A wild fury across all the keys

By Roland Moll, Ostfriesischer Kurier, 2015

Spectacular concert experience of the highest pianistic art in the well-filled church of Dunum

Hie-Yon Choi revealed Beethoven’s sonatas as a powerful dialogue between a romantic foundation and a crystallized, sharply etched interpretive vision.

From the very first to the very last note of the extensive program, the audience in the Dunum Church—around 200 visitors filling the space—was immersed in Beethoven. It became a truly spectacular concert experience of the highest pianistic artistry. The exceptional pianist Hie-Yon Choi performed all the Beethoven sonatas, as well as the encores, entirely from memory.

When the first dramatic chords thundered through the church in roaring fortissimo, the full concentration of the audience immediately converged on the artist and the music. It was above all the explosive dynamic outbursts pushed to the very limits of the playable, the sheer energy transmitted to the listeners, and the supple balance of powerful contrasts in Choi’s playing that gave the audience an unforgettable experience.

The pianist set the brilliant, pearly chromatic runs and trills—and the vehemently driven sound images—of the opening of the E-flat Major Sonata Op. 7 in striking contrast to the exquisitely refined, deeply romantic Largo. In all the selected, highly virtuosic sonatas, the audience could delight in watching the pianist’s two hands unleash wild furies across the entire keyboard. Anyone lucky enough to have a seat with a view of her hands enjoyed the perfect vantage point.

Her breathtaking technical assurance—simply astonishing—was evident in her ability to refocus within the briefest pauses between movements and make each sonata a singular experience. Magnificent. In the “Vivacissimamente” of the E-flat Major Sonata Op. 81a, Beethoven’s tempo marking propelled the music into a racing, ecstatic climax. It could not have been faster—and could not have been better.