[K-Classic] Lim Dong Hyek, Schubert Piano Sonata 20, 21

Lim Dong hyek's Schubert album cover

Pianist Lim Dong Hyek is always accompanied by the tag of life.
It's the Queen Elizabeth Contest rejection case.
In 2003, Lim Dong Hyek complained about giving him third place.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the judges' decision and refused to accept the award.
Nearly 20 years have passed since then.
What would he think of that day's case?
Will he still think he was right?
I don't think so.

In a recent interview, Lim Dong Hyek said, "If I can go back to that day, I think it's right not to refuse the award."
Time matured Lim Dong Hyek.
That maturity is also reflected in this album.

Lim Dong Hyek recently released an album by Franz Peter Schubert (1797–1828), recording piano sonatas No. 20(D.959) and No. 21(D.960).
Schubert piano sonatas No. 20 and No. 21 are works such as "a musical will" composed by Schubert before his death.
No. 21 sonata is the last piano sonata he has left.

Schubert's last three piano sonatas (No. 19, 20 and 21) are considered masterpieces that will remain in the history of piano music.
Schubert Piano Sonata No. 20 and 21 were composed around the same time, but the characteristics of the two works are very different.
No. 20 is heavily shadowed by Beethoven, a role model Schubert admired throughout his life.

It is composed of four movements, unlike other sonatas.
On the other hand, No. 21 is a work that reveals Schubert's personality to the fullest.
Schubert's specialty would also be the endless melody.
Schubert is also called the greatest melodic composer since Mozart.
This is certainly a difference from Beethoven.
Beethoven is not a composer who emphasizes melodies.
He was good at motifs and variations, and he was dynamic.
In that sense, Schubert's fans are likely to prefer No. 21 to No. 20.

Lim Dong Hyek is an individual performer.
Personally, I like Lim Dong Hyek's lyrical and delicate performance.
In particular, his tempo rubato makes the listener's ears and mind seem to be electrocuted.
Lim Dong Hyek often delays the timing of the note, which produces tremendous results.
Lim Dong Hyek's Chopin is also very beautiful.

I also like No. 21, but I enjoyed this album more than No. 20.
Influenced by Beethoven, No. 20 is a work that reveals Schubert's identity, which stood at the boundary between classicalism and romanticism.
In that sense, Lim Dong Hyek's No. 20 performance can feel both of these personalities.
In fact, Schubert's piano sonata is clearly divided among classical music lovers between likes and dislikes.
This is also because Schubert's piano works are very different in character and atmosphere from his song works.

In this regard, I would like to recommend Lim Dong Hyek's album to those who have a negative prejudice against Schubert's piano sonatas.
It's a performance that makes me feel better when I listen to it.
It is unbelievable that a person on the verge of death wrote these sonatas.
Come to think of it, Schubert only lived 31 years.

So, I want to regard his last sonatas as "the romance of a 31-year-old unlucky genius" rather than "a musical will".
Lim Dong Hyek's performance is exactly like that.