Acclaimed pianist to craft marvel at second Seoul recital

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, April 1 (Yonhap) -- First laying hands on the clavier at the age of two
and rising to international stardom by the time he was 10, Russian pianist Evgeny
Kissin was praised as a child prodigy by music critics and devotees around the
world.
Now, aged 38, the "whiz kid" has learned that music is not all about inborn
talent but something you must "work on for life."
"I realize that music and playing music get more difficult as time wears on,"
Kissin told a press gathering one day ahead of his Seoul recital Wednesday. "Once
you achieve something, you naturally dream for something higher. This is a
difficult task."
Already having taken Korean fans by storm with his first Seoul recital in 2006 --
with encore performances of up to 10 songs -- Kissin will be performing works by
his fellow countryman Prokofiev, three pieces from the ballet "Romeo & Juliet"
and Sonata No. 8. Also featured in the program are Chopin pieces, including
polonaise "Fantasie" and several mazurkas and etudes.
"I have always remembered Seoul fans as the most passionate audiences. They were
even more so compared to the Italians," the Russian pianist said. "I am looking
so much forward to meeting them again tomorrow."
Born in Moscow in 1971, Kissin was reputedly able to hum along to a Bach tune as
an infant. At age six he commenced his own piano studies at the esteemed Gnessin
School of Music for Gifted Children, where he became a student of Anna Pavlovna
Kantor, who was Kissin's only piano teacher outside of his family.
Making his debut with the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra when he was 10, Kissin
gave his first recital in Moscow the following year. In recent years, Kissin has
held more than 40 performances each year throughout Europe, America and Asia.
Kissin is especially noted for his interpretations of the works of Chopin, whom
he claims to have felt an affinity for since early childhood and who is also one
of the most loved composers in Korea.
"I do not think of it as a present for Korean fans to play Chopin," Kissin said.
"I just think of it as sharing something I deeply love with them."
Audiences at Thursday's recital may look forward to another long trail of encores
by Kissin as he said he will keep playing "as long as the audiences want" him to.

"My largest number of encore performances was 16, played at Naples," he said. "I
do not prepare for the encores, but follow an impulse given by audiences who want
music."
A lover of bibimbap, a popular Korean dish of mixed rice, Kissin said he listened
to South Korean maestro and pianist Chung Myung-whun when he was younger.
"All genres of art and all aspects of life influence music," he said. "I don't
know which part of it makes me love music and I do not want to know as long as I
live."
Tickets to Kissin's upcoming recital were sold out in less than five hours,
according to the event's organizers. The concert will be held at 8 p.m. at the
Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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