Beethoven, next to him, Hieyon Choi
By Suh-Hyun Hur, Monthly Pianoforte KR, 2019
Pianist Hie-Yon Choi, widely regarded as a “Beethoven specialist,” released a new Beethoven recording last month with four sonatas on the Decca label. In her CD liner notes she writes:
“I still find it impossible to condense Beethoven into a few words. If it were possible, there wouldn’t be such a flood of records and books about him. All 32 sonatas contain ‘problems’: they refuse to obey conventional rules even while employing classical forms. Beethoven’s genius shines in the way he solves these ‘problems’ in the course of each sonata.”
From 2002 to 2005, Choi performed a full Beethoven sonata cycle at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul. The series sold out completely and received the Arts Award of the Year in 2005. She subsequently completed cycles of the Beethoven piano trios, all violin sonatas, and all cello works, and recently finished her second cycle of the 32 piano sonatas, presented across venues in Germany, the United States, and Korea. I wanted to hear what she had discovered about Beethoven and the story of his piano sonatas through this long journey.
“I feel a deep sympathy for the fact that Beethoven was a morally driven person. Yes, he could show unusual or even demonic behavior at times—likely born of his genius and ambition—but I find that he maintained his philosophy and convictions throughout his music. Beethoven’s music always begins by presenting a ‘problem,’ and he unfailingly arrives at a logical solution.
People often imagine him as a tyrant who worshipped heroic, adventurous figures. But as you learn more about him, you realize that tenderness and love were his most important moral values. No, Beethoven hated tyranny. Charisma and tyranny are two different things. As I came to understand Beethoven better, I could embrace his music more fully and stand on Beethoven’s side.”
Beethoven, with love and tenderness. Sitting beside him—metaphorically through her work—Choi gives off a feeling of both quiet excitement and deep peace. While Beethoven is a figure who feels “near yet far,” someone revered but not easily approached, it was striking to sense warmth in Choi as she spoke about him.
“In my youth, before I went abroad, I liked Beethoven for his unmistakable dominants and tonics. His clear musical language was encouraging to me at a time when I needed such messages. But playing Beethoven felt like a duty. In Germany, studying Beethoven was mandatory—everyone had to do it—and I could not achieve an interpretation that felt like my own.
It was thanks to my teacher, Hans Leygraf, that I learned how to understand Beethoven. His lessons guided me with such clarity. When my first Beethoven cycle at Kumho Art Hall received enthusiastic acclaim, I felt a renewed responsibility to know his works more deeply. As I studied further, the famous phrases describing Beethoven—‘the New Testament,’ ‘the great bridge in music history’—became real to me. I experienced them, and I can now affirm that they speak to the very essence of Beethoven.”
The recording was made at Teldex Studio in Berlin with producer Martin Sauer, and the piano— a Bösendorfer VC280—was selected by Thomas Hübsch, piano technician of the Berlin Philharmonie and tuner favored by Alfred Brendel and András Schiff. Its depth of color magnifies the solemn beauty of Beethoven’s sonatas.
“The recording session itself was an experience. When we finished, we said to each other, ‘We grew once again—together!’ My producer later told me that my repertoire spoke for me, and that he wanted to work with me even before meeting me. Opportunities to record Beethoven are rare for producers, and he did not want to miss the chance. It was clear that he, too, had a deep love for Beethoven.”
The CD includes the middle sonatas No. 18 and No. 26 “Les Adieux”, and the late sonatas No. 27 and No. 30. Choi says she chose them by “listening and listening to my inner voice.”
“Especially No. 18, Op. 31–3 holds special meaning for me because of my last teacher, György Sebők. In my final Beethoven lesson with him, he showed me a completely new approach—as if giving his final verdict on interpreting Beethoven. He had watched ‘Enigma,’ the documentary on Sviatoslav Richter, and said to himself, ‘This is it.’ I fully agreed.
Later that summer and fall, he went on his final European tour. He suddenly stopped the tour, returned home, and passed away. I was fortunate to obtain a video of his last concert, in which he performed Op. 31–3. It meant so much to see that he questioned and searched for Beethoven until the very end. That became an important turning point in my artistic life.”
In No. 27, Op. 90 and No. 30, Op. 109, German expressive markings appear—something absent in earlier sonatas. Choi reads in them Beethoven’s desire to express his inner world more directly.
“Of course all music expresses the inner being. But in Beethoven’s scores, the words themselves matter. He became clearer and more certain about what he wanted to say. And he did not compromise—he wrote things down more explicitly.”
On January 31 at the IBK Chamber Hall of the Seoul Arts Center, she will perform the three sonatas featured on the CD—Nos. 26, 27, and 30—along with No. 8 “Pathétique.” Listeners will encounter the depth of her long Beethoven journey and her musical world.
“Whatever composer we approach, the score guides us toward their music. We must simply follow that guidance. Beethoven’s way is not sweet. His music is like a tough, solid ingredient—hard to chew and hard to swallow. But if we endure and keep chewing, we will taste its juice.”
As her teacher did, I hope her exploration of Beethoven continues to deepen. Through this album and the upcoming recital, we look forward to witnessing a meaningful cross-section of her artistic path.
Excerpts from her CD liner notes
“In his dedication he wrote that it is ‘the spirit which binds together noble and better people on this planet, and which time cannot break, that now speaks.’
This spirit, from the first note, speaks calmly but in a vivacious tempo and immediately expands. Through the second movement—like a warning of ‘Dies irae’—it finally blooms into song in the third. I personally associate the climax of the variations with the climax of the ‘Credo.’ The returning coda is filled with gratitude and peace, like an ‘Amen.’
The entire sonata is an outpouring of Beethoven’s true heart and his great wish for peace—both for humanity and for his own soul. And it is my hope that this recording may help spread that hope.”
HieYon Choi, 2018