Violinist Chung Kyung-wha is ready to blow fans away with her world-class fiddlework in her first full concert in Seoul in two years.
Having fully recovered from what was once thought a career-killing finger injury in 2005, Chung said she was feeling better than new and was looking forward to the upcoming “Immortal” recitals on April 28 and 30.
“It was like a temporary retirement after injuring my hand, so for me to make a full recovery is like a miracle. I still can’t even fully believe it. I’m living inside a dream right now,” said Chung during an interview at the Ghana Art Gallery in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul on Monday.
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| Chung Kyung-wha. (PRM) |
As part of an April Fool’s bit last week, one local radio program announced that the 67-year-old violinist would be laying her bow down to rest and retiring, which threw many of her fans for a loop.
“Gosh, I’m sorry about that,” she responded during the interview.
“Retirement? Haven’t I rested enough in those five years?” she added. “I think that it is a blessing that I am still able to play and for now, I will continue to perform at the highest of my abilities. Now is not the time for me to retire.”
Although Chung made her official comeback to the stage in 2011 with the launch of her first concert tour after coming out of her “temporary retirement,” the musician stated that she was still suffering from a lot of pain and discomfort that truly hampered her ability to perform at her usual world-class standards.
Unable to fully commit to her daily practices over the past several years, her return has been somewhat of an elongated gradual process, having to constantly take painkillers and even being forced to undergo two more surgeries on her hand early last year.
“Over the past couple of years performing, I still had to overcome a lot of pain and discomfort, but now I am perfectly fine and back to practicing every day,” she said.
Undoubtedly Chung’s biggest fanfare event since her hiatus was the artist’s most recent performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall ― the very venue she made her debut at with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1970. Although the highly anticipated concert marked her first return to the U.K. in 12 years, an incident involving a coughing child overshadowed her work on stage, with London headlines calling out the violinist for her “berating” parents from the stage.
According to international news reports, during Chung’s concert on Dec. 2, a young girl in the audience had been continuously coughing throughout her first performance. After Chung’s first break, the musician looked to the child’s parents from the stage and said, “Maybe bring her back when she’s older.” While some publicly praised her for her opinionated response, others were clearly taken aback by the unordinary stage manner.
“The current culture in the U.K. is that it is okay for children to just act however they want,” Chung responded when asked about the incident. “Even newborn infants are allowed to attend concerts.”
“But for the avid music lovers in the audience, the sound of coughing is a real disturbance,” she added, noting that she believes the headlines blew the matter way out of portion.
“Art is all about education. People should be taught about etiquette and respecting the artist’s need for concentration.”
On April 28, Chung will be preforming three Beethoven Sonatas for violin and piano: No. 5 in F major Op. 24 “Spring;” No. 7 in C minor Op. 30-2; and No. 9 in A major Op. 47 “Kreutzer,” with American pianist Kevin Kenner on the keyboard.
The artist’s following show on Thursday will include performances of Faure, Grieg and Beethoven.
Both the upcoming concerts will be held at the LG Arts Center in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, with ticket prices ranging from 40,000 won to 130,000 won. For more information visit, www.lgart.com.
By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)
