A pianist who travels with his piano

Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman (age 68), winner of the 1975 Chopin Competition, will hold his fourth recital in Korea on Jan. 3, 5, and 10 at the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul.

Known as the ‘pianist who travels with his piano,’ he shipped his piano from Europe for the performance. For his performances in 2019 and 2022, he brought piano keys and actions and installed them on the piano in the concert hall.

Zimerman is well-known as a perfectionist. In commemorating the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death in 1999, he organized the ‘Polish Festival Orchestra’ to perform Chopin’s Piano Concertos No. 1 and 2. He immediately stops playing if he detects any attempts to record or film his performances secretly. At his first performance in Korea at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall in 2003, he surprised the staff by trying to cut the broadcasting microphone hanging from the stage ceiling, mistaking it as a recording device.

Ahead of performing, he enters the acoustic characteristics of every venue, where he plays into a computer and adjusts his piano accordingly. He limits performances to no more than 15 times per year. He travels with his piano and carries keyboard and action if unfeasible.

Zimerman studied piano at the Katowice Conservatory in Poland. He was hailed as one of the world's most promising pianists after winning the Chopin Competition and recorded with Deutsche Grammophon, conducting albums of piano concertos by Schumann and Grieg with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan. He recorded Beethoven's piano concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein, who has always been compared to Karajan regarding his artistic career and personality.


gustav@donga.com