Pianist Paik, SPO to celebrate New Year

Conductor Antoni Wit / Courtesy of Sejong Center for The Performing Arts

By Yun Suh-young

Pianist Paik Kun-woo / Courtesy of Sejong Center for The Performing Arts

Veteran pianist Paik Kun-woo will open the New Year with his fingertips. The 70-year-old Paik will perform for the first time in five years with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts (SCPA) on Jan. 4 as part of the 2017 New Year's Concert.

The concert was organized by the two organizations to send a hopeful message to citizens to start a brand new year and send away the vicissitudes of 2016. The concert is led by Polish conductor Antoni Wit as guest conductor for the Seoul Philharmonic with Paik on piano.

The repertoire includes Dobrzynski's "Monbar" Overture and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 for the first half and Chabrier's Espana Rhapsody, Falla's Danza Ritual del Fuego from "El Amor Brujo," and Orchestral Suites No. 1 and No. 2 from "El sombrero de tres picos" for the second half after the intermission.

"Monbar" is Dobrzynski's first opera piece written between 1836 and 1838 which was premiered at the Wielki Opera House in Warsaw in 1863. It portrays the grandeur of the Polish cavalrymen as well as the lyrical music of Poland. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15, Beethoven's third concerto piece written, adopts Haydn's format with Mozart's expressiveness and Clementi's technique, yet in Beethoven's own style. The second half starts with Emmanuel Chabrier's “Espana Rhapsody.” Chabrier is a French composer of the 19th century who was also a pianist who loved Wagner's music and art. His music has energetic rhythm and musical tone with unique harmony. The final pieces to be performed are two of Manuel de Falla y Matheu's. Falla is Spain's representative romantic composer.

"The New Year's concert for 2017 was proposed again five years after our 2012 New Year's concert in collaboration with the SPO was met with wide interest and support from the audience. In order to repay our thanks to the audience, we decided to hold the concert again this year," the SCPA said through a press release.

"Our audience can very much look forward to this year's New Year's concert featuring veteran musicians such as Antoni Wit and Paik Kun-woo in collaboration with the Seoul Philharmonic."

Wit is Poland's most representative conductor who served as the music director for Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002 to 2013. He debuted by winning at the International Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition in 1971 and has served as assistant conductor for Karajan at the Salzburg Easter Festival. This is his third performance with Seoul Philharmonic, following stints in 2012 and 2015. Wit has collaborated with Paik several times since their first encounter in 1986 and the two have released several albums together.

Paik is Korea's representative pianist who has been active on international stages since a 1969 debut in which he won a prize at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. He has received several prizes including Diapason d'Or given to outstanding classical music recordings, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government in recognition of significant contributions to the arts, and the Silver Culture Medal from the Korean government.

For more information on the concert, visit sejongpac.or.kr or call 02)399-1000. Visit ticket.interpark.com for ticket reservations. Ticket prices are from 30,000 won to 90,000 won.