K-Pop Idol or Classical Recitalist? Either Way, Ji-Yong is a Pleasure to Hear

The new way to publicize a classical pianist.  Korean-American pianist Ji-Yong.

Thailand Cultural Center. Bangkok. October 20, 2012. Korean-American pianist Ji-Yong arrived for his Bangkok recital, proceeded by publicity usually reserved for a rock star, and that was no accident. Posters of his handsome face papered downtown Bangkok, together with newspaper articles about his afterhours likes and dislikes. His career was characterized in super-superlative terms such as "The new piano phenomenon," "great," and "renowned." Consistent with the boy band image, Ji-Yong, 21-years of age, strode onto the stage dressed in a black shirt, shirt tails hanging loose, unbuttoned at the top with a measured amount of bare chest showing, tight black pants, and casual shoes over bright orange socks. In fact, Ji-Yong is not terribly well-known, and is not a great pianist. He is, however, a very good young pianist, very talented and musical, as well as being a serious musician.

The first work on Ji-Yong's very traditional recital program, Bach's Partita No. 1, straight away let us know what to expect from the rest of the program: extraordinary technique and absurdly fast tempi, but very musical conceptions and an overall conception of the music he selected to play. Because his technique is flawless, Bach came off rather well, if breathless. Unfortunately, Beethoven's Waldstein sonata did not fare so well. This great work requires a certain amount of poise and stateliness. While playing it as quickly as Ji-Yong played it might provide some excitement and frisson, his speed inevitably produced some accents and distortions which are solely of his own creation. Still, in the hands of a less capable artist, Ji-Yong's Waldstein might have come across as jagged, which it did not. 

Having dispensed with Beethoven and Bach in record time, Ji-Yong gave an uneven, but sometimes beautiful, rendition of Schmann's Scenes from Childhood. The softer and slower movements were sensitively and beautifully played, without being saccharine, while, as in the Beethoven, the fast movements were frequently rushed along and given distortion-producing accents which are an inevitable result of lack of phrasing; after all, you do have to pause for at least a nano second to construct a musical phrase. Ji-Yong's Scenes from Childhood were exuberant all of the time, and beautiful some of the time.

After the intermission, Chopin ruled the rest of the evening. Ji-Yong selected well-know and often played staples such as the Polonaise in A Flat Major and the G Minor Ballade, but he coupled these with several nocturnes and a prelude. It was in Chopin that Ji-Yong showed just how very musical he is. His tempi were appropriate and his tone was gorgeous. Just the right amount of rubato and some introspection combined with careful planning, resulted in a Chopin performance that satisfied.

After the last notes of the A Flat Polonaise, Ji-Yong's female fans felt free to scream their approval, but they were joined by even the more sedate members of the audience, who, like me, appreciated Ji-Yong's playing. If the opportunity arises, I would be first in line to hear this young and promising piano artist play again.