1 octobre 2019
“Pianist on screen and in life”
“It’s important to take a little break in your life to think about the right choices. As French pianist Lydie Solomon says, silence is the key to all questions. Consequently, the profession of one’s own choice will turn into meditation.
What are your impressions after the concert?
Yesterday I was very amazed at the lively and pleasant atmosphere in the hall. Audiences in different countries are always different – whether Cuba, Mexico or Berlgium. Everyone has different cultures and roots. I’m glad when I see people’s emotions and reactions. When I play, I send energy and it always comes back. This is my first visit to Georgia. Elisso Bolkvadze met me very warmly, encouraged me and created a positive environment.
What did you like most?
Unfortunately, I can’t stay long here, I have to leave soon, but in the short time I've spent here, what I’ve noticed is positive and warm people living here. I compare Georgia with my roots – Korea, which, like this country, has gone through a lot. Korea, too, is a small country. Perhaps such an environment shapes people, their dreams and their hard work, their survival instinct. Classical music is a world language with no barriers. The piano helps me get my message across to the listener.
I think classical music comes from nature. Of course, today not everyone is in close contact with it. Nature comes with inspiration too. Our world is booming. I think this creates an important and empty space between the goals of the universe and classical music. That is why it is important to keep our source of inspiration. Classical music is a calling of the past and a creation of geniuses.
The methods you follow…
This is the Maestro Michel Sogny method. He found the “magic key” that connects the world with classical music. His revolutionary method is in constant interaction with today’s world. I think Maestro Sogny’s methodology has brought a lot of young people back to the classical music kingdom. What he does is amazing. He is my teacher and coach.
It is true that classical music is in danger today, and as an artist I think I have a mission. This is very important to me.
Many people can play music online, but I don’t think they know what a piano really is. Anyone learning with the digital tool will soon end that Connection. You need physical proximity to a real instrument to understand what the instrument is, what music is. In the digital world, however, we have lost connection.
How to teach kids music lessons?
Kids who love music should definitely know the composers, befriend them and love them. To me, Beethoven, Chopin or Liszt stand out. It’s not just about playing Chopin’s work. You have to feel where and how he lived, what he went through, who his father or girlfriend was; what he wore, what he liked. We need to connect between today’s generation and them. The world is changing, so it’s important to love composers and feel their lives. Knowing and feeling the process of making music is important. So – love every note you create or fuse together.
I have one little secret that I will tell you only: when I work on a music score, I write all the notes down by heart. This is very difficult: you write your own mental recording and then you compare. The process of writing only happens once: when the composer creates notes. If you do that, you feel like being the composer. You can imagine how her/his hands moved. All this creates new opportunities and this is my way. Everyone should find her/his own. Everyone has her/his own personal recipe, so it should not be about work, but meditation. You have to find your own, unique method.
How important is free choice in your life?
I have been playing the piano since I was two years old, and since the age of 18 I can say that I have been a pianist-composer. My relatives and family always wanted me to know a lot. I played the violin and wrote novels, acted in a film where I played the role of a pianist; I played in churches, sang jazz, graduated from a business school, and I lead workshops.
I’m talking about the connection between me and music. In many respects, this is my destiny and I wonder how I got this love for the piano, how free I was to choose. I’m constantly in search of myself…”