Kim Sun-wook to play Beethoven, Schubert

By Do Je-hae

A major challenge for any pianist is to study and perform the works of the First Viennese School, referring to masters like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, of the late 18th and early 19th century.

Among Korea’s young pianists, no one has been as forthcoming about this challenge as Kim Sun-wook, whose full cycle of the 32 Beethoven sonatas has been underway at the LG Arts Center in Seoul. He previously performed a cycle of the five Beethoven piano concertos in 2009.

Piano lovers will have a chance to hear how the London-based artist has matured as a serious interpreter of the First Viennese School in the upcoming mini-concert of beloved pieces by Beethoven and Schubert at the Ilshin Hall in Hannam-dong, Seoul.

The performance is organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) as a side event of the Culture Communication Forum (CCF). A key activity of the institute is to take place on Sept. 4-6 in Seoul. The concert program consists of the Beethoven Sonata in A-flat major Op.22; Schubert Impromtu in E-flat major D 899 No.2 and Schubert Impromtu in A-flat major D 899 No. 4. There will be a photo and Q&A session with the artist following the one-hour performance starting at 5:30 p.m.

“My May recital at the Salle Pleyel in Paris consisted of pieces by Schubert and Beethoven. Some people who attended the performance seemed surprised that a Korean pianist was in the process of performing all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas,” Kim said in a recent press release by the LG Art Center.

Kim sets himself apart from other Korean pianists of similar status like Son Yeol-eum, by focusing on Austro-German composers and studying conducting at the same time.

Kim is one of the leading Korean pianists of his generation since winning the prestigious Leeds competition in 2006. He was the first-ever Asian to earn the distinction.

In the past few years, he has been mentored by Beethoven specialists like piano virtuoso Andras Schiff. He took classes with the Hungarian-born British pianist this summer at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. Schiff had invited five promising pianists, including Kim, for a five-day workshop.

“We looked at Beethoven’s original scores and discussed why the composer wrote certain passages the way he did. We also talked about technical aspects, like the effective use of pedals,” Kim said.

Kim and Schiff previously made a video recording of a master class for Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, a revolutionary piece in which the piano starts before the orchestra. Most concertos begin with the orchestra playing the first main theme.

The 24-year-old will continue a two-year Beethoven recital for the rest of the year. He will play sonatas 9, 10, 11, 12 on Sept. 6 and sonatas 13, 14, 15, 16 on Nov. 8 at the LG Art Center in Seoul. Kim has been playing the Beethoven sonatas in chronological order since March.

Full cycles of the sonatas are few and far between. In embarking on the taxing program, Kim is following in the musical steps of piano virtuosos like Daniel Barenboim, who completed a full recording and performing cycle in his teens. The most respected pianists of our time, including Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini, have played all the sonatas onstage and completed a full recording cycle.

Kim is also a passionate chamber musician. He will be playing the Brahms Piano Trio No. 1 with Berlin philharmonic concertmaster Guy Braunstein and Olaf Maninger, a principal cellist with the same orchestra in Paris in October.