There is a universal saying “A word to the wise is enough” that refers to a sagacious person. But, sometimes, when an ordinary person fully understands the fundamentals of a subject, it won’t be difficult for them to grasp other related principles. For instance, when one completely understands the mathematical formula of addition, he or she can apply the same principle to other advanced questions. Therefore, 1+1 or 101+102 are basically the same math problems.

The same goes with music. When a person first gains basic knowledge of the rhythm and the melody, as well as the spirit flowing in a musical piece, he or she can easily become familiar with the work even if it’s played on a musical instrument that one didn’t specialize in.

In the past in Korea, there was a host of musicians who had mastered traditional musical instruments such as the geomungo, bipa, tungso, and the like. But these days, when in-depth specialty is emphasized, the number of musicians with multiple talents has been declining. But there are still some of those multi-talented Korean classical music players who continue to present their skills nowadays. One of them is master musician Lee Saeng-gang who is the designated-master of daegeum-sanjo.

For the first piece of music on today’s program, we’ll listen to the Lee Saeng-gang School Daegeum-sanjo by master Lee Saeng-gang.

Eotmori, Dongsalpuri, and Hwimori from Lee Saeng-gang School Daegeum-sanjo / Lee Saeng-gang

That was myeongin Lee playing the eotmori, dongsalpuri, and hwimori sections from the Lee Saeng-gang School Daegeum-sanjo.

Myeongin Lee Saeng-gang not only has mastery of the daegeum but is also a great player of all kinds of traditional wind instruments, including the piri, tungso, danso, sogeum, taepyeongso, and the like. Born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1937, he learned how to play Japanese wind instruments such as shakuhachi or yokobue thanks to his father who loved the vertical bamboo flute tungso.

After the nation’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, he came to Korea with his family. As a little boy, he followed his father, who earned a living as a peddler selling piri. His father made the piri, and it was the son Saeng-gang who played the Korean double reed instrument to sell it. One day, when the father and the son were wandering around to sell the wind instrument, they met master musician Han Ju-hwan.

As a disciple of master musician Park Jong-gi, the founder of daegeum-sanjo, Han Ju-hwan developed his own style of sanjo melodies and fostered many followers. So, Lee had a chance to get daegeum lessons for a while from Han whom he was destined to meet in his life. But it didn’t last long due to adverse circumstances. But, as ordained by fate, Lee bumped into his former master on the street while he was on a short leave of absence from his military duty.

It is said that Han presented his original melodies to young Lee and asked him to pass down the tunes to future generations. Lee Saeng-gang, who had been agonizing whether to continue the profession as a traditional music player when Korean classical music was looked down upon, he complied with his teacher’s request and entered the 4th Jeonju Daesaseupnori Contest. It was the first prize he grabbed at the event that sealed his fate.

This time, let’s listen to Cheongchun-ga and Taepyeong-ga played by myeongin Lee Saeng-gang.

Cheongchun-ga, Taepyeong-ga / Piri by Lee Saeng-gang

We just listened to folk songs - Cheongchun-ga and Taepyeong-ga - played with the piri by master Lee Saeng-gang.

Lee must have played similar tunes during his adolescence as a piri peddler with his father. Although he was lucky to have a chance to play various musical instruments since his early age and now is considered as the epitome of daegeum-sanjo, he also spent many years as an unknown musician.

It was at the Folk Art Festival in France when he made a name for himself and became widely known to the public. During the event, Lee had to appear on stage to fill in time while other members of the troupe changed costumes for the next show. In the interim, Lee played daegeum-sanjo with all his soul and might. The following day, local media outlets hailed myeongin Lee’s solo recital rather than the show by other troupe members.

It seems like the maxim “Heaven helps those who help themselves” proves right. In today’s edition, we followed the footsteps of master musician Lee Saeng-gang and learned about his life and music.

We’ll wrap up today’s show as we lend our ears to a grand and valiant tune called Taepyeongso Neungge.

Taepyeongso Neungge / Taepyeongso by Lee Saenggang