Exploring Schubert

After many years as a specialist in Russian and French music, Paik Kun-woo has shifted his focus to the Austro-German repertory including Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert in recent years. Paik will deliver an all-Schubert program on Sept. 12 at Seoul Arts Center. / Courtesy of Vincero

Paik Kun-woo to devote upcoming recital to the early Romantic composer

By Do Je-hae

Paik Kun-woo is a fine example of a pianist who keeps getting better with age.

At 67, he still strives to grow musically by expanding his repertoire and puts in five to six hours of practice while playing concerts around the world.

For the first time in his career, the Paris-based pianist is delving into Schubert’s works for solo piano. He will give all-Schubert recitals in the upcoming months here and in France, in addition to releasing a new recording at Decca featuring works by the Austrian composer.

“Local fans have for a long time waited for the combination of Schubert’s masterpieces and Paik’s insightful interpretations,” said Song Jae-young, PR director at Vincero.

Paik’s Schubert recital will take place at Seoul Arts Center on Sept. 12. The highlight of the program is the “Four Impromtus D.899,” containing some of the most irresistible melodies ever written for piano.

Paik will play the same program at the “Festival de la Roque d’Antheron,” one of the most renowned piano festivals in Europe, on July 25.

For someone who died at 31, Schubert was incredibly prolific with almost 1,000 works to his name. As the largest number of these — over 600 — are songs or “leider” in German, many people associate him with haunting song cycles such as the “Winterreise.”

He was also a magnificent symphonist whose astonishing Ninth Symphony paved the way for Bruckner and Mahler.

But Schubert has had a tenacious hold on pianists and audiences with masterpieces that form the core piano repertoire today.

The legendary Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz once considered Schubert “the greatest genius.” Some pianists, such as Alfred Brendel, devoted his entire career to exploring his large body of music to solo piano, including 21 complete sonatas.

Schubert, who was trained as a singer in his youth, knew how to make the piano sing. His piano works are known for a rare depth of emotional expression and an outpouring of lyricism, as clearly demonstrated in the “Four Impromtus D. 899.”

The choice of Schubert as Paik’s next project signifies a shift in musical focus for the seasoned pianist. In his younger days, he was known for his expertise in the Russian and French repertory.

He sparked a Prokofiev boom here with his phenomenal recording of all of the Russian composer’s five piano concertos for the Naxos Records throughout the 1990s.

He introduced Alexander Scriabin to Korean audiences in the early 1990s with two recordings of his sonatas when most Koreans still weren’t aware of Scriabin, a contemporary of Prokofiev and Stravinsky considered one of the most innovative of early modern composers. Paik’s Prokofiev and Scriabin albums earned the Golden Diapason Prize.

He also received critical acclaim for his complete cycle of piano works by Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Faure.

Austro-German repertory

Since 2005, however, Paik has shifted his focus to the Austro-German repertory. He became one of the few pianists to release the complete set of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas in 2008, followed by a Brahms cycle.

Decca will release his next album in September, containing the all-Schubert program of his Seoul recital.

One of the early pioneers among Korean pianists, Paik was trained at the Juilliard School in New York and now lives in Paris. He is an exclusive recording artist for Decca and has also recorded for other major labels including the Deutsche Grammophon.

At the age of 15, he moved to New York to study with legendary teacher Rosina Lhevinne at Julliard, who also taught luminaries such as the late Van Cliburn and James Levine.

Paik’s international career was launched after winning the prestigious Naumburg and Busoni International Piano Competitions.

For more information on Paik’s upcoming recital, visit

www.vincero.co.kr

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In the record shelf

Alexander Scriabin

Russian composer Scriabin was unknown territory to Korean audiences until Paik Kun-woo released a couple of stunning recordings in the mid 1990s containing sonatas, preludes and shorter works for solo piano.

Sergei Prokofiev

Perhaps owing to an early training by the legendary Russian teacher Rosina Lhevinne, Paik focused on Russian repertory for many years before he joined Decca in 2004. The Prokofiev concerto cycle by Naxos Records was an instant sensation here in the 1990s and still remains a trademark recording for Paik.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Since joining Decca, Paik has shifted his focus toward Austro-German repertory. Recording the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas for Decca has been one of the highlights of Paik’s career. His next recording project is Franz Schubert.