Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Kim to record Beethoven for DG
Pianist Kim Sun-wook will make his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) this week. / Courtesy of SPO
By Do Je-hae
By Do Je-hae
Pianist Kim Sun-wook will have the honor of recording Beethoven for Deutsche Grammophon this month. While the 25 year-old has been performing with the world’s finest orchestras in the last few years, this is his recording debut.
Kim, who is building a reputation as a specialist in Austro-German masters, will be partnered by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) under the direction of Chung Myung-whun.
The recording will document their performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 and Piano Concerto No 5 on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 at Seoul Arts Center. The recording will be produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Michael Fine, who works closely with the SPO as senior advisor.
Kim’s focus has been on Beethoven’s concertos and sonatas for most of his career. His mastery of the five Beethoven concertos is at such a level that he can play any one of them from memory, according to a recent interview he gave to the monthly magazine published by the SPO.
In November 2012, he performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 with the London Symphony under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, receiving favorable reviews from the British press.
After the performance, a review by Classical Source lauded his "acute sense of classical style rare in any pianist," while complimenting his "delicacy of touch and subtlety which mirrored Clara Haskil." The late Haskil is a legendary pianist who is renowned for her breathtaking interpretation of Mozart and Beethoven’s concertos and sonatas, as well as chamber music work with master violinists like Arthur Grumiaux.
This is a testament to how Kim has matured as a serious interpreter of Beethoven, particularly through intensive studies with virtuosos like Andras Schiff and his two-year-long journey of performing all of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas since last year. Kim has been playing the Beethoven sonatas in chronological order since March 2012 at the LG Art Center in Seoul.
Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. They form one of the most important collections of works for the piano.
Full cycles of the sonatas are few and far between. In embarking on this historic 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. Also, Kim previously performed a cycle of the five Beethoven piano concertos in 2009.
Kim first came under international spotlight when he won the Leeds Competition in 2006, becoming not only the competition’s youngest winner in 40 years, but also its first Asian winner.
The London-based pianist 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 Royal Academy of Music in London.
Tickets for Kim’s upcoming concerts with the SPO range from 10,000 won to 120,000 won. For more information, call 1588-1210.