“I Want to Conduct Beethoven’s Emperor"

“I take a step everyday toward achieving my long-awaited dream.”

Pianist Kim Dae-jin, 41, a professor at Korea National University of Arts, is debuting as a conductor in a concert this Christmas. Kim Dae-jin’s White Christmas Concert will be held in the concert hall of the Seoul Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on December 23.

He will give a solo performance of the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 and the second and third movements of Concerto No. 23, as well as conduct the specially organized Festival Orchestra. When Violinist Lee Kyoung-sun plays Winter, of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with the orchestra, he will be conducting the orchestra and playing a cembalo, an earlier form of piano.

Why did he, the nation’s best pianist, turn to a whole new realm?

“This is, more or less, a common desire among pianists. After following many different musical colors through the keyboard, they are drawn to this instrument called orchestra that makes these colorful voices. Another reason is that the piano plays chords unlike melody instruments such as violin and is close to orchestra in that respect.”

He was dreaming of becoming a conductor since middle school, and he has been on the conductor’s platform, even though it was not in a big concert. When he was at Seoul Art High School, Music Department Head Kim Jung-gil, a former professor of composition at Seoul National University, knew of his secret dream and gave him a chance to conduct Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the school’s concert. He also conducted Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 22, 24 and 25 during his study for a doctoral degree at the Julliard School while also playing the piano in a concert held after handing in his thesis on Mozart’s piano concertos.

Recently, he conducted and recorded with the Polish National Broadcasting Philharmonic Orchestra Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 17 and 23 in Poland. The recording will be published around December of next year.

“I will be ambitious in extending my boundaries toward conducting. After the ongoing series of complete Mozart Piano Concertos, I also want to conduct Beethoven’s Piano Concertos (five songs in total) myself.”

He smiled when saying, “Reflecting on my experiences as a soloist, a supportive conductor is ideal for enabling the musicians to play with ease.”

Yoon-Jong Yoo gustav@donga.com