On Thursday night, I attended the Carnegie Hall debut of a brilliantly talented young pianist with a stunning tremolo -- Minsoo Sohn of Korea. He's a very intense player, incredibly focused, but very young and still a little shocked by the audience; when he stood after each piece, he blinked a bit at the audience, remembering to bow and acknowledge the appreciation through seeming near-surprise; it was terribly sweet.
He put together a lovely program. The first set consisted of Kirchners Interlude II, and Beethoven's 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabello (Opus 120). The Kirchner was a gentle caress, delicate and warm, but not particularly memorable as a stand-alone. Beethoven's 33 Variations on the other hand, was both stunning and unusual, as well as being an incredible display of stamina. My favorite of the varietals was the 7th or the 8th -- there was a delightful game of hide and seek included within it, plus a good tree climb and tumble. There were some lullabies, a partner dance or two, a lament that Emily Dickinson would have loved to listen to her sister play, and even an off-step military march -- I loved it.
The piece was well-positioned; 45 minutes of still, silent listening made the intermezzo a welcome break for conversation and stretching, and remembering to take full breaths. I always yawn inappropriately at solo recitals. I subconsciously slow my breathing to something resembling death while sitting on edge to catch every note and reverberation, and then my brain zaps my lungs with a "hey, keep us alive up here!" message. I'll have to figure out a way to combat that; it's terribly embarrassing.
The piece was well-positioned; 45 minutes of still, silent listening made the intermezzo a welcome break for conversation and stretching, and remembering to take full breaths. I always yawn inappropriately at solo recitals. I subconsciously slow my breathing to something resembling death while sitting on edge to catch every note and reverberation, and then my brain zaps my lungs with a "hey, keep us alive up here!" message. I'll have to figure out a way to combat that; it's terribly embarrassing.
Post intermission, the gloves came off and Sohn demonstrated just why he's the First Laureate of the Honens competition, and a top prizewinner/laureate at 6 other international competitions, as well.
The second set was comprised of Liszt transcriptions of pieces by Beethoven (Adelaide, S. 466), Schubert (Gretchen am Spinnrade, S. 558 No. 8 and Der Muller und der Bach, S. 565 No. 2), and Mozart (Reminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418). Sohn earned a two-minute standing ovation that began in the balcony of the Weill Recital Hall after the Schubert-Liszt -- a piece that begins with a bucolic, pastoral little introduction and quickly sweeps the listener along on an epic sweep of music. I was blown away -- and too disoriented at the end of it to stand and applaud. Hayley and I ducked out between the program conclusion and the encore, so I can't tell you what it was, only that we could hear the applause on the street.
The second set was comprised of Liszt transcriptions of pieces by Beethoven (Adelaide, S. 466), Schubert (Gretchen am Spinnrade, S. 558 No. 8 and Der Muller und der Bach, S. 565 No. 2), and Mozart (Reminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418). Sohn earned a two-minute standing ovation that began in the balcony of the Weill Recital Hall after the Schubert-Liszt -- a piece that begins with a bucolic, pastoral little introduction and quickly sweeps the listener along on an epic sweep of music. I was blown away -- and too disoriented at the end of it to stand and applaud. Hayley and I ducked out between the program conclusion and the encore, so I can't tell you what it was, only that we could hear the applause on the street.
I've been to Carnegie Hall before, but not since moving to the city; this was a lovely first re-introduction, and as I have the opportunity to attend other performances, I'll leap at the chance.
Video of Minsoo Sohn playing the Liszt transcription of Paganini's Etude No. 1 at the International Arthur Rubinstein Competition:
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