The World On arirang

"Appassionato" is a term used in music to tell the musician to perform with a great amount of passion. This term best describes violinist Sarah Chang, who has a remarkable presence just by her name.

Sarah Chang, who began playing the violin at age 4, was accepted to the prestigious Julliard School when she was 6 and made her professional debut with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic when she was 8. Playing on a quarter-sized violin with her tiny hands, Sarah Chang became touted as a "child prodigy," and since then she has made numerous appearances across the world. Setting an unprecedented record of having performed with the world's top 3 orchestras – namely, the Berlin, Vienna, and New York Philharmonic – by the age of 15, Sarah Chang devoted herself to classical music throughout her career spanning more than 2 decades.

But this year, which marks the 25th anniversary of her debut, she is taking on a new challenge – the genre of classical crossover. Her encounter with Kristjan Jarvi, who uniquely interprets classical music, and his Absolute Ensemble has revealed for the first time in Korea.

Kristjan Jarvi is a next generation conductor holding an unchallenged position on the world stage for his innovative and challenging moves, and his Absolute Ensemble is continuously expanding the realm of music through its ebullient mix of classical music with diverse genres ranging from jazz, rock, and hip-hop. Together with them, Sarach Chang presented crossover performances for the first time during her 25-year musical career. A Korea-inspired crossover music was born by mixing classical music songs such as Vitali's "Chaconne" and Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy" with contemporary Korean songs such as Psy's "Gangnam Style" and traditional Korean tunes such as "Arirang" and "Samulnori."

This week on "Heart to Heart," we meet Sarah Chang, who has taken a step closer to the audience through her new challenge.