St. Mary’s City, MD – Award-winning concert pianist Sungpil Kim will present a recital at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Thursday, March 2 at 12 noon in the Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall. The program will feature exciting virtuosic works for piano solo by Mili Balakirev, Maurice Ravel and Franz Liszt. Also included on the program will be beloved works of Mozart and Chopin. The program is free and open to the public. For more information call (240) 895-4498 or visit http://www.smcm.edu/events/organizer/music-department/.
“Balakirev’s ‘Islamey’ is known to be one of the most ferociously difficult works in the piano repertoire,” Mr. Kim said. “So Ravel, who as a pianist was struggling to prepare to perform the Balakirev work, composed his own Gaspard de la Nuit to surpass even that work’s difficulty. I’ll play both works and share a bit more about their stories.” Mr. Kim mused further about his art. “Some say Artificial Intelligence will eventually replace musicians as well most other things. But there is one thing Artificial Inteligence will never understand: pain that helps us grow and teaches us to find meaning in every moment. The power of music lies beyond beautiful sound, immaculate interpretation and personality. It is in the stories of our lives. This program is designed to share my stories, the composers’ stories, even some questions I have for the audience. The Liszt Sonata especially throws out a question for listeners to answer. Come prepared to be vulnerable!”
Mr. Kim performs as a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral soloist across the US, UK, and in his native South Korea. Praised by International Piano Magazine for performances infused with “magic in atmosphere, individuality and poise,” his repertoire encompasses timeless masterpieces of the piano literature along with innovative new compositions. Most recently, he appeared on a live show of a Korean Facebook channel for classical music, called “Crazy for Classical,” with 250,000 followers. His upcoming engagements for 2017 include a guest-artist recital at the Summer program of the Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, UK; an appointment on the faculty for the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy (PRISMA) in Powell River, B.C., and Piano at Peabody (a summer course for avocational pianists at the Peabody Conservatory).
As a recitalist, he performs in prestigious halls as well as casual venues that support his mission to make classical music accessible to people everywhere. He has not only appeared on the Yamaha Rising Artist Series in Seoul but also performed on the same city’s House Concert Series. In 2015, he was heard by thousands in the New York metropolitan region performing an all-Chopin recital live on WWFM radio.
Mr. Kim earned the Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied with renowned artist-teacher Yong Hi Moon. Previously, he studied for four years with the eminent pianist Martin Canin at The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division in New York. Today, along with his international appearances, Mr. Kim is completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Peabody, in the studio of Brian Ganz.