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| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-03-25 15:37:59
SEOUL, Mar. 25 (Yonhap) -- Kim Jae-young, the 38-year-old leader of the pre-eminent string quartet Novus Quartet who is also active as a solo violinist, is looking forward to meeting his fans at an official recital stage in more than two years.
Kim, who will hold a recital at Yonsei University's Future Campus Auditorium on Monday as well as at the Seoul Arts Center’s IBK Chamber Hall on the next day, said in an interview, "I will be introducing the hidden masterpieces written by composers in the early 20th century that have not been heard frequently to the audience."
The talented violinist will play pieces written by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Karol Shimanovsky, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Ottorino Respighi, who each played a major role in the transition from the romantic to the contemporary music era in the early 20th century.
He will kick off the recital with Korngold's violin sonata, the piece he first introduced to the Korean audience sometime eight years ago in 2015, followed by the Polish composer Shimanovsky's “Myths,” Williams' “The Lark Ascending,” and Respighi’s “Violin Sonata.”
Kim unveiled the program a year ago, explaining, "I wish my future self to have this challenge and freedom.”
“These pieces will be new both for me and the audience, and they are indeed challenging to play. However, the more we listen to them, the more we will find ourselves falling in love with the music," the violinist said.
"As an artist, I believe it is my job to introduce pieces that are not very well-known while continuing to challenge myself in the meantime," he, who is known for going through a rather demanding and experimental repertoire in almost every recital, said. "But they obviously come with a slightest bit of regret," the artist added with a smile.
In fact, playing such a repertoire is only one of the countless challenges the artist has taken so far. In regards, Lee explained, “I am who I am now due to the fierce battles I had with myself in my 20s.” The artist is known for pushing himself to be in charge of large-scale projects such as performing in numerous contests and playing Beethoven and Shostakovich’s string quartets.
In the meantime, he said, "I wish the second half of my life to be the time where I ripen what I have done so far while being slightly more relaxed,” adding, “I have earned a lot, but they were definitely times of great pain and patience. Now, I wonder how long I will be able to challenge myself. I think the time has come for me to do what I am already familiar with from time to time and ripen what I already have.”
The artist said that he was able to finally become more relaxed, thanks to the time and effort he devoted in his 20s. "I think I poured all the effort and practice that I can in my 20s. Even if I encountered a piece where I got stuck, I used to hang on to it until I could play it. Due to that time and effort, I think I can let go of some things now and become more relaxed."
When asked to share his feelings after playing a year-long run of Beethoven’s string quartets for the first time as a member of the Novus Quartet, he answered, "I actually do not feel like I have accomplished something. It would be great if I could have felt that sense of accomplishment but it was actually more like I have barely climbed just a quarter of a mountain. Even the compliments from people around me did nothing for me,” adding, “I believe musicians should evaluate their music themselves.”
"My dream is to become an artist who is not only successful but also equipped with everything," the artist, who is also welcomed on the world stage as a soloist and a member of the Novus Quartet, said with a resolution.
"We are living in an era where there are so many great, talented performers. But being a great musician and artist is something different. I think it is important to keep a fair distance between my life and music while developing my own personality, physical strength, and spirit so that I can continue to have my life experience be immersed in the music I play."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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