Pianist Son Yeol-eum makes debut as harpsichordist

Pianist Son Yeol-eum makes a debut as a harpsichordist in the Great Mountains Music Festival & School (GMMFS), which is to be held in the Alpensia Concert Hall on July 24. As a harpsichord is an old form of a piano, it seems easy for a pianist to play. But it actually isn’t.

A piano produces sound with a hammer at the end of a key, which hits a string when a key is pressed. On the contrary, a harpsichord makes sound with an instrument called plectra that plucks a string. In short, a piano is a musical instrument to ‘hit’ to produce sound but a harpsichord is an instrument to ‘pluck.’ A piano has one line of keys while a harpsichord has two lines. There is a pedal on a piano to regulate strength of sounds, but harpsichord does not have such a device. The two are fundamentally ‘different.’

Son, who started learning how to play a harpsichord three years ago, will play Bach’s Goldberg Variations. As harpsichords are priced ranging from several tens of million up to 100 million Korean won, not many people own the instrument. The harpsichord that Son will play is borrowed from a music fan who has been attending the GMMFS over a long period.

Lavinia Meijer, a harpist born in Korea and adopted into a Dutch family, draws attention from music fans in Korea. The GMMFS is slated to be held at the Alpensia Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. on July 23, at the Alpensia Music Tent at 2:00 p.m. on July 25, at the Alpensia Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. on July 30, and at the Alpensia Music Tent at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 1. Violinist Kwun Hyuk-joo will play Saint-Saëns’ "Fantasy for Violin and Harp" and other distinguished artists will present Ravel’s "Introduction and Allegro" and Debussy’s "Clair de Lune" and "Danse Sacrée et Sanse Profane."

Harps are priced around 100 million won per unit and it is not easy to move the musical instrument. In case of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, if the orchestra needs to rent a harp in addition to the ones owned by orchestra members, the city orchestra rents a personal harp from a guest player and pays the transportation fee. Meijer also plans to play a harp borrowed from a local resident.

kimjy@donga.com