Pianist Sunwoo Ye-kwon grateful for concert opportunities
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Pianist Sunwoo Ye-kwon speaks during a press conference at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Tuesday. He will be next year’s artist-in-residence for Kumho Art Hall. / Yonhap
By Kwon Ji-youn
Sunwoo Ye-kwon gained recognition in Korea relatively late in his career, but he’s just glad it happened before he turned 30.
The 26-year-old pianist, the artist-in-residence for Kumho Art Hall for 2016, told press Tuesday that the focus of his career has not been on reaching stardom or winning prize money, but on performing music that resonates with audiences.
“It’s a lifetime job, after all,” Sunwoo said. “And there is definitely room for improvement. This is why I am so grateful to have been named next year’s artist-in-residence. A pianist needs to perform.”
Sunwoo made his New York City debut at Carnegie Hall in 2009 as the winner of the Florida International Piano Competition. In April, he became the first Korean to win the International German Piano Award, and in 2014, the first Korean to win the Vendome Prize at the prestigious Verbier Festival. His many other awards include first prize in the 2012 Piano Campus International Concours, a laureate in the 2010 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels and first prize in the 2009 Concours International de Piano “Interlaken Classics,” among others.
“I entered at least two international competitions a year since I first began competing at age 16, and I’ve won quite a number of them, each equally important,” he said. “But I try not to give them too much meaning. If I had to pick the most memorable, it would be the Sendai International Piano Competition. My mother flew out to Japan to watch me perform, and because I am not an affectionate son and I try to be as level-headed as I can ahead of competitions, she took the stairs instead of the elevator so that I wouldn’t feel burdened by her presence. I felt sorry, and very grateful.”
Kumho’s artist-in-residence program, to which Sunwoo was named, gives artists, academicians, curators and musicians a chance to develop their works and explore their practices within another community by meeting new people and using new materials. This year’s artist-in-residence was violinist Cho Jin-joo.
Other well-known pianists acting as artists-in-residence include Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Pierre-Laurent Aimard who collaborates with the Vienna Symphony with a program that focuses on shedding new light on Beethoven’s compositions.
Sunwoo said being named artist-in-residence is an honor for musicians as it provides them with a batch of performance opportunities. He will hold five performances at Kumho Art Hall in central Seoul next year, with a repertoire that will include work by Schubert, Scriabin, Saint-Saens and Prokofiev.
“I wanted to make sure my programs were filled with pieces that are not often performed here in Korea,” he said. “It’s the kind of repertoire only a pianist of my age can really pull off.”
Sunwoo also competed at the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in October, but walked away with many regrets. He was coming off another competition just two days prior, and didn’t have enough time to practice, he said. Fellow young pianist Cho Seong-jin became the first Korean to win the influential competition.
“I do not particularly take a liking to his music style,” Sunwoo said of Cho. “Cho’s flaw is that he has no flaws. But I was nonetheless proud that he won the competition.”
He added, “I admit, I wasn’t prepared for the competition, having practiced just five hours total. But I did learn a lot from the experience, and if I am given enough performance opportunities, I would prefer not to take part in any major competitions in the near future.”
Sunwoo’s first gig next year will be the Kumho Art Hall New Year’s concert, to take place on Jan. 7. The program will include works by Grunfeld, Mozart, Stravinsky and Ravel. For more information, visit www.kumhoarthall.com or call 02) 6303-1977.