Stars include violinist Chung , pianist Paik. and Carreras

Korea will suffer from no shortage of world-class performances this December as promoters secured big-name concerts to see off the millennium.

On Saturday, Dec. 4, Spanish tenor Jose Carreras will sing at 7 p.m. at the Olympic Park's Gymnastics Hall (Gym No. 1) in Seoul. Known as one of the top three tenors of the world along with his fellow countryman Placido Domingo and Italy's Luciano Pavarotti, he will belt out numbers like Tosti's "Marechiare" and "A Vucchella," Rodrigo's "Aranjuez," and arias from operas "Faust," "I Vespri Siciliani," and "Manon Lescaut." A couple of encores are also planned. Fellow Barcelonan David Gimenez will conduct the Korean Symphony Orchestra for music.

The gymnasium, which had complaints about lackluster sound quality, will be outfitted for perfect acoustic quality, said an official at Polimedia. An expert designated by Carreras himself will maintain the stage, sound and lighting equipment, she said.

The 53-year-old Carreras was inspired to sing after watching the movie "The Great Caruso" starring Mario Lanza. He made his debut as a tenor at 22 as Ismaele in Verdi's "Nabucco." He also shared the stage with soprano Kiri Te Kanawa in Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" and appeared in operas like "Carmen," "Don Carlos" "Tosca" "L'Elisir d'Amore" and "Otello."

When Carreras was diagnosed with leukemia in 1987, the whole nation of Spain gathered to support him. After it was cured, he established the Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation to help patients around the world and since the operation, he concentrated more on singing light classics and crossovers.

The Spaniard organized the original Three Tenors concert in Rome in 1990. Despite his leukemia, the tenor proved that his voice was still strong enough to sing with Domingo and Pavarotti.

Ticket prices of the concert range from 30,000 to 150,000 won. (Call Polimedia at 080-337-5337) Pianist Paik Kun-woo, probably the best Korean-born pianist, will launch a six-city tour starting Dec. 10 in Sunchon, Taegu (Dec. 13), Seoul (15th), Pusan (18th), Chunchon (21st) and Taejon (23rd).

Paik, who will appear in Tuesday's concert of the British orchestra, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at the Seoul Arts Center's Concert Hall, will again play in the same arena.

Paik will perform Beethoven's piano sonatas "No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109," "No. 31 in A Major, Op. 110" and "No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111."

The Paris-based pianist won the first prize of the 1967 Naumburg Award after studying in New York and London. He received attention after playing the completed works of Ravel at New York's Alice Tully Hall in 1972.

The performance of Beethoven's sonatas will be a new challenge to the pianist who concentrated on Romanticism by playing the likes of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Bartok and Scriabin.

The Seoul recital time is 7:30 p.m. and ticket prices range from 20,000 to 50,000 won. Reservations can be made at Credia ((02)-598-8277) or Ticket Park ((02) 538-3200).

Chung Kyung-wha, arguably the most famous violinist Korea has produced, will return here Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Seoul's Sejong Cultural Center. She is also scheduled to perform in Chonju, Dec. 14 and Taejon in Dec. 16.

The violinist, who is now based in New York, had a successful six-city Korean tour in September after releasing the short album "Souvenirs."

The repertoires of the upcoming concerts include Bach's "Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068," Schubert's "Violin Sonatina No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 137," Franck's "Violin Sonata in A Major," Enesco's "Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 25" and Ravel's "Tzigane." Pianist Itamar Golan will again join her on stage.

Since sharing the 1967 Leventritt Prize with Israeli-born Pinchas Zuckerman at the age of 19, Chung remains as one of the top violinist in the world. Known as the elder sister of conductor Myung-whun and younger sister of cellist Myung-wha, she was the pioneer of Asian classical musicians to the world.

Tickets cost 20,000 won (B seats), 30,000 won (A), 50,000 won (S) and 70,000 won. For reservation, call Saewha Foundation at (02) 554-2427 or Ticket Link at (02) 1588-7890.

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