Pianist Kim Sunwook, Beethoven 250th Anniversary Commemorative Recital

On September 13 at Seoul Arts Center... Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 30-32 and Andante Favori Performance

Pianist Sunwook Kim [Photo by Vincero]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Pianist Kim Sunwook (32) will hold a recital of Beethoven's late piano sonatas at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on September 13 at 7 p.m. to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Kim Sunwook had originally planned the performance for March 6 but canceled it due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Kim Sunwook has been steadily studying Beethoven for a long time. In 2009, he performed the complete Beethoven piano concertos; from 2012 to 2013, he performed the complete Beethoven piano sonatas; in 2017, he held a recital of Beethoven's three great piano sonatas. In 2013, he was selected as the first recipient of the mentoring program at the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, gaining exclusive rights to use the Beethoven House's collection.

In this concert, Kim Sunwook will perform Beethoven's three great late piano sonatas, known as the final sonatas among Beethoven's 32 piano works. These masterpieces were created relying solely on emotion and imagination due to Beethoven's worsening hearing loss. They are works that evoke a self-confessional scene, as if carefully reflecting on a difficult life after overcoming a struggle with oneself.

Kim Sunwook described Beethoven as someone who devoted all his passion and effort to himself and his music with utmost intensity. "Beethoven constantly tried to overcome the fatal situation of hearing loss, which is devastating for a musician, and poured all his passion into music. The music filled with heartfelt sincerity is more deeply expressed in the late sonatas. It is not simply music played through an instrument but something that immerses the listener and allows them to feel something transcending reality. Playing and listening to this music often gives a feeling of self-reflection and introspection before a transcendent existence. Especially, Sonata No. 32 strongly gives the impression that it was composed while thinking about the beginning and end of life."

Kim Sunwook rose to stardom by winning the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006 as the youngest and first Asian winner. Since then, he has been consistently invited to perform with major orchestras worldwide, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Radio France Philharmonic. In September, a live recording of Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Dresden Staatskapelle and conductor Chung Myung-whun will be released, and in November, a Beethoven recital is scheduled at the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany. In the first half of next year, he is scheduled to perform regularly with the Philharmonia Orchestra and make debut performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, and Berlin Philharmonic.

Before the September 13 concert at the Seoul Arts Center, Kim Sunwook will tour the provinces with performances on September 8 at Daegu Suseong Artpia, September 10 at Goyang Aram Nuri, and September 11 at Busan Cinema Center.

This concert will be held with seating arranged to leave one seat empty between attendees to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19. Pre-opening ticket sales for Seoul Arts Center paid members will begin at 11 a.m. on the 22nd, and general tickets will be available from 11 a.m. on the 24th through the Seoul Arts Center and Interpark.

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