Pianist Park Jaehong Performs Busoni Concerto Winning Piece with National Symphony

Part 2 Performance: Berlioz's 'Symphonie Fantastique'

Pianist Park Jaehong will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, which brought him the glory of winning the 2021 Ferruccio Busoni Competition, in collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra.

The National Symphony Orchestra will perform Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" and Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 3" at the regular concert held on the 12th at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. Artistic Director Davit Rylandt of the National Symphony Orchestra will conduct.

Pianist Park Jae-hong [Photo by National Symphony Orchestra]

Rachmaninoff's prime as a composer is considered to be the period from 1907 to 1917, before he emigrated to the West, and Piano Concerto No. 3 was composed in 1909, right in this period. In early 1909, after some hesitation, Rachmaninoff accepted an invitation for a concert tour in the United States and composed Piano Concerto No. 3 with the purpose of firmly establishing his presence. In this work, he deepened and expanded the technique and scale, aiming to surpass his previous masterpiece, Piano Concerto No. 2, in every aspect. The resulting Piano Concerto No. 3 lasts about 40 minutes and, true to Rachmaninoff’s style, is considered a highly challenging piece to perform.

For Park Jaehong, this piece brought the glory of winning the competition. Park performed this piece on the final stage of the 2021 Busoni Competition, winning the top prize and sweeping four special awards.

The Symphonie fantastique, performed in the second half, is the first symphony by Berlioz, known as the "first French Romantic." It is a large-scale work featuring about 90 musicians on stage, including two harps and two sets of timpani, and is based on the composer's autobiographical story. Berlioz poured the pain of heartbreak into the Symphonie fantastique after being rejected by the actress Harriet Smithson, to whom he had confessed his love. This work clearly shows one of Berlioz’s musical characteristics, the id?e fixe. Berlioz expresses the woman loved by the protagonist as a single melody (id?e fixe), which repeatedly appears throughout the movements, changing instruments, rhythms, and other elements according to the situation in each movement.

Artistic Director Davit Rylandt said, "Each piece is like an emotional musical drama," and added, "I hope the audience feels rich emotions while listening and fully enjoys the moving musical moments conveyed by the orchestra."