Paik Kun-woo looks back on 60-year career

Pianist Paik Kun-woo speaks during a press conference at the Munho Art Hall in central Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Kwon Ji-youn

It has been 60 years since Paik Kun-woo, just 10 at the time, performed Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto at his very first recital in 1955. To celebrate, the pianist has arranged for two concerts this fall with repertoires that will be impressive, to say the least.

Paik, 70, will perform Alexander Scriabin’s 24 Preludes during the first half of his piano recital at the Seoul Arts Center on Sept. 22, and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 1 in the second half. In November, he will join Valery Gergiev and the Munich Philharmonic for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (The Emperor Concerto).

“The sonata will be the highlight of the piano recital,” Paik said during a press conference at the Munho Art Hall in central Seoul, Monday. “I try to introduce lesser-known works to Korean audiences at my local recitals. I’ve come to love Russian music _ the symphonies, the choruses and the religious music. It is rare that Rachmaninoff’s sonata is included in a pianist’s repertoire, and I’ve always wanted to perform it here in Korea.”

Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist active in the 20th century, whose early works were influenced by Frederic Chopin.

“But his later works are more unique,” Paik said. “Scriabin was a composer who lived in a world of his own. With the preludes, I hope to give audiences a view into that world.”

Paik’s passion for Russian music began with his search for a repertoire that was more personal, and perhaps folksier, than Maurice Ravel’s complete piano works, which were included on his debut disc in 1975.

“Because Ravel’s music is so refined and distinctive, I needed something different to balance it,” he said. “Also, Russian music has very much in common with the Korean temperament, which is why I’ve come to love it.”

He recalled meeting Rachmaninoff’s granddaughter in Costa Rica, where she showed him a video of Rachmaninoff spending time with his grandchildren.

“I was able to see how warm Rachmaninoff really was, and the second movement in particular reflects that side of him,” Paik said.

In 1992, Paik released a disc that included his renditions of Rachmaninoff’s sonatas. He performed them without ever having visited Russia, so they were of impressions he had compiled through indirect experience, like through films.

“But the biggest difference between the sonata I play now and the sonata I played then is that, with age, I’ve learned how to play the piece comfortably. Back then, I needed to prove myself and persuade audiences, but now, I’m enjoying my music.”

Looking back on his 55-year professional career, Paik said his earlier years were filled with difficulties that have influenced his music. .

“When I was studying abroad, not many people knew of Korea and its musicians,” he said. “I was lonely. But I think that loneliness helped me better understand people. With time, I’ve grown closer to the music, and I’m grateful to have learned how to enjoy the experience.”

Paik said he doesn’t feel that his age affects his music. He stressed that his musical journey has no destination, as there are so many composers who have produced masterpieces suitable for someone his age.

“My future will be about discovering those pieces, perhaps originating from France or Spain,” he said. “People can be deceptive but music cannot. I hope to continue performing sincere music.

“Some performances have become too commercialized,” he continued. “I want my music to remain otherwise.”