衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

Sunwook KIM, winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, and William WEI, the laureate of the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition, invite you to an effervescent instrumental duel, their remarkable skills and synergy showcasing a breathtaking repertoire that traverses two centuries.

LUTOSLAWSKI Subito evolves into a frenetic mystery as the violin and piano develop suspensefully from the beginning, with the violin's instant shifts crafting intricate and explosive melodies. BEETHOVEN's 26-minute Violin Sonata No. 7 is a masterpiece filled with passionate melodies and deep emotions, offering a profound journey into the composer's soul.

In the second half, JANÁČEK Sonata for Violin and Piano offers a blend of modern chords and folk element-infused melodies, while RESPIGHI Sonata in B minor, composed around the same time during World War I, presents romantic lyricism with an Impressionistic touch and achieves a rich, almost orchestral texture by only two instruments.

  Post-talk  

2024/4/20(Sat)16:15 Five mins after the performance at Concert Hall Auditorium

Speaker: CHIEN Wen-pin, Sunwook KIM, William WEI

  Program  

Witold LUTOSLAWSKI: Subito for Violin and Piano

L. v. BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No. 7 in c minor, Op. 30 No. 2, Eroica

L. JANÁČEK: Sonata for Violin and Piano

O. RESPIGHI: Sonata for Violin and Piano in b minor, P. 110

  Creative and Production Team  

Piano｜Sunwook KIM

Violin｜William WEI

  Artists Introduction  

Piano｜Sunwook KIM

Sunwook KIM came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, aged just 18, becoming the competition's youngest winner for 40 years, as well as its first Asian winner. Since then, he has established a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation, appearing as a concerto soloist in the subscription series of some of the world's leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Berlin Radio Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Finnish Radio Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Orchestra of Wales, Radio-France Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Hallé Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for his BBC Proms debut in Summer 2014. Conductor collaborations include with Karina CANELLAKIS, Nathalie STUTZMANN, Thomas SONDERGARD, Tugan SOKHIEV, Daniel HARDING, Paavo JÄRVI, David AFKHAM, Edward GARDNER, John Elliot GARDINER, Myung-Whun CHUNG, Osmo VÄNSKÄ, Vladimir ASHKENAZY, Kirill KARABITS, Marek JANOWSKI, Sakari ORAMO, Andrew MANZE, Vassily SINAISKY, Michael SANDERLING, Yuri BASHMET and Sir Mark ELDER.

Recital highlights to date include regular appearances at the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London International Piano Series), in the 'Piano 4 Etoiles' series at the Philharmonie de Paris and Théâtre des Champs- Élysées, Piano aux Jacobin Festival, AIX Festival, La Roque d'Antheron International Piano Festival (France) as well as at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festspiele, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Kioi Hall in Tokyo, Symphony Hall Osaka and Seoul Arts Centre. Sunwook is also a keen chamber musician and has collaborated with singers.

As soloist in the 2022/23 season, Sunwook returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Tianyi LU), London Symphony Orchestra (Michael Tilson THOMAS), Chamber Orchestra of Europe to tour South Korea as well as to the Seoul Philharmonic in their tour of Europe (Concertgebouw, Cadogan Hall). Sunwook also returned to Bournemouth Symphony both as soloist (KARABITS) and to conduct DVORAK's Cello Concerto alongside Brahms Symphony No. 2. Sunwook's return to the Bournemouth Symphony as conductor follows his instant success having made his play-direct debut with the orchestra and international conducting debut with the KBS Symphony only last season. In August 2022, Sunwook also had the honour to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic in their National Liberation Day Concert marking the 77th anniversary of Korea's National Liberation Day and in December 2022 returned to conduct three performances of BEETHOVEN's Symphony No.9. Further conducting debuts included with the Fundación Excelentia Madrid and Macao Orchestra.

Next season, Sunwook will make his debut with Atlanta Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Gävle Symfoniorkester as well as his conducting debuts with the Franz LISZT Chamber

Violin｜William WEI

"Mr. Wei … proved to be a virtuoso, but a special and sensitive interpreter at the same time."——WestDeutsche Zeitung

Laureate of the prestigious 2015 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition, Taiwanese violinist William Wei is quickly building an international career as a soloist. With inherent musicality, liberated virtuosity, refined sensibility and shimmering dynamism, he has been expressing his unique voice to the world. Westdeutsche Zeitung described William as "proved to be a virtuoso, but a special and sensitive interpreter at the same time;" Wei has collaborated as a soloist with leading conductors and orchestra such as Belgium National Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Eliahu Inbal, Gilbert Varga, Marin Alsop, Gil Shaham, Nai-Yuan Hu, Cho-Liang Lin, Ray Chen, Pei-Yao Wang, Vikingur Ólafsson and Jörg Widmann. William plays on a Stradivari, 1722 ex "Joachim-Elman," kindly loaded to him by the Chimei Foundation in Taiwan.

  Cultural Development Partner