Playing Korean Sanjo on the Violin.

Playing Sanjo on the Violin. The Story.

Although I was born and raised in Korea, traditional Korean music (Kugak or Gugak) and I did not cross paths until 2019 when I was trying to figure out how to play Sanjo for Violin and Piano (1955), a work by La Un-Yung (1922-1993), a renowned Korean composer and my maternal grandfather.

Prior to this time, I had had no meaningful exposure to kugak; I had been a violinist for over forty years and had never given it a moment’s thought. When I did want to know more about kugak, however, it seemed inaccessible to outsiders like me, indicative of the long-standing disconnect between the traditional and Western music worlds in Korea.

With a substantial research support from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I was teaching the violin, I made an exploratory trip to Seoul in the summer of 2019 and began learning about kugak. I was immediately drawn to the p’ansori singing and sanjo playing and found the musical language beyond expressive and powerful. I listened to these genres for hours every night for months, astounded by how it spoke straight to my gut. I often found myself saying, “How I could have lived and died without knowing that such music even existed.”

One of the kugak musicians I met in Korea suggested that a study of traditional sanjo might be the best way to a deeper understanding of the essence of the unique musical language. Deeming the suggestion logical, I unsuspectingly took the task on without any notion of the breadth of such work. This was the beginning of what has turned out to be my most challenging musical learning experience yet.

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I have been learning to play the Kim Ilgu school of ajaeng sanjo on my violin since 2019. I am using the violin, despite all of its limitations, to try to speak, sing, and cry in Korean. My mind, entrenched in the Western classical music language, tends to automatically disregard any sounds that do not fit the familiar molds.

My sanjo learning process often reminds me of my first few years in the U.S. when pronouncing certain English words felt agonizing and humiliating. The Korean musical language is much like the Korean language — there is little to nothing in common with Western languages. But I still found it surprising that no other violinist had done the work of playing Korean sanjo on the violin.

My learning has been slow, and to be sure, it has taken a village — my mentors and teachers have repeatedly gone out of their way to help me and answer my endless questions. Among them, Dr. Robert C. Provine specially stands out. He not only knows and loves kugak, but he also understands the depth of struggles that western-trained musicians would face when trying to learn kugak.

Studying with Master Kim Ilgu, Holder of National Important Intangible Cultural Property, has been tremendously inspiring and affirming although I need to muster up great courage to play for such a revered giant. His ajaeng playing is uncompromising, and his creative genius exudes Korean sentiments with abandon. After four summers, my stomach still flips when I stand at the front door to his home in Jeonju.

Dr. Jeong Junho, changgu artist and a senior member of the National Gugak Center in Seoul, has been there from the very beginning of my journey with sanjo. He faithfully points out every detail I need to emulate such as the ever-bending tone, spoken inflection of rhythmic gestures, and varying degree of articulations. Anything that sounds foreign or awkward — which used to be true of every sound I made — is addressed. And that sanjo must never sound harried. It’s a tall order.

I must admit that, despite all of my teachers’ effort and encouragement, if the music had not been so good, I would have quit long ago. After all, studying sanjo does not fit easily into my life as a violinist, college professor, and a wife and mother. Yet, a firsthand experience of such profound music that connects me to my roots justifies all the inconveniences, frustration, doubt, and disappointment along the way. Playing the music of my heritage on my instrument is indeed a gift and a privilege.

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I premiered the Kim Ilgu short sanjo (the 11-minute version) in October of 2021 at Wheaton College in Illinois. The long sanjo (the 35-minute version) was premiered in the fall of 2023 in five different U.S. cities, made possible by the research support of the 2023 Korean Studies Grant of the Academy of Korean Studies in Korea and the Faculty Global Research Award of Wheaton College. My lecture-recital was met with overwhelming enthusiasm and appreciation at each venue, and the extended Q&A sessions proved the genuine curiosity of the attendees’. I am deeply grateful for all the encouragement I have received for bringing traditional Korean sanjo via the sound of the chief Western instrument, the violin.

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My journey with sanjo continues though the path often seems ambiguous and hidden. I sincerely hope that my sanjo playing will some day taste like well-fermented kimchi. In the meantime, I treasure conversations about Korean music and language with curious enthusiasts from around the world.

— Soh-Hyun P. Altino