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| Pianist Jonathan Fournel / Courtesy of the Queen Elisabeth Competition_Derek Prager |
By Park Ji-won
The pianists who won the Queen Elisabeth Competition this year will hold recitals in Korea in September.
French pianist Jonathan Fournel won the first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in May, while Japanese pianist Keigo Mukawa won the third prize in the competition.
Fournel is an artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, while Mukawa is attending the Paris Conservatory, continuing his studies in fortepiano and pursuing an artistic diploma in piano.
The two will hold their recitals starting at the Peace & Life Zone Festival in Gangwon Province on Sept. 8. Mukawa will play various classical works on Sept. 9, including, "Piano Sonata No. 14," a work known as "Moonlight," Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit" and Rachmaninoff's "Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op.42," at the Beautiful Thursday Concert Series in Kumho Art Hall. Fournel will also hold a solo recital at the same venue, featuring works including Bach's "Organ Sonata No.5 in C major, BWV 529" and Brahms's "Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5."
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| Keigo Mukawa / Courtesy of the Queen Elisabeth competition_Derek Prager |
The two will hold a joint recital at Tongyeong Concert Hall in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province on Sept. 10 where Mukawa will play Bach's "French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816" and Ravel's "Le tombeau de Couperin," while Fournel will play Brahms's "Piano Sonata No. 3." Fournel will play Brahms's "Concerto n. 2 in B flat major, op. 83," the piece he played in the final of the competition, with the Chuncheon Philharmonic Orchestra at the Chuncheon Culture & Art Center in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province on Sept. 11.
The two will also perform at the Asia Culture Center on Sept. 12. Fournel will play Brahms's "Piano Sonata No. 3," while Mukawa will perform Bach's "French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816" and Ravel's "Le tombeau de Couperin."
At a recital scheduled to be held at the Nowon Culture and Arts Center, Seoul, on Sept. 15 under the theme of "Mozart's Night," Fournel will play Mozart's "Piano Concerto No.18, K.456," while Mukawa will play "Piano Concerto No. 27, K.595."
The competition had originally been planned to be held last year, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It selects winners in four categories: piano, cello, voice and violin. This year, up to 15 Koreans were able to compete in the first round of the competition. Korean winners in recent years have been soprano Hwang Su-mi, who won the first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2014 and Violinist Lim Ji-young, who won the first prize in the competition in 2015.
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