[From Ryu Taehyung's Seat] Classical Music Stopped by COVID? No Way, There Was No Time to Be Bored

Published 07 Oct.2021 10:59(KST)

The Stage of Concours Stars Breaking the COVID-19 Mannerism

Ryu Taehyung Music Columnist

"The era of superstars has come to an end. We must find the ‘Local Hero’."

This was said by Alain Lanceron, CEO of Warner Classics, when he visited Korea in 2016. It meant that the time when signing with a major record label was the shortcut to proving one’s talent had passed. Information became faster, and before even listening to an album, one could assess skill through YouTube. The environment varies greatly by country. The local heroes Lanceron selected at the time were Korea’s Seong-Jin Cho, France’s Philippe Jaroussky, and the United States’ Joyce DiDonato. Five years later, they have firmly established themselves as world stars.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, which restricted global travel and made entry and exit difficult, the classical music world has transformed from the previous global era into a full-fledged ‘local era.’ Previously, it was possible to introduce the latest overseas trends simultaneously to the Korean stage through air travel and accommodation, but this became impossible. As mass concert cancellations followed the two-week self-quarantine, concert halls and agencies turned their attention domestically. Foreign orchestras’ visits were replaced by domestic orchestras, and overseas soloists were substituted with local performers. On the other hand, it became an opportunity to reflect on how abundant our own resources are. Performers who were close to world-class but had fewer opportunities enjoyed more chances, and those one level below also had more opportunities to perform on bigger stages. Although revenue decreased due to spaced seating, classical concerts continued nonetheless.

Pianist Kim Su-yeon

In 2021, amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the excellent results achieved by Korean performers in international competitions further blurred the line between local and global. Cellist Jae-Min Han won first place and violinist Jae-Won Wi took second at the Enescu Competition. At the Prague Spring Competition, the Arete Quartet won first place in the string quartet category, and Dong-Ha Lee and Jae-Young Lee took first and second in the piano category. Pianist Su-Yeon Kim won first place at the Montreal Competition. The Liszt Chamber Music Competition saw the Risus Quartet win first place in the string quartet category. Baritone Ki-Hoon Kim won at the Cardiff Competition, and pianists Jae-Hong Park and Do-Hyun Kim took first and second at the Busoni Competition. Most recently, in September, violist Geun-Sik Kim won first place at the Johannes Brahms Competition.

The pride in K-classical, which stands shoulder to shoulder with world standards, has grown, and audiences have become accustomed to performances by Korean orchestras and collaborators. At some point, the flow stagnated, and the craving for something new faded. Around this time, there were performances that provided fresh stimulation. The first and third prize winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition visited Korea for recitals. The Queen Elisabeth Competition, along with the Chopin and Tchaikovsky Competitions, is considered one of the world’s top three competitions and became a hot topic among enthusiasts this year. Of the 58 finalists, 15 were Korean performers. However, among the 12 semifinalists, the only Korean was Su-Yeon Kim, who was simultaneously competing at the Montreal Competition. Kim did not advance to the final round of six. The Queen Elisabeth Competition, which had been somewhat distant from the continuous stream of Korean winners, presented an opportunity to gauge its level in Seoul. These were local heroes we did not know.

Pianist Mukawa Keigo.

The first stage of the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition Winners’ Concert at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei on September 9 featured Keigo Mukawa from Japan, who won third place. He is a pianist boasting a record of second place at the ?pinal Competition, second at the ?le-de-France Competition, fifth at the Hamamatsu Competition, and second at the Long-Thibaud Competition. He performed Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata,’ Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de la nuit,’ Hummel’s ‘Variations on a Theme by Gluck,’ Chopin’s Waltz No. 5, Op. 60 ‘Boat Song,’ and Rachmaninoff’s ‘Variations on a Theme by Corelli.’ Keigo’s performance was delicate and persistent. It felt as if his hands never left the keys, and the continuity, as if the hammer was always resting on the strings, eliminated gaps between notes and drew the audience’s focus to the music.

