Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang / Photo by Marco Borggreve
Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang said there is hardly anyone she trusts musically more than pianist Kim Sun-wook as the two prepare for a nationwide duo recital tour in Korea — their first such collaboration in the country in five years.
“Among all the musicians I know, Sun-wook is definitely in the top five when it comes to passion for music,” Kang said at a press conference Wednesday at Credia Classic Club Studio in Jongno, Seoul.
Beginning May 23 at Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, the duo will perform in 11 cities across Korea. The program features violin sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ottorino Respighi, Mieczysław Weinberg and Richard Strauss.
Kang described recitals as more intimate than concerto performances with orchestras.
“A recital is a time to become closer to the audience and to share a more personal musical world,” she said. “Sun-wook and I have collaborated often as soloist and conductor, but this was a program I especially wanted to present in Korea.”
The duo’s recent performances have already drawn praise abroad, including at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal last year and at Walt Disney Concert Hall in January. Another performance is scheduled for August at the Verbier Festival.
The pair previously recorded Beethoven’s complete violin sonatas together in 2020 and later toured nationwide with the program.
Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook / Korea Times file
“I can feel how much Sun-wook has grown as a conductor over the past five years,” Kang said. “Performing four violin sonatas in one concert requires enormous trust in the pianist.”
Source: Korea Times News
