Chee-Yun Serenades With Violin
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
One of the most beloved violinists of her generation, Chee-Yun (Kim Chee-yun) is back from the United States for the release of her latest album ``Serenata Notturno'' (Decca), in stores Thursday before her recitals here May 19-20.
In her new album, she croons love songs in the language she seems to know best ― through the slightest pitch, intonation and whispers of the violin.
``I'm very happy with the album,'' the 38-year-old told The Korea Times Monday. Constantly tossing her head back with hearty laughs, she was as charming in person as she is onstage. ``Serenades are love songs and nocturnes are night music. Just like the title, it's easy (listening) for even non-classical musicians,'' she said.
But the recording process was by no means easy. ``I was so absorbed with it that I forgot to eat for three days at one point,'' she said. ``In these songs you can't hide behind virtuosity. Because they're simple, you're more exposed. One note can change the mood.''
With the chamber group Modern Ensemble Picasso, Chee-Yun brings 20 famous pieces by Bizet, Secret Garden and more. She said she tried to ``keep the spirit of chamber music'' where artists ``discuss different colors of music.'' In Tchaivoksky's ``Nocturne,'' for example, her line is more ``pure'' while she wanted the second violinist to deliver a ``deeper'' feel. Toselli's ``Serenade'' wears pastel colors while Chopin's two ``Nocturne'' tracks (Nos. 20 and 21) give off shades of hazy gray that grow darker, she said.
Heavy and light moods reign in ``Serenata Notturno'' ― tunes perch upon clouds then dip into the deepest hollows of the earth. Flowing with emotion yet tempered and tuned, her romantic melodies are easing to the ear yet nourishing to the soul.
While Chee-Yun's colorful, charismatic performances usually suggest white, the mixture of all visible colors, this recording evokes black ― the absence of light, or a vacuum in which only music exists. The darker the night sky the brighter the stars shine, and her night songs are pitch black.
The album highlights Chee-Yun's sense of comfort and maturity as an artist ― a reflection of the steady growth in her career and love for music. She debuted at age eight after winning Grand Prize at the 1978 Korea Times Competition. ``It was my first major competition. It gave me reassurance and confidence,'' she said. She had been receiving lessons from a neighbor for two years as ``a hobby.''
She is one of those rare, ``born'' musicians. While the piano was her first love and she'd fall asleep on the keyboard, she said ``I didn't want to practice the violin; it felt a bit easy for me.'' But her teachers encouraged her talent and she entered the Juilliard Pre-College in New York when she was 13.
``Everything worked out. But I didn't feel as attached to the violin until my high school senior year,'' she said. Toward the end of her junior year, she felt pains in her arm and shoulder. The initial diagnosis read tendonitis ― she had to quit.
But a second opinion ``saved my life,'' she said. After swimming and resting for two weeks she was completely healed. ``That's when I fell in love with music and learned to appreciate the different tones and different colors. I had taken it for granted but realized how precious it was,'' she said.
In 1988, she won at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and signed with a management agency a few months later. One of her first projects was to replace Gidon Kremer on Bob Sherman's radio show. The top radio host and music specialist gave Chee-Yun the strongest recommendation for the prestigious Avery Fisher Grant (1989).
``One's career doesn't happen just with talent, it's also about the people you meet,'' she said. Her mother gave her moral support. Encouraging discipline but far from being a ``stage mom,'' she never pressured Chee-Yun to practice on end. ``I found myself in my music, not my mom,'' she said.
Her good karma continued at Juilliard, where she studied with amazing teachers like Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang among others. DeLay, for example, would give Chee-Yun three days to master a concerto. It was rigorous but most helpful, she said.
Chee-Yun would continue filling in cancellations. One time, she was contacted Thursday morning for a Saturday concert in Hawaii. She practiced in the bathroom during the four-hour layover in Los Angeles. One flight agent heard the very ``private'' recital, and was so moved she bumped Chee-Yun to first class for the trip.
``It's like being an athlete,'' she said about juggling multiple pieces in different places. After such last-minute back ups proved her ability, Chee-Yun got her own concerts. She has since performed in five continents with world-renowned orchestras and chamber musicians.
``I was at the right place at the right time. I didn't become a star overnight, but through steady growth, with one stepping-stone at a time. I always tell my students to take things slowly,'' she said.
Chee-Yun has held distinguished teaching positions at notable music schools. She now teaches at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which she calls a ``a great learning experience.''
``It's bottomless,'' she said about her affection for music and appetite for learning. ``The more I learn the more I realize I don't know everything. There are contemporary (classical music) works, corners (in musical literature) you didn't notice before and then you revisit pieces,'' she said.
``I need to keep my eyes open and be fascinated, because if I'm not inspired then (the audience) won't be. My job is to communicate my deep love and allow people to see different images.''
As for future plans, she said, ``When I was little I used to have big dreams, like becoming the first woman president or the wealthiest person in Korea so I can pay off the national debt and help the poor. But now, my dream is to live each day to the fullest.
``It's the only thing that's real. There have been a lot of curve balls in my life and great, unexpected events ― I don't schedule things'' she said, though she is fully booked with concerts and lectures months in advance. ``I'm happy with where I am,'' she smiled.
Fans will be able to hear tracks from ``Serenata Notturno'' live in her recitals at the LG Arts Center in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets cost 30,000-70,000 won. For more information call 1588-7890.