Relentless Momentum: Masterful Conducting and Rushing Melodies at 'The Piano Odyssey'
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
The Piano Odyssey concert on the 25th at Lotte Concert Hall celebrated the 60th anniversary of the JoongAng Ilbo. Conductor Kim Dae-jin led Orchestra J and three soloists—pianists Kim Do-hyun, Park Jong-hae, and Lee Jin-sang—through beloved piano concertos: Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2. Each soloist showcased distinct strengths: Kim Do-hyun opened with crystalline high registers and elegant pacing in Grieg; Park Jong-hae displayed refined chamber-music sensitivity and dazzling technique in Tchaikovsky; and Lee Jin-sang delivered a mature, powerful Rachmaninoff performance with clear, driving articulation. Orchestra J and Kim shaped color and texture to match each concerto, and the concert closed with an encore of Rachmaninoff’s “Romance,” arranged for six hands (three pianists on one piano). The program was praised as a celebration of a golden age of piano performance in Korea.
