Rising star pianists of three Asian countries join force for peace concert

Pianists from three Asian countries are set to join forces for a special concert series called “3 Peace Concert” next month in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

From Dec. 5-7, pianists from Korea, Taiwan and Japan will have their recital at Mapo Arts Center in Daeheung.

The series will kick off with Kim Do-hyun, who won the second prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of contemporary piano music at the Ferruccio Busoni Competition 2021.

Kim, the inaugural Artist of the Year for Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture, will perform Faure pieces, ranging from nocturnes to impromptu, and Chopin’s "24 Preludes," Op. 28.

On Dec. 6, Kit Armstrong, who celebrates both British and Taiwanese heritage, will take the stage for his first performance in Korea in six years.

Armstrong, who also studied composition and mathematics, will perform Bach’s Barcarolle No. 12 in E-flat major, Op. 106, Saint-Saens’s Album Op. 72, Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 6 in D major, K. 284 and Liszt’s "Le triomphe Funebre du Tasse" S. 517 and "Weihnachtsbaum" S.186.

On Dec. 7, Japanese pianist Yuto Takezawa will present Rameau’s "Nouvelles Suites de Pieces de Clavecin," Debussy’s "Estampes," Messiaen’s Preludes, Toru "Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II – Memoriam Olivie Messiaen" and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29 Op. 106.

Takezawa has won multiple prizes at international competitions, including the Schumann prize, Beethoven-Haus-Prize, audience prize and second prize at the Telekom International Piano Competition Bonn in 2019 and the second prize and audience prize at the “Ettore Pozzoli” International Piano Competition in 2021.

A special performance will take place on Dec. 6 soon after Armstrong’s recital. The three young pianists perform Rachmaninoff’s “Romance for 6 Hands in A Major,” a piece the Russian composer wrote when he was 18 years old for his three sisters.

“South Korea needs to open wide the era of harmony and coexistence in Asia and be prepared in advance. Through the '3 Peace Concert' series, which will mark the grand finale of this M Classic Festival, we wanted to convey a symbolic message that culture serves as the key to reconciliation between nations, something that cannot be achieved through politics and diplomacy,” Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture CEO Song Je-yong, stated in a press release.

The 8th M Classic Festival, organized by the Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture, is a 94-day festivity that features about 800 artists until Dec. 7.