Gold medalist of the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, 31-year-old Korean pianist Yekwon Sunwoo plays Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata in C minor, D.958, and Maurice Ravel's La Valse, M.72, transcription for Piano Solo. The recital recorded at the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Bass Performance Hall, in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 30, 2017.
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Franz Schubert's last three piano sonatas, written between the spring and autumn of 1828, the last year of his life, are often considered as a group, sharing many elements of structure and form. He performed the three sonatas at a concert for his friends on 28 September 1828, and in October offered them to his publisher, Probst, who was not interested. Schubert's health, already weak, rapidly deteriorated and he died on 19 November 1828, at the age of thirty-one.
The Sonata in C minor, like the others in the group of three, is strongly influenced by Beethoven, at whose funeral the previous year Schubert had been a pall-bearer. The opening of the Allegro first movement of this sonata is very close to the theme of Beethoven's 32 Piano Variations on a theme (catalogue WoO80), which is also in C minor. There are also reminiscences of Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata, No.8 Op.13, again in C minor. The second subject is a chorale-like tune in E flat major, the relative major to C minor.
After the repeat of the exposition section, the development continues chromatically, exploring distant keys. At the recapitulation there is a return to the tonic, and the coda dies away in reminiscences of the development section.
The second movement, Adagio, is in A flat major, and structured A-B-A-B-A. Its tranquil opening theme is developed in a way that gives it a darker quality, and in the B sections there is intense chromaticism and forceful, emotion-laden chords. The second appearance of the A and B sections is a semitone higher than before.
The third movement is a menuetto and trio, but far darker and more sombre in mood than the usual classical minuet. The menuetto is in C minor, in two parts, each repeated, the second part containing two bar-long rests that give a disquieting feeling that persists to the end of the movement. The trio is in A flat major, structured A-B-A, with the B section in E flat major.
The sonata-form final movement, Allegro, is again in C minor, and has a rapid, racing 6/8 rhythm reminiscent of a tarantella or a moto perpetuo. The first theme moves from C minor to C major, while the second moves towards C sharp minor. A new theme enters in the development section, progressing to a climax which introduces the recapitulation in which the first theme reappears in shortened form. The wild leaps and bounding arpeggios give the movement a liveliness that is offset by its predominantly minor key colouring, and leave something of the flavour of a dance of death.
Source: Simon Rees, 2019
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Maurice Ravel's La valse, M.72, was originally written for orchestra. Ravel later transcribed it for two pianos and finally for piano solo.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
♪ Piano Sonata in C minor, D.958 (1828) [2:38]*
♪ Piano Sonata in C minor, D.958 (1828) [2:38]*
i. Allegro
ii. Adagio
iii. Menuetto: Allegro
iv. Allegro
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
♪ La Valse, M.72 (1919-1920), (Transcription for Piano Solo) [36:25]
♪ La Valse, M.72 (1919-1920), (Transcription for Piano Solo) [36:25]
Yekwon Sunwoo, piano
Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Quarterfinal Round Recital, Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, May 30, 2017
(HD 1080p)
* Start time of each work
Gold medallist of the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Yekwon Sunwoo has been hailed for his "unfailingly consistent excellence" (International Piano) and celebrated as "a pianist who commands a comprehensive technical arsenal that allows him to thunder without breaking a sweat" (Chicago Tribune). A powerful and virtuosic performer, he also, in his own words, "strives to reach for the truth and pure beauty in music".
The first Korean to win Cliburn Gold, Yekwon's 2019-2020 season includes appearances with Fort Worth and Tuscon Symphonies and the Bucheon Philharmonic and debuts with Washington Chamber Orchestra, Royal Danish Orchestra and Danish Radio Orchestra amongst others as well as a debut appearance at the Vail Festival with Dallas Symphony. Recital highlights include Four Season Arts, San Antonio Arts and the Stadttheater Aschaffenburg. 2020-2021 will see Yekwon make his debut with Orchestra Chambre de Paris and Tugan Sokhiev and return to KBS Symphony with Jaap Van Zweden.
In previous seasons, he has performed as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, Houston Symphony, National Orchestra of Belgium, Sendai Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestra amongst others. Recital appearances include Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Salle Cortot and Kumho Art Hall.
An avid chamber musician, Yekwon's collaborators include Benjamin Beilman, Linus Roth, Andrei Ioniță, Sebastian Bohren, Isang Enders, Tobias Feldmann, Gary Hoffman, Anne-Marie McDermott and the Jerusalem and Brentano Quartets. He has also toured Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama with the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, performed at Chamber Music of Lincoln Center's Inside Chamber Music Lectures and been invited to the Summit Music, Bowdoin International and Toronto Summer Music Festivals.
In addition to the Cliburn Gold Medal, Yekwon won first prizes at the 2015 International German Piano Award, the 2014 Vendome Prize held at the Verbier Festival, the 2013 Sendai International Music Competition and the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competiton.
Born in 1989 in Anyang, South Korea, Yekwon began learning the piano at the age of 8 and made his recital and orchestral debuts in Seoul at 15. His teachers include Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald, Richard Goode and Bernd Goetzke.
In 2017, Decca Gold released Cliburn Gold 2017 two weeks after Yekwon was awarded the Gold Medal and includes his award-winning performances of Ravel's La Valse and Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata.
A self-proclaimed foodie, Yekwon enjoys finding Pho in each city he visits and takes pride in his own homemade Korean soups.
Source: yekwonsunwoo.com
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