Concert featuring works by Wang Xilin and Isang Yun, followed by a discussion with Wang Xilin about Wang Bing’s documentary film “Man in Black” (2023)

Organizers: KlangForum(external link), Confucius Institute at Heidelberg University(external link) & Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities State Academy of Baden-Württemberg), as well as Enjoy Jazz (external link)

October 11, 2024

The concert is being held as part of the “Freedom” Science Year, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and as part of the “PERSPEKTIVE: FREIHEIT” series organized by the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities State Academy of Baden-Württemberg), in collaboration with member Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler, is organizing a series of events under the title “From the Will to Freedom – China in a Global Context.” The concert is a collaboration between the Klangforum Heidelberg, the Confucius Institute at Heidelberg University, the University itself, and the Heidelberg Academy.

Isang YUN (1917–1995) is one of Korea’s most important classical composers. Tortured by the Japanese while fighting for freedom during World War II, he was abducted to Seoul by South Korean intelligence in 1967 and accused there of spying for North Korea. He was tortured again while in prison. The intervention of the international music community prevented him from receiving a life sentence. WANG Xilin 王西麟 (*1936) is one of China’s most important modern classical composers. During the Cultural Revolution, he was subjected to severe persecution and had to endure beatings, imprisonment, and torture. His musical oeuvre reflects these experiences. Klangforum frames a conversation with the Chinese composer around the octets by WANG Xilin and Yisang YUN, in conjunction with the screening of the documentary film by WANG Bing 王兵 (*1967) *Man in Black* (2023). The film portrays the body and soul of a man marked by a life of torture and suffering, yet capable of deep and sincere compassion. To the sounds of his music, he revisits the terrible events that remain vivid in his memory as a testament to an (ongoing) era in which the entire Chinese nation was and continues to be dehumanized and deprived of all its freedoms.

Barbara Mittler

Notes:

In the current Athene Magazine (internal link), which was published in June on the topic of "Freedom," there is a detailed article on the exhibition as well as on the other events organized by the Academy as part of the Year of Science. 

TheScience Years (external link) are an initiative ofthe Federal Ministry of Education and Research(external link) in collaboration withWissenschaft im Dialog(external link). TheUnion of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities (external link) and its member academies regularly participate in the Science Years through various engagement formats.

Further information:

• About the 2024 Year of Science: "Freedom"(external link)
• Additional events organized by the Academies of Sciences(external link) as part of the "Freedom" Science Year