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Paik Kun-woo’s Concert Series in Japan

Wor ld renowned Korean pianist Paik Kun-woo presented a series of concerts in Japan, which included performances at Kioi Hall, Tokyo, (April 3 and 6) and Izumi Hall, Osaka (April 8 and 10), under co-sponsorship of the Korea Foundation and the Yomiuri Shimbun. Coinciding with the cherry blossom season, which seemed to blanket Japan in delicate hues of pink, the setting for the concert series was even more charming and delightful.



Paik Kun-woo has long attained legendary status among Korea’s public and fans of classical music. He held his first solo recital at the age of nine, and studied at Julliard School and Julliard Graduate School. He gained international recognition when he performed the complete piano works of Ravel at Alice Tully Hall in New York in 1972. Thereafter, he performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, and also in London and Paris, earning critical acclaim from European audiences. He served as a member of the Piano Competition Jury at the 13th International Tchaikovsky Competition, in 2007. He married actress Yun Jung-hee in 1974, and has been residing in Paris for the past 34 years. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Emerald Coast Music Festival.

‘Truth Finder’
Paik Kun-woo has ceaselessly challenged his performance ability, for which he has been acclaimed a “truth finder of the keyboards.” In recent years, he has sought to master the works of Beethoven. This has included his recording of the complete repertoire of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas over a three-year period, and performing all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, during an incredibly brief seven days, at the Seoul Arts Center in December 2007.
The piano is said to have been d in 1709, making this year the 300th anniversary of its creation. For his concert tour, Paik selected eight sonata masterpieces, which included Piano Sonatas No. 30, 14, 19, and 23, for his first-day performances in Tokyo and Osaka, and No. 10, 26, 8, and 32 for the secondday concerts. He opened with Piano Sonata No. 30, followed by the well-known masterpieces of Moonlight, Appassionata, Pathetique, and Les Adieux, while concluding with Piano Sonata No. 32. This program well revealed Paik Kun-woo’s masterful interpretation of Beethoven’s works.
The concert at Kioi Hall in Tokyo marked the first recital for Paik in Tokyo since 2001, which made me wonder about how the Japanese audience might respond to his performance. This concern, however, proved unnecessary as Paik delivered a brilliant presentation that the discriminating audience of Tokyo residents appreciated all the more. Enthralled by his artistic perfection, the audience easily found itself immersed in the musical world of Beethoven, amidst a contemplative atmosphere.
As the concert’s conclusion, the audience responded with an enthusiastic ovation. In appreciation of his exceptional talent, some 100 leading figures of Japan’s political, governmental, academic, cultural, and media sectors, along with Korean business executives and residents in Japan, attended a postconcert reception hosted by Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun. The attendees took the time to express their admiration of his impressive performance and to offer words of encouragement for the upcoming concerts.



Marathon of Sonatas
The Osaka concert was held at Izumi Hall that offers a picturesque view of Osaka Cast le, adorned wi t h cher ry blossoms. The concer t on Apr i l 8 coincided wi th the Osaka per formance of another wor ld-class pianist Evgeny Kissin, who regularly appears in Japan, making it somewhat of a challenge to fill up the concert venue. Nonetheless, the lyrical melody of Beethoven’s Piano Sona a No. 1 (Mo on l ig t) cre a t ed a t r u l y romantic atmosphere, while a full moon illuminated the gorgeous cherry blossoms around Osaka Castle. This made me wonder if Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the builder of Osaka Castle and leader of Japan’s futile invasions of Korea, might have had his aggressive nature soothed by l i s tening to the l i l t ing harmony of Beethoven’s masterpiece compositions.
The audience, who packed the concert hall for the final performance, was wholly engrossed in the delicacy of Paik’s masterful touch, which produced crystal-clear notes thanks to the ideal acoustics of Izumi Hall. Music Critic Chang Ilbum made note of the fact that Paik Kun-woo’s Beethoven performances in Japan marked a completion of his epic “Long March of Piano Sonatas,” which started in China, continued in Korea, and reached its conclusion in Japan.
Critic Chang flew in from Seoul to attend Paik’s final concert in Osaka. In his review, he wrote: “Playing one of Beethoven’s later works, Piano Sonata No. 26 (Les Adieux), Paik Kun-woo expressed a kaleidoscopic spectrum of emotions, including the sorrow of farewell and cherished memories of happy days, with a thunderous dynamism and exquisite delicacy. During his rendition of Piano Sonata No. 8 (Pathetique), it was as though Paik Kun-woo had somehow brought Beethoven himself back to life. And upon the conclusion of this piece, although the program did not call for a break before the succeeding work, the audience could not resist breaking into hearty applause, causing Paik to pause briefly to acknowledge this appreciative gesture.”
Paik Kun-woo’s concert series in Japan served as an occasion to make the classical musical talent and excellence of Korea better known in Japan. Thus far, Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, in Japan has been primarily focused on Korea’s popular culture, especially TV dramas, films, and pop music. So, it is hoped that Japan’s embrace of Hallyu will include opportunities for the appearance of other classical musicians from Korea, such as maestro Chung Myung-whun and soprano Jo Su-mi. Again, the success of Paik’s performances further confirms the ability of music and art to transcend national borders and cultural differences. I thus look forward to an expansion of Korea-Japan cultural exchange, in line with our realization of a more mature bilateral relationship.

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