Saturday 27 November St Mary’s Perivale

The Liszt Society Annual Day and Competition

1.00 pm Recital by Minkyu Kim (1st prize in the 2019 competition) 

Two Hungarian Recruiting Songs ‘Zum Andenken’, S241Scherzo in G minor, S153
Schlaflos! Frage und Antwort (‘Question and Answer’) – Nocturne nach einem Gedicht von A Raab, S203i
Schubert song transcriptions S558: no 1 Sei mir gegrüßt
Soirées de Vienne – Valses-Caprices d’après Schubert, S427: No. 4
Variationen über das Motiv von Bach, ‘Weinen, Klagen’ S180
Grande Fantaisie sur des thèmes de Paganini – La clochette et Le carnaval de Venise,

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Some quite extraordinary playing from Minkyu Kim.A total mastery of the keyboard,a transcendental technique that seems to know no difficulties .But above all a poet’s soul allied to an intelligence that brings to life a programme of almost unknown works of Liszt.A Campanella Fantasy that Mark Viner exclaimed was impossibly difficult .Not for this young pianist who brought it vividly to life.One could see Liszt’s work in progress and indeed understand the gentleman in Dublin who exhorted Liszt :“Play them bells again Paddy”.The only work that I knew was the extraordinary “Weinen Klagen Variations” that received a truly monumental performance.There was a great sense of balance even when there were transcendental left hand octaves but he was always aware of the overall architectural line.The triumphant ending of a work,that even Perlemuter in his old age had on his music stand,was played with total conviction and mastery.There was great rhythmic control and clarity in the two Hungarian Recruiting Songs S 241 and scintillating playing of great rhythmic drive in the Scherzo S.153.There was also the great beauty of the tenor melody in Schubert’s ‘Sei mir gegrusst’accompanied by ravishingly arpeggiated chords played with such subtle colouring .Soirée de Vienne S.427 N.4 was a novelty as we know only the famous one immortalised by Horowitz and the virtuosi of the Golden age of piano playing.An irresistible rhythmic pulse of extreme delicacy led to a gradual build up to a mighty climax all played with crystalline clarity.An encore of a March that had remained unknown for over a century ,of course now recorded by Leslie Howard,but that Minkyu wanted to play as a final tribute to Liszt at his prizewinners concert today at St Mary’s.

Minkyu Kim was born in South Korea in 1995. He studied piano with Soojeong Jeong at Goyang High School of Arts and with Hyung-Joon Chang and Sehee Kim at Seoul National University and harpsichord with Joohee Oh. He has won many prizes including second prize in the Korean Liszt Competition, first prize in the Jock Holden Memorial Mozart Prize (RCS), Governors’ Recital Prize for Keyboard (RCS), Philip Halstead Prize (RCS) and third prize in the Windsor International Piano Competition. He was selected as one of 14 semi-finalists of International Franz Liszt Competition in 2020, unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. Minkyu has given many recitals in Korea, including several lecture concerts. He has also performed the entire Transcendental Études by Franz Liszt. Minkyu has performed piano concertos with Goyang High School of Arts Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and has had several chamber music concerts with Seoul National University Philharmonic Orchestra. After graduating with distinction from the University in 2017, he began his studies at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a full scholarship from ABRSM. He is currently studying for a Doctor of Performance degree at the RCS in with Professor Aaron Shorr and Sinae Lee with a full scholarship.

The Liszt Society International Competition 2021

HyunJeong Hwang (aged 31, from Korea)

Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, S140: nos 2 in E flat / 6 in A minor
Rapsodie espagnole – Folies d’Espagne et Jota aragonesa, S254

Anastasia Tionadewi (aged 24, from Indonesia)

Harmonies poetiques et religieuses, S173 no 3: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude

Eri Yamamoto (aged 27, from Japan)

Rigoletto de G. Verdi – Paraphrase de concert, S434
Deuxieme Année de pèlerinage – Italie, S161: no 7: Après une lecture de Dante – Fantasia quasi Sonata

Results of the competition announced

Some very fine playing from all three contestants in the Annual Liszt competition.Some rather over cautious playing from HunJeong Huang but nevertheless with some beautiful shaping of great musicality.A finely spun Dante Sonata from Eri Yamamoto after a scintillating Rigoletto paraphrase.But it was to the beautiful unrestrained musicality of Anastasia Tionadewi that first prize was given.

HyunJeong Hwang is a keen pianist with a passion for the classical and romantic repertoire, and she enjoys an active and multifaceted musical life, performing as a soloist and chamber musician.  She won various competitions in South Korea from the age of 17, and went on achieve a high commendation in the Lilian Davis Competition at the Royal Academy of Music, the 4th prize in the Osaka International Competition, 2nd prize in the Lazar Berman Competition in Italy,  and was also asked to be an official accompanist at the Grand Virtuoso Prize in London for the winning concert at the Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall. A frequent guest at international festivals she has played in Amalfi (Italy), Gabala (Azerbaijan), Puigcerda (Spain) and Kyiv (Ukraine) – where she performed Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto. She holds a BMus and MMus from the RAM, where she studied with Daniel-Ben Pienaar and Colin Stone, and she continued with her doctorate at the Guildhall. 

 Anastasia Tionadewi was borin in Indonesia in 1997, and pursued her musical education in Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, The University of Melbourne under the tutelage of Miss Janine Sowden. She has performed throughout Australia, and is the winner of many national awards and prizes there, including the Hephzibah Menuhin Award, the Florence Menk Meyer Prize, the C G McWilliam Bequest, and the Ormond Exhibition Scholarship for the best student of the course for the Bachelor of Music (Hons). Anastasia is now one of the Guildhall School of Music scholars, studying with Joan Havill in the artist master’s programme. 

Eri Yamamoto was born in Tokyo and, after achieving her BA and MA with highest honours at the F. Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest as a Stipendium Hungaricum scholar, she moved to London in 2017 to further her skills on the Professional Diploma course at the Royal Academy of Music. Currently she is also an official piano accompanist of the RAM. She has won numerous prizes and awards throughout Europe and Asia, and she has recently performed important engasgements in Warsaw, Budapest Salzburg and Tokyo. She studied with Na´dor Gyo¨rgy and Orsolya Szabo´ and participated in masterclasses by Cyprien Katszaris and Pavel Gililov. Eri currently receives coaching from Julian Jacobson.

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