'Gladiator on the Keyboard' Performs Despite COVID-19 to Support Korea's Overcoming Efforts

Ukrainian Female Pianist Valentina Lisitsa to Perform at Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on the 22nd

Valentina Lisitsa
[Photo by Opus]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Ukrainian-born female pianist Valentina Lisitsa (47, photo) will proceed with her solo recital at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall as scheduled on the 22nd, despite the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Amid the cancellation of performances by famous overseas artists due to COVID-19, Lisitsa expressed her determination to go ahead with the concert. The concert organizer Opus stated, "Lisitsa has a deep affection for Korea and decided to proceed with the performance out of a desire to support Korea," adding, "She also said she trusts Korea's quarantine system."

Known for her dazzling technique and powerful fast playing, Lisitsa is famously nicknamed the "Gladiator on the Keyboard." After her first visit to Korea in 2013, she returned in 2015 and 2017. Each time she visited, her programs, lasting over three hours, attracted much attention.

For this concert titled "Passion and Joy," a two-hour program has been prepared. In celebration of Beethoven's 250th birth anniversary, three Beethoven piano sonatas will be performed: No. 17 "Tempest," No. 23 "Appassionata," and No. 29 "Hammerklavier."

The program is designed to allow the audience to experience the flow of Beethoven's piano sonatas through representative works from his early, middle, and late periods.

"Tempest" is a highly dramatic piece that pioneered the path for Romantic music. "Appassionata" is famous for its technically challenging passages among Beethoven's piano sonatas. "Hammerklavier" is a monumental work that expanded the sonata to a scale comparable to a symphony, with a performance time roughly twice that of a typical piano sonata. Lisitsa described "Hammerklavier" as "a symphony played on the piano."

Lisitsa was born in 1973 in Kyiv, then part of the Soviet Union and now the capital of Ukraine. She began playing piano at age three, studied at the Kyiv Conservatory, and was taught by Ludmila Tsvierko. In 1991, she and her husband Alexei Kuznetsov won first place at the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. Lisitsa gained attention in 2007 by uploading performance videos on YouTube.

Tickets for Lisitsa's solo recital are available through Opus, Seoul Arts Center, Interpark, and YES24.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.