Catching and completing the elusive

Paik to paint many faces of Liszt for bicentennial

By Lee Hyo-won

Following 2010’s celebrations for Chopin, this year sees a long lineup for the bicentennial of Franz Liszt ― composer and pianist extraordinaire, free-spirited socialite and man of religion, Casanova and astute critic all-in-one.

The amazing thing about classical music is that, centuries down the road, it still keeps its performers busy with so many anniversaries.

Among those with a packed schedule for Liszt’s 200th birthday is pianist Paik Kun-woo. Ahead of the occasion on Oct. 22, Paik will give two concerts in Seoul on June 19 and 25.

The Paris-based Korean, much like the late globetrotting Hungarian, arrived in town recently after performing in Genoa and Guangzhou, China. He said he has “many other engagements” including giving more concerts in Italy and Mexico, as well as judging two competitions named after Liszt.

Demand for the 65-year-old is high because he had already championed an all-Liszt program 29 years ago. In 1982 Paris, he showcased six concerts over six weeks that was broadcast and recorded, and received critical acclaim for showcasing works in a meaningful way, including many less-known pieces.

Leslie Howard may be famous for recording Liszt piano solo pieces over 94 CDs ― but one cannot apply the term “complete” to the composer the same manner one might with Ravel per se, says Paik:

“This can be attributed to two reasons. Liszt never played a song the same way twice. He also performed different variations and one can never know his spontaneous spins on the score. Second, no one probably traveled as far and extensively as he did, all the way to the end of Russia. He wrote different pieces each time, and many of his scores are privately owned here and there.”

Paik’s 1980s Liszt program was not a culmination of an all-consuming passion for the Hungarian. “He’s one of the most beloved and popular pianist-composers but I never really got into him.” Yet as Paik began to discover the beauty of his oeuvre, piece by piece, he found himself collecting scores one year after another.

The process was taking him more than three years and it became impossible to organize the work. That was when he decided to plan a concert program, in order to clean up the mess. The result? An ovation from music historians and an invitation to restage the program in London the following year.

The upcoming concerts here will feature two different themes. The first evening will showcase works inspired by literature, such as the famous Dante Sonata (after Victor Hugo) and the Faustian “Mephisto Waltz” No. 1.

Six nights later Paik will play works from the composer's later period and a sonata, juxtaposing the exhilarating, gypsy-souled “Five Hungarian Folk Songs” and “Scherzo and March” with meditative religious tunes, “Sunt Lacrymae Rerum” and "Sursum Corda.” The evening will wrap up with the epic B minor Sonata.

“I want to portray the many faces of Liszt. Gypsy and man of religion ― these images may be poles apart but Liszt was an individual who possessed both sides,” Paik said. "A biographer once said his life was like a novel."

While the composer may be best know for piano pieces he also wrote an opera, albeit incomplete, at a young age. He contemplated becoming a man of religion but led a lavish lifestyle in high society. He was notorious for luring women with his acrobatic finger work on the keys but was active as a virtuoso for only seven years. He gave many charity performances and free lessons, though his more charitable disposition is not very well known.

Liszt may be a landmark figure in music history, having virtually given birth to modern piano playing techniques with the devilish etude “La Campanella” and forever changed the structure of symphonic poems. An avid writer, he was also the first to pen a biography on Chopin. And yet the musician remains a most mysterious figure.

Whom does he empathize with more, the elusive Liszt or more “complete” Chopin? “I prefer Liszt. I think Chopin was more introverted, whereas I’m more curious and striving to expand my horizons, like Liszt,” he said with a chuckle.

“As a musician, as any individual, we transform constantly. Like Liszt, I wish to continue to revise and develop whilst retaining the essence of things.”

But Paik seems to differ from the late artist in one tangible way. Contrary to Liszt’s Casanova image, the younger maestro had been a one-woman man. His wife and artistic partner, actress Yun Jeong-hie, as usual, accompanied the musician to the press event.

The June 19 and 25 concerts will take place at Seoul Arts Center. Tickets cost from 40,000 to 120,000 won. Visit www.clubbalcony.com for more information.