Millennium Symphony 'Romantic Night'... Performance of 'Rachmaninoff and Elgar' Concertos

On the 12th at the Yesul-ui Jeondang Concert Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The Millennium Symphony Orchestra will perform works by two composers representing the Romantic era, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873?1943) and Edward Elgar (1857?1934), at 7:30 PM on the 12th at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center.

The Millennium Symphony Orchestra will present a concert titled "Romantic Night," featuring Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and No. 3, composed and performed by the composer-pianist himself, along with Elgar's Cello Concerto, by the national composer representing the United Kingdom.

Cellist Kim Young-eun, a professor in the Department of Orchestral Instruments at Suwon University College of Music, will perform alongside Russian pianist Ilya Rashkovsky, who won first place at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and placed in the Long-Thibaud-Crespin International Competition, Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, and Queen Elisabeth Competition. Rashkovsky is also a visiting professor at Sungshin Women's University College of Music. Next-generation pianist Park Jin-hyung, who became the first Korean to win first place in the piano category at the 2016 Prague Spring International Music Competition, will also join the collaboration. The conductor will be Young-sun Choi.

Elgar's "Cello Concerto" gained fame as the piece performed by the female cellist protagonist in the climactic final scene of the 2007 film "August Rush." It is Elgar's last work and consists of four movements. The first movement begins with an intense yet sorrowful melody. The second movement carries a slight liveliness, while the third movement follows with a slow, deeply sorrowful melody, where the cello solo is freely played amid the orchestra's restraint. The march-like fourth movement showcases the cellist's virtuosity with very intense expression, ending explosively. Cellist Kim Young-eun will perform this piece.

Rachmaninoff was not only a famous composer but also an outstanding pianist. He composed piano pieces with his own performance in mind, thus requiring tremendous skill from pianists. Rachmaninoff's piano works are notoriously difficult, causing despair for many pianists. The Piano Concerto No. 2, which Park Jin-hyung will perform, is a powerful work composed by Rachmaninoff after overcoming illness.

Piano Concerto No. 3 is known as the most technically challenging among Rachmaninoff's four piano concertos. He completed it in 1909 for his first American performance. Rachmaninoff needed a piece that would showcase his skills all at once and dominate the new stage. As he wished, it was born as a mammoth work demanding formidable technique, superhuman stamina, extraordinary artistic sensitivity, and poetic insight. Ilya Rashkovsky is scheduled to perform this concerto.