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Sunwoo Yekwon Releases 'Liszt' and Sets Korea Tour

The pianist shifts from showmanship to songful lyricism to spotlight Liszt’s inner voice.

Overview

  • The pianist released an 11-track studio album, Liszt, on Thursday, using a Seoul press event to say he aimed to reveal the composer’s human voice over pure display.
  • The set spans Consolations, Liebestraum, and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, plus Liszt’s piano versions of Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade and Schumann’s Widmung.
  • He recorded the album at Berlin’s Jesus-Christus-Kirche, a church prized for its clear resonance and known for Herbert von Karajan’s sessions.
  • A national tour opens May 15 and will pair selections from the album with Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 20 to underscore a kinship between the two composers.
  • Sunwoo said he set Liszt aside in his 20s but returned in his 30s with a lighter, transparent tone that he likens to a soap bubble or a fine wineglass.