‘The Art of 7 and 3’ contains the lives of artists who left beautiful music and outstanding paintings. 7 and 3 are the 7th gradation of Doremi Fasolashi, and the ‘three primary colors of light’ of red, green, and blue. All works that move and move people’s hearts are born from these seven tones and three primary colors. It is art to think regarding how to combine them, and to unfold the results.
Season 1, which was previously serialized, introduced the lives and philosophies of artists, season 2, under the subtitle ‘Cinematic Art’, tells stories of various arts such as classical music, art, and dance in the film.
Shostakovich’s ‘Waltz No. 2’ performed by violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill and Dito Chamber Orchestra. /Credia TV
A cell phone is ringing from somewhere. In-woo (Lee Byung-hun) stops at a familiar melody. And soon you fall into the memories. This is the music I heard from Tae-hee (the late Eun-ju Lee), whom I loved in college.
Tae-hee held In-woo’s hand in the pine forest on the seaside where the red sunset fell. And he hummed the melody himself and taught Inwoo to waltz.
This is a scene from director Kim Dae-seung’s movie ‘Bungee Jumping’ (2000). The song playing at this time is ‘Waltz No. 2’ from ‘Suite for Orchestra’ by Russian musician Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975).
Music plays to Tae-hee’s hum, and the shadows of two people dance together under the sunset. This scene is so beautiful that many people still remember it 20 years later, and it is counted as one of the most famous scenes in Korean film history. Thanks to the great love it received, it was made into a creative musical ‘Bungee Jumping’ and is on stage.
View larger image
After the movie, music became very famous in Korea. When many people think of Shostakovich, the first thing that comes to mind is this song.
The first part of the music feels elegant and upbeat. It makes me want to dance while humming the melody like Taehee. But that’s not all. The more the music flows, the more sadness, longing, and pity are felt. It’s amazing that you can put so many layers of emotions in one work.
It goes well with the scene in the movie. When In-woo hears this music, he remembers the fresh and fresh love he shared with Tae-hee in the past, and at the same time misses Tae-hee, who suddenly disappeared.
The composer of this song, Shostakovich, showed a great talent for music from an early age. I made my name early at the age of 21 with ‘Symphony No. 1’. His unique world of music drew attention from experts around the world. Shostakovich was so open and varied in his youth.
He especially liked jazz. Jazz, developed in the United States, has free-spiritedness and improvisation, breaking away from the traditional framework of classical music. So many classical musicians in Europe were fascinated by jazz, and so was Shostakovich. He enjoys listening to jazz and incorporating it into his music. It wasn’t just jazz. He has also created a number of avant-garde and radical works such as ‘Symphony No. 2’.
But his challenge soon hit a big wall. The crisis started when the opera ‘Madame Macbeth of Mchensk’ premiered at the age of 28. Stalin came to see this performance and left his seat.
There were scenes in which Katerina, the wife of a wealthy merchant, had an affair with Sergei, a young worker, and murder scenes. It is known that these settings were offended by Stalin for being promiscuous and obscene. Ultimately, the opera was banned and was not performed on the stage for decades. Even Shostakovich’s next symphony was canceled.
The situation got progressively worse. The Soviet government censored and controlled the works of all artists, including Shostakovich. Jazz music, of course, all pursuits of diversity or experimental works were rejected.
However, Shostakovich’s actions since then caused a lot of controversy. He eventually started making works for Stalin propaganda. Shostakovich songs were also used in films made to promote Stalin’s policies.
He also released ‘Symphony No. 11’ and ‘Symphony No. 12’ with the subtitles ‘1905’ and ‘1917’ respectively. These numbers represent the years of the 1st and 2nd Russian Revolutions. For this reason, Shostakovich has been criticized for helping Stalin’s dictatorship at the forefront.
On the other hand, there are opinions that he was obliged to take notice in order to survive, and that he cleverly incorporated a sense of criticism of the system in his music. But even so, his mistakes cannot be completely erased or diluted.
Shostakovich’s ‘Jazz Suite No. 1’ (Waltz, Polka, Foxtrot) performed by the Belarusian National Orchestra.
Of course, Shostakovich’s music is still well-received today. There are many songs that have been loved by the public for a long time like ‘Waltz No. 2’. Nevertheless, it is regrettable what it would have been like if he had continued the bold and courageous challenge of his youth.
Between art and politics, which path should an artist choose and move forward? Perhaps this problem is a dilemma that will be repeated forever and a homework that needs to be solved.
By Kim Hee-kyung, staff reporter [email protected]
