Ahn Eak-Tai - Városliget, Budapest, Hungary - Musician Statues on Waymarking.com

The bronze bust of Ahn Eak-tai a Korean classical composer, a conductor and the author of South Korea anthem was unveiled on May 11, 2012 in the City Park (Városliget) in Budapest. The event was a special one all the more because this is the first Korean monument in Europe.

Ahn Eak Tai lived in Budapest in the period of 1938 to 1941, from 1939 he was a student of Liszt Academy of Music for two years. He learnt music composition from Kodály Zoltán who is mentioned as one of his masters. He was a scholarship-holder of the Hungarian state, he stayed at the famous Eötvös College, this possibility was granted to highly talented students only.
Also other outstanding personalities of Hungarian music life turned their attention to him, like Bartók Béla and Dohnányi Erno. Ahn Eak Tai met them on the occasion of his first visit to Budapest in 1936 when he received invitation to conduct the Symphony Orchestra of the Hungarian Radio.
Later on still before the Second World War he visited Hungary several times in order to conduct as guest conductor the Symphony Orchestra of the Hungarian Radio to play his own compositions, too.
The most famous composition of Ahn Eak Tai is the Korea Fantasy a symphonic composition for a great orchestra, a great choir, containing also folk music tunes. The composer built the music of Aegukga, the national anthem of Korea into the finishing part of Korea Fantasy. In this the longing for freedom, patriotism and faith of the Korean people practically breaks out leading far beyond the tragic historic past.
Ahn conducted the leading orchestras of the world, among them several times the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras but he conducted in Rome, Madrid, London, Barcelona and Dublin, too, and many orchestras outside Europe in the United States. His own compositions were on program, too.
In 1946 he founded the Mallorca Symphony Orchestra, he was the leading conductor of it until his death.
In 1955 he became the conductor of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
His grave is in the National Cemetery of Seoul.

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Name of Musician: Ahn Eak-tai (안익태)

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/06/2023 nvtriker visited it