From left, pianists Kim Jun-hee, Paik Kun-woo, Kim Sun-wook and Kim Tae-hyung play together in a rare concert featuring four pianos at Seoul Arts Center, Sunday. The four artists, shown here performing an encore piece on one instrument, are touring South Korea through Friday. /Courtesy of Credia
Evgeny Kissin’s Seoul tour in April seemed like it would be the most talked-about classical music event of the year. Barely a month following the Russian sensation’s performance, however, maestro Paik Kun-woo and three rising South Korean pianists set the Seoul Arts Center concert hall on fire -- again.
The beauty of a live piano performance is, in addition to hearing inspired melodies in real time, seeing the artist’s flying fingers in motion. Seoulites saw Monday and Tuesday such dynamics of not two but eight hands, conjuring to life four Steinways in ways the local art scene has never seen before.
A single one of these instruments is enough to generate the sound of an orchestra. Many multiple-piano pieces were originally conceived with the sound of the harpsichord or light fortepiano, and on modern instruments sounds tend to be unpleasantly thick and cluttered.
The recent performance -- something rare not only in Korea but also abroad -- brought together four shining artists that individually possess the star power to attract more than enough attention. In 2007 Paik rewrote classical music history by playing all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas in just seven days. This time, joined by the three rising pianists -- Kim Tae-hyung, Kim Sun-wook and Kim Jun-hee -- the maestro pianist added a splash of color to the sometimes-monotonous local music scene (the three Kims, all barely past their teens and sharing the same alma mater as well as an impressive resume of top wins in international competitions, are unrelated).
With their inspired performance, the four artists hushed doubts that such a concert would be for show, and that four grand pianos could, with the right repertoire and teamwork, work together like a single unit. It was also a special treat to see the four alternate the parts of first, second, third and fourth pianos, instead of the elderly artist dominating the lead, for Wagner’s Overture to ``Tannhauser’’ and Milhaud’s ``Paris Suite’’ for Four Pianos, Op. 284.
A grand spectacle unfolded when Rachmaninov’s ``Symphonic Dances,’’ Op. 45, for two pianos, was presented in relay form, with Paik at the first piano and the three youngsters joining him one at a time for the three movements. The heated concert peaked with Ravel’s ``Bolero,’’ transcribed by Jacques Drillon, as the four instruments gave way to delightfully attuned interplay.
A full standing ovation followed, as heated as that in Kissin’s recital, and in return the players offered ``Carmen Fantasie,’’ and, sitting in a single row in front of one piano, Lavignac’s ``Galop-Marche.’’
Another special event took place Sunday, which also happened to be Paik’s 63rd birthday, and the three Kims sang happy birthday to Sun-wook’s piano playing.
The four pianists continue their tour tonight in Daegu and Friday in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 100,000 won. Call (02) 318-4301.
The beauty of a live piano performance is, in addition to hearing inspired melodies in real time, seeing the artist’s flying fingers in motion. Seoulites saw Monday and Tuesday such dynamics of not two but eight hands, conjuring to life four Steinways in ways the local art scene has never seen before.
A single one of these instruments is enough to generate the sound of an orchestra. Many multiple-piano pieces were originally conceived with the sound of the harpsichord or light fortepiano, and on modern instruments sounds tend to be unpleasantly thick and cluttered.
The recent performance -- something rare not only in Korea but also abroad -- brought together four shining artists that individually possess the star power to attract more than enough attention. In 2007 Paik rewrote classical music history by playing all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas in just seven days. This time, joined by the three rising pianists -- Kim Tae-hyung, Kim Sun-wook and Kim Jun-hee -- the maestro pianist added a splash of color to the sometimes-monotonous local music scene (the three Kims, all barely past their teens and sharing the same alma mater as well as an impressive resume of top wins in international competitions, are unrelated).
With their inspired performance, the four artists hushed doubts that such a concert would be for show, and that four grand pianos could, with the right repertoire and teamwork, work together like a single unit. It was also a special treat to see the four alternate the parts of first, second, third and fourth pianos, instead of the elderly artist dominating the lead, for Wagner’s Overture to ``Tannhauser’’ and Milhaud’s ``Paris Suite’’ for Four Pianos, Op. 284.
A grand spectacle unfolded when Rachmaninov’s ``Symphonic Dances,’’ Op. 45, for two pianos, was presented in relay form, with Paik at the first piano and the three youngsters joining him one at a time for the three movements. The heated concert peaked with Ravel’s ``Bolero,’’ transcribed by Jacques Drillon, as the four instruments gave way to delightfully attuned interplay.
A full standing ovation followed, as heated as that in Kissin’s recital, and in return the players offered ``Carmen Fantasie,’’ and, sitting in a single row in front of one piano, Lavignac’s ``Galop-Marche.’’
Another special event took place Sunday, which also happened to be Paik’s 63rd birthday, and the three Kims sang happy birthday to Sun-wook’s piano playing.
The four pianists continue their tour tonight in Daegu and Friday in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 100,000 won. Call (02) 318-4301.
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