performances have to focus on the sound, so there is a classic etiquette that has been refined over the years. It’s the best way to listen to classics, not rigid conventions. The reason why there is no applause between movements is because it is a piece of music as a whole. However, even if the game music has a connection to the story, the composer made it with the situation in the game scene in mind rather than the connection between the music in the first place.
Literally, even if the borders of a single game are the same, they are individual songs. Even the composers are different. When dealing with independent songs, I think each unknown composer deserves applause. It is because of them that this performance exists. If there is a personal wish, the composers are not revealed in the game, but when it is realized through a performance, I think it is right for the names of each composer to be specified in the program book for each song. If game companies renew their awareness of creation a little more, even nameless composers will have more enthusiasm and burn their passion for creation.
Q. You can’t forget regarding clothes. There was a strong perception that the existing performance culture was a formal culture, such as wearing a suit, but this time MapleStory Orchestra was free-spirited. How did you feel as a conductor?
it was good. Even I wore short sleeves and shorts to a classical concert when I was studying abroad when I had few clothes. In some cases, formality is important, but art is the process of showing human life as it is. No matter how we wear it, it is our life and our world. The dress code should not burden the public with access to classical concert venues. However, this is my very personal opinion.
Q. Most classical orchestra conductors look majestic with their mouths shut, but when conducting a song, conductor Ahn Doo-hyeon often murmured onomatopoeia such as ‘beep beep’ or ‘dongdungdung’. Is it your own habit or point?
There are many musicians who naturally come out with a style when they are immersed in music. Leonard Bernstein, the legendary American conductor, did the same, and the pianist Glenn Gould recorded a hum in some cases. Classic is not as defined as you might think. Everyone has their own style. If there is a classical musician who defines it and says yes, then that person is narrow-minded.
Q. In the only Korean name song ‘Cheongwoon’, the light tone of the violin solo part felt like the sound of a traditional instrument. In fact, I wonder what kind of attention was paid to the song called Cheongwoon, which gave the impression that a new character appeared.
Because the violin solo is important, the feeling respected the direction Jinhee Jeong, who was the orchestra’s principal, was going. The emphasis was placed on making the audience feel more dramatic in the process of raising the atmosphere when moving from the violin solo to the entire violin from the back. And with six notes in one word, I paid attention to the musical curves.
Cheongwoon is the BGM of ‘Cheongwoon-gol’ that makes you feel like a freshman.
Q. ‘Leheln, City of Dreams’ is a song where a dreamlike atmosphere was very important as it expressed the dream world created by the corps commander Lucid. In particular, the melody of the violin was attractive, was there anything in particular that you paid attention to?
Personally, it felt more like a fantasy world rather than a dreamy world. I thought that it felt like an amusement park with various rides moving and fireworks. In order to draw fantastically, we paid attention to emotional immersion so that all the members played with excitement.
Q. The three-phase song ‘Crumbling Light’ by the corps commander Will is a horror itself for early Genesis liberation users. In particular, it feels like the trombone is a good way to express the feeling of fear that grows as the cobwebs tighten as time goes by.
It was a song with strong accents, music, and dynamics. It is important to show these parts by conducting rather than giving directions with words. I tried to express it more intensely than the brass in the original MIDI music. Maybe that’s the beauty of live. I paid attention to the power of percussion, and especially focused on revealing the rhythm of the harmonious string instruments.
Q. As ‘Black Mage’ was the final boss of MapleStory, it has a special meaning for users. It seems that much attention was paid to making the audience feel the overwhelming power of the existence of the Black Mage through the performance of ‘Throne of Darkness’ as its meaning is so special. The magnificent horn ensemble at the beginning stood out, is there anything you are particularly concerned regarding?
The sound is important, but the rhythmic flow of the string instrument was the key. You have to save it from the beginning so that it expands naturally without any awkwardness when the crown bursts later. It is important to maintain tension from the start to the end in order not to lose the pulse from the back even if you go strong. Music on such a scale would not have been possible without the enthusiastic performances of the orchestra members. Thank you so much to the orchestra members.
Q. What was the most impressive song while conducting and why did you choose it?
Interestingly, it was ‘Iliad Moore’. The lively yet light feeling was personally healing. It was similar to the happiness in life that I pursued to relax and have fun. Playing the piano was very important music, and Suhyeon Shim, who participated as a pianist, prepared it really hard.
Q. You perfectly digested over 40 songs in regarding 2 hours. As a conductor, what was the most difficult song in the practice process?
Rather than a particular song being difficult, it was the most difficult to arrange and play songs that were not written for an orchestra. When it comes to computer music, expressing the best music with an orchestra is similar to asking them to make pepperoni pizza with Cajun sauce. In any case, the tempo is changed to close the gap because the original song’s feel cannot be preserved. By changing the tempo, you get rid of the awkward feeling. If users who are familiar with the tempo in the game know this point of view and listen to the music, it will be a more enjoyable performance.
Q. If there is a special episode during the practice and preparation process, please introduce it.
There was no applause, but the process of deliberately inducing applause was fun. They applaud me from then on, and the members said that it was really good to be able to relax when one song was finished and moved on to another. Because the music has different personalities, we have to set a new mood for each song, but when there is a sense of silence, we also find it difficult to capture the emotional line. I would like to applaud the composers who do not know the names of all the songs with a heart of respect.
Q. I wonder what kind of evaluation from the audience makes you the most proud.
“As expected, this music, this concert is conducted by Ahn Doo-hyun,” he is happy when evaluated. It was the process of realizing that game music is the kind of music that I can enjoy while enjoying the most wonderfully.
Q. You are currently on a nationwide tour. Each region seems to have a different atmosphere and feeling, but I am curious regarding what it is like.
Audience reactions vary from region to region. But all the audience is happy and having fun is all one. To me, the sincerity they have is more important than the differences between regions.
Q. Lastly, would you like to say a word to MapleStory users and fans?
All of you who have become one through the game are new audiences to me. Said the conductor I most admire, Claudio Abbado. “It is more precious to one audience who sheds tears following seeing my performance than 100 audiences who come to the performance to evaluate it.” You are already a better audience than any other audience. Thank you to everyone who was happy with me and the Arts Symphony Orchestra, and we ask for your interest in making the game music market more active.
Choi Eun-sang, reporter for Hankyung.com Game Talk
