\u00a0FAIRLIGHT\u00a0 HALL\u00a0 FESTIVAL\u00a0 15 June<\/p>\n
Tae-Hyung Kim, star prizewinner of last March’s Musical Festival Piano Concerto Competition, on June 15 paid a return visit to Hastings with a sell-out performance in the idyllic setting of the home of David & Sarah Kowitz, Fairlight Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kim, as he is informally known, was ‘discovered’ as a youthful prodigy in 2000,.and in the years since has combined professional performances with studies to extend\u00a0 his repertoire.\u00a0 Those who heard his signature performance at the White Rock\u00a0 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto will agree it was memorable.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On Saturday Kim played solo piano works by composers from the seventeenth century Domenico Scarlatti to the twentieth century Erik Satie.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 His opening choice was probably the most familiar, Debussy’s two delightful Arabesques,<\/i> pieces frequently heard as encores but here Kim showed they more than deserve a hearing of their own.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scarlatti contributed three of his five hundred and fifty (yes!) Sonatas.<\/i> Scarlatti was a celebrated harpsichordist, and Kim adapted his approach to mirror this.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first half closed with movements from Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet ballet<\/i>,\u00a0 The Young Juliet<\/i>, and that favourite of\u00a0 TV researchers for something ‘heavy’, the theme portraying the feuding of the lovers’ families The Montagues and Capulets.<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Franz Liszt, oft lauded as the greatest pianist of all time, transcribed many other composers’ works.\u00a0 Kim opened the second half with three such pieces by Schubert arranged by Liszt, followed by five of Liszt’s original studies.\u00a0 This afforded Kim the opportunity to, reveal his range from a serene Prelude <\/i>to a ‘fast and furious’\u00a0 Molto vivace, <\/i>the grace of dancers whirlting around the ballroom\u00a0 in ‘Ricardanza’<\/i>,\u00a0 ending with the gentle charm of Evening Harmonies. <\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0 <\/i>\u00a0With the audience demanding more Kim obliged with one further example of his skill. However for many the most memorable moment of this delightful performance\u00a0 may be the simple melody of Erik Satie’s excursion on to the dance floor, the haunting yet joyous Valse Je te veux.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The audience included the Hastings Musical Festival Director Prof. Frank Wibaut, the distinguished pianist Peter Katin and representatives of Councils throughout East Sussex, who universally expressed their delight at this unique presentation in such an attractive setting.\u00a0 Dr Katin summed up the opinion of so many when he said, off the cuff, ‘I cannot remember when I was so moved by a performance.’\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Marrion Wells<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u00a0FAIRLIGHT\u00a0 HALL\u00a0 FESTIVAL\u00a0 15 June Tae-Hyung Kim, star prizewinner of last March’s Musical Festival Piano Concerto Competition, on June 15 paid a return visit to Hastings with a sell-out performance in the idyllic setting of the home of David & … Continue reading