Pianist to bring classics to remote islands

By Shim Sun-ah SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- Ahead of a series of unique music performances on far-flung islands, a Europe-based South Korean pianist said Friday he is excited about the events, because he believes music has a great power to connect people. Paik Kun-woo, 65, hailed as "the poet of the piano," is scheduled to give a series of free outdoor concerts starting on Saturday on three islands off South Korea's south and west coast, including one shelled by North Korea last year. Paik, who lives mostly in France, has performed in his native South Korea from time to time but this one is special. He said he hopes music will help them feel closer to each other. "I have valued meetings between people through music since long time ago," Paik said in a meeting with reporters to promote his concerts. "I want to share minds through music with residents of the islands," he said, adding that understanding more about his motherland Korea was another purpose of the event. The concerts will be held on makeshift stages, along a beach or at a port, and people will be allowed to watch them in a care-free atmosphere, joined by their families and friends, he said. The maestro pianist said he will play four of his favorite pieces -- Chopin's Barcarolle in F sharp Major, Op.60, Liszt's "St. Francois de Paule marchant sur les flots," Debussy's "L'isle joyeuse" and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp Minor, Op. 27-2, or "Moonlight." Paik said he carefully organized the program, hoping that the islanders would like the pieces, too. Born in Seoul in 1946, Paik studied at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York and has built most of his career in Europe. Paik gained international prominence after winning the 1967 Naumburg and 1969 Leventritt Piano Competitions. He has since performed with major orchestras and has won recognition such as the Diaposon d???Or for his recordings. He is a recording artist for the Decca label and has served on the jury at the 2007 Tchaikovsky competition. But he said his memory of being raised in the southern port city of Busan has always made him miss the sea and small islands of the country. "Holding concerts on islands was what I have planned for a long time, vaguely though," he said. "I came to have a kind of nostalgia about my homeland as time went by, wanting to know more about and look deeper into Korea." His idea was realized when he proposed the plan through his actress wife, Yoon Jung-hee, to the executives of local public broadcaster MBC. MBC plans to make the concerts into a documentary program set to be aired around mid-October, according to the broadcaster's publicity officials. Paik said he was also able to gladly borrow a piano worth 120 million won (US$108,156) from a piano company, which has become another sponsor of the event. The musician said he and his wife will travel by ship along with the borrowed piano for the concerts to be held on Saturday on the Yeonpyeong Island and on Wednesday on Wi Island and on Sept. 24 on Yokji Island. All of the three islands chosen as concert venues have their own stories, he said. Yeonpyeong remains as a symbol of lingering inter-Korean tension after North Korea shelled the island in November, killing two marines and two civilians. Paik is confident of success of the concerts, because he said he believes music has a magic power to help diverse people communicate with one another.