Pianist Son gets homecoming at Great Mountains Music Fest

Tchaikovsky winner concerned about Koreans’ obsession with competitions

By Lee Hyo-won

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province — Son Yeol-eum has emerged as the young talent of the hour, as the webcast of her winning performance at the recent Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition was watched by millions around the world, including the 25-year-old pianist’s own idol, the violinist Chung Kyung-wha.

Her homecoming performances over the weekend as part of the Great Mountains International Music Festival & School (GMMFS) were some of the most talked about events of the season — particularly as the Wonju native performed to a full house in her hometown as part of the festival’s outreach program on Friday, before playing at Alpensia Hall, the main venue of GMMFS, on Saturday.

Chung, the newly appointed co-director of GMMFS along with her cellist sister Myung-wha, was seen giving standing ovations after Son gave an inspired rendition of Mozart’s Concerto No. 23, K. 488, opposite the Sung Shi-yeon-led GMMFS Orchestra in the second concert. The young artist responded to the explosive applauses with two thrilling, acrobatic versions of the Turkish March, a most befitting choice of encores for the evening’s all-Mozart program.

“I almost never get nervous for a performance, maybe just once out of 100 times. But I grew up listening to a recording of Chung Kyung-wha’s Tchaikovsky Concerto and I just can’t believe I got to play for her tonight,” Son said following the performance.

Before the Saturday concert, The Korea Times sat down with the pianist for the first time in two years since a coverage of the 13th Van Cliburn Competition in Texas. At the time Son’s disappointment with having stopped short of winning the silver medal was quite palpable. Having brought home yet another second prize from Moscow, she was far from basking in the glory of having won at an event that catapulted Cliburn, Chung Myung-whun and other musicians into international stardom.

She was clearly happy with the award, but made it clear that competitions, while important, are only a means and not the ends.

“It’s exciting that the competition got a lot of attention through its webcast. My good friend Aviram (Reichert, also a laureate of the Van Cliburn event who currently teaches at Seoul National University) saw my performance in Colorado,” she said.

“But I really hope younger pianists don’t benchmark me or anything just because I won competitions; competitions are just a means and not the goal.”

This year, Koreans swept the Tchaikovsky competition, with pianist Cho Seong-jin taking third prize in the piano section while four others took top honors in other categories. Almost half of the 11 Koreans that competed came back with prizes.

As much as the competition was thoroughly enjoyable “like a camp with friends,” Son warned that Koreans shining at such events is not an entirely positive phenomenon. “It’s a reflection of how Korean musicians have no other options (when it comes to launching their careers) and how there is a lack of support (for artists).”

For example, not a single Korean journalist was present in Moscow. “I was busy getting interviewed by a bunch of Japanese media.”

Nevertheless Son said she was impressed by how the local classical music scene continues to evolve. She was particularly impressed by the GMMFS. “It’s all the more exciting because Gangwon Province is becoming the center of attention. I really hope the festival becomes a more internationally renowned event.”

She continued to say how musical development needs to be viewed in the long run.

Son is considered to be among the “new generation” of classical musicians that have spent their formative years in Korea, instead of moving to the United States or Europe to receive training as toddlers. She only began studying abroad in Hannover, Germany, at age 20. She said it is possible due to teachers like Kim Dae-jin and Chung Myung-wha, who have brought back to share what they learned abroad.

“Of course it’s different for each individual, but I personally am glad I went abroad when I was older but still young enough to accept new ideas and cultures. I was able to develop a solid Korean identity and Korean is my first language. As an artist, establishing a sense of identity is most important,” she said.

As for her future plans, Son said she simply wishes to continue evolving as a musician — to “play better next year than this year, and even better 10, 20 years down the road.” For her, music is a way of life, and the piano is just a way to developing an artistic career.

She does have a preference for the Hamburg Steinway but is “not obsessed with the piano or anything like a lot of other pianists are.” “I simply like music and the piano is just a tool that I know how to use,” she said. Her iPod (of which 160 gigabytes is not enough and she is contemplating getting a second one) track listings include not only classic but also jazz, rock, musical soundtracks and “gugak” (Korean traditional music).

In the meantime, Son plans to continue returning to Korea for concerts while pursuing academic work in Hannover.

She has many concerts lined up in Seoul during the second half of 2011, including a performance with the Seven Stars opposite Maestro Chung Myung-whun (a laureate of the 1974 Tchaikovsky Competition) Sept. 9; a joint concert with Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, gold medalist of the Van Cliburn Competition, Sept. 14-15; and a cross-country tour with violinist Kwun Hyuk-joo beginning Sept. 18.