Pianist Jonathan Fournel.

A week later, on the 16th at the same venue, I watched the performance of first prize winner Jonathan Fournel, a French pianist. He played the Largo from Bach’s Organ Sonata No. 5 BWV 529, arranged by Samuel Feinberg. The piano’s sound, rich and mellow as if soaked with moisture, evoked a lush organ rather than a hammer. In Chopin’s Nocturne No. 17, he showed a unique resonance with fingers like soft-bodied mollusks. The last piece of the first half, Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise, took the listener on a rollercoaster ride with extreme trills, clear high notes, and heart-thumping low notes. The second half’s Brahms Sonata No. 3 was transparent and madly intense. It was like seeing a transparent fountain pen for the first time. The previously rigid and heavy texture of Brahms was woven clearly in the ear like layers of pastry bread. The slow movements and intermezzo settled meditatively, while the scherzo and finale sparkled with the development of the work.

The encore pieces were Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ and Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 ‘Scherzo.’ The aftertaste of the Chopin performance left a lingering impression. It was a moment proving the class of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in front of Korean classical fans. If one only focuses on domestic performances due to COVID and the triumphs of K-classical, one can fall into mannerism. Occasionally, such a wake-up call is necessary in the classical world.

Pianist Tony Yoon

Earlier, on April 20, I attended a piano recital by Tony Yun, the winner of the first China Competition in 2019. He is a Chinese-Canadian pianist just over twenty years old, studying at the Juilliard School. From Bach-Busoni’s ‘Chaconne,’ he captured attention with a strong personality. Rather than pounding the keys, he used the pedal to control the gradations of a mellow sound as if submerged in water. More than technique, one felt his reverence for Bach’s music. Even after pouring out all the notes, the music continued with vibrations. Busoni’s arrangement of Bach’s ‘Lord, I Call to You’ BWV 639 highlighted lyrical aspects and delicately controlled various volumes. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 15 ‘Pastoral’ was the most impressive. Each note was cherished, and the storytelling was clear, drawing the audience into the space of the story he created. The second movement, played sufficiently slowly and leisurely, was especially memorable. The first piece of the second half, Liszt’s arrangement of Bellini’s ‘Norma’s Reminiscence’ S.394, was a continuous display of virtuosity. The right and left hands constantly crossed, pushing this notorious difficult piece to the limit. Liszt’s arrangement of Wagner’s ‘Procession of the Holy Grail from Parsifal’ S.450 followed, depicting a sacred melody with a lyrical silence more powerful than eloquence. In Agosti’s arrangement of Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite,’ the climax and highlights of the orchestral ‘Firebird’?the Infernal Dance, Lullaby, and Finale?were almost perfectly reproduced on a single piano.

The stages of internationally awarded competition winners provide classical fans with new faces and guarantee qualitative standards as a brand image of the competitions. On September 15, the Seoul Arts Center and Tongyeong International Music Festival signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to continue mutual cooperation. One key point of this MOU is that the winner of the Isang Yun Competition, hosted by the Tongyeong International Music Festival, will perform in the Symphony Festival hosted by the Seoul Arts Center. This offers classical music enthusiasts the advantage of experiencing contemporary trends and provides performers with opportunities for self-promotion, stage experience, and career building, creating a win-win situation.

For the development of the classical music world, more gateways like competitions must emerge, and their authority must be elevated. The stages of competition winners are filled with musical communion, expectations, and satisfaction. The piano recital by Su-Yeon Kim, winner of the Montreal Competition, held on November 20 at Tongyeong International Music Hall and December 1 at the Seoul Arts Center IBK Chamber Hall, is highly anticipated. Next March, Busoni Competition winner Jae-Hong Park, in June the G?za Anda Competition winner, and in September the Leeds Competition winner are scheduled to perform in Korea.