William Youn holds first solo Seoul concert in 2 years

Korean pianist William Youn is popular among music fans across the globe. Each album he has released under the name of “William Youn” has earned the highest accolades from the major record magazines.

His second album, which was released in 2011 with Franz Schubert’s D.935, won the perfect five stars from the Diapason magazine. His Mozart sonata album in 2018 was exalted by the Gramophone magazine, which said it was “rare to hear a Mozart sonata with such delicacy and depth from within.” “Youn’s lightness of touch is matched by weighty emotional depths, deep understanding and keyboard poetry,” said BBC Music Magazine last year on Youn’s Schubert Piano Sonatas.

Youn is coming back to Korea in two years for his solo concert “A Psalm of Life,” which will take place at IBK Chamber Hall in Seoul Arts Center on April 16. It is a heavyweight program including Mozart’s Rondo K511, Liszt’s Dante Sonata, Ravel’s Miroirs, and Schubert’s Sonata 21.

In addition to his favorites such as Mozart, Chopin, and Schumann, Youn’s Schubert sonata album will be released in 2023. “I was thinking about doing Schubert after my Mozart album was released, and the head of Sony Music visited to see me. He asked me if I was interested in a complete Schubert album. And I thought, “What a coincidence.”

Youn is also showing up in “Dear Luna,” a dance drama starring ballerina Kim Joo-won, which will run from March 26 to 28 during the Tongyeong International Music Festival. “Kim will describe the theme of “moon,” and I’m going to express myself as pianist. This is the first challenge for me, and I am very much looking forward to our collaboration,” Youn said about his upcoming performance with the ballerina. The concert will be held on April 16.


gustav@donga.com