Let Us Stop Each Other When We Get too Old to Play Properly

The third movement of Brahms’s Violin Sonata No. 2 suddenly stopped and some giggling noises started coming out of the crack in the door.

“Wow, Brahms wrote this part so funny, right?”

It was voice of Lee Kyung-sook (60, Yonsei University professor). The giggling didn’t stop for a while, even after the reporter knocked on the door and joined them in professor Kim Nam-yoon’s room.

The two “godmothers” of Korean instrumental music are having a duet performance for the first time in 10 years. They will stage a serious repertoire, all three sonatas of Brahms, at 7:30 p.m. on November 11 Dukyang Eoulim Theater in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province and at 3:00 p.m. on November 14 in Seoul Art Center’s Concert Hall.

Dong-a Ilbo met the two players in the midst of practicing.

Dong-a: Were the two of you always friends?

Kim Nam-yoon: She (Lee Kyung-sook) finished her study abroad and was appointed as a full-time lecturer in Kyunghee University’s music department. Then I got hired there in 1978. We became very good friends and hung out a lot together (laugh).

Lee Kyung-sook: Back then, we were full of energy both in terms of music and life. After that, Nam-yoon moved to Seoul National University, and I came to Yonsei, but we are still so close, chatting on the phone all the time.

Later, they both became professors in the Korean National University of Arts, and Lee served as the dean of the School of Music of the university from 1992-1997 and Kim took the same position in 2002.

Dong-a: Who picked the repertoire – all the sonatas of Brahms?

Kim Nan-yoon: I did. I am crazy for Brahms and autumn fits Brahms very well. But I am now worried that it might sound like Brahms in summer.

Lee Kyung-sook: There is a saying “Why do we need technique?” His music may not be very showy, but in order to express the depth in his music, his music pieces should be practiced thoroughly by hands.

Dong-a: You two may have heard this question before, but how would you describe each other as musicians?

Lee Kyung-sook: Professor Kim is an excellent violinist whose appeal to the audience is extraordinary. In addition to that, her teaching is at the state of a national treasure; you can see it by just naming few of her students who became excellent musicians such as Kim Ji-youn and Lee Yu-ra.

Kim Nam-Yoon: Professor Lee’s ability is amazing. I’ve been to her performances where she played all three piano concertos by Tchaikovsky in one night. I was so moved by the dynamics of her performance as well as the quality of it.

Dong-a: Are there to be more duet performances by the two of you?

Lee Kyung-sook: There is one thing we promised to each other; we would stop each other by slapping each other on the back when we can’t play properly due to the aging of our hands, since playing is addictive like drugs. Also, getting old makes people play out of self-righteousness and pride, so we agreed to let each other know when to stop. (Laughs.)

Ticket prices: Goyang 8,000-40,000 won. Seoul Art Center 10,000- 40,000 won

Information: 02-391-2822

Yoon-Jong Yoo gustav@donga.com