Haydn Seek/Hyung-ki Joo TRAILER

HAYDN SEEK- A programme of music for orchestra, inspired by the playful spirit of Joseph Haydn, conceived, composed, and written by Hyung-ki Joo.

Haydn is a composer that seems to be taken for granted. While historically, his name is up there among the giants, he is overshadowed by Mozart and Beethoven, two composers who greatly admired Haydn and were influenced by him. Haydn was a ground breaker, a rule breaker, a prankster and a noble punk. His music is full of wit and invention and many of his pieces are infused with humour, surprises, and theatrical elements.

In this programme, Hyung-ki Joo has taken the original music of Haydn, and applied his love of theater and humour to Haydn’s original musical intentions, in order to enhance and amplify the experience for today’s audience. The concert starts in a way backwards with the last movement of Haydn’s Symphony no. 60, “Il Distratto”- which means the distracted one. The music kick-starts in Haydn’s signature jolly way, but almost as soon as it has started there are some distractions which need to be taken care of. Will the orchestra manage to focus and get off to a good start?

Haydn’s Surprise Symphony is so well-loved and popular that today when one hears it, it is no longer a surprise. But can this orchestra still manage to make you feel that you “got punked”? And besides the music of Haydn, there is music which bears the influence or spirit of Haydn, such as Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, a work that Haydn might have written himself had he lived in the 20th Century. Django Bates’s Interval Song is an ingenious way for people to learn musical intervals. Could Haydn have travelled in time and heard this gem to then go back and write his unusual canon, Das Böse Weib?

Expect the unexpected. That is what Haydn is all about. And wherever you are hiding, the music will find you!

This trailer features a performance of "Haydn Seek" by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Special Thanks to the Team of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Sabina Hasanova.
For bookings and inquiries, Hyung-ki Joo collaborates with General Management Karsten Witt Music Management- please contact: Xenia Groh-Hu at [email protected]