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[CD] Hieyon Choi’s Beethoven Sonata Cycle

She’s especially persuasive in the early sonatas. Her Op. 2 No. 1 Allegro may lack the unbuttoned fantasy of Schnabel, Pollini and Kovacevich, yet her contrapuntal awareness and strong left hand presence compensate, as do the finale’s hair-trigger precision. Op. 2 No. 2 is a model of lightness and witty inflection, while Op. 2 No. 3’s finale fuses scurrying brio and harmonic tension. In Op. 10 No. 1’s finale, Choi takes Beethoven’s optimistic Prestissimo directive at his word, while her sophisticated scaling of dynamics and pinpointed timing of chords and silences left me awestruck: this is one of Op. 10 No. 1’s greatest recorded performances. Op. 10 No. 3’s outer movements have similar effortlessness and specificity of detail, although one misses the breadth and timeless aura that others bring to the Largo, like Arrau, Hungerford, and Horowitz.

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Whatever individual reservations I harbor over certain items, Hieyon Choi’s Beethoven certainly has much to offer, and I know that I’ll return to many of her performances with pleasure, especially in the early sonatas.

_ Jed Distler [Classics Today] 2025

HieYon Choi Recital – Bach Goldberg Variations

……Variation 25 was the highlight of the day—her personal best—a culmination of Bach’s uniquely Romantic (paradoxical though that may sound) and deeply sentimental writing. Alongside the first variation and the final Aria, this was where Choi’s lyricism truly blossomed. The sighing motifs, the exquisite chromaticism, the constantly shifting modulations and the subtle changes in color were handled with seasoned clarity. Her mature artistry shone especially in the complex middle section in E-flat minor, which she unraveled with patience and poise.

Then came the sprint of Variation 26, the canon in ninths of Variation 27 (bringing to mind counterpoint classes from her student days), the trills of Variation 28, and the harmonies of Variation 29—by then, the music was no longer purely Baroque, but foreshadowing the Classical era, even glimpses of Beethoven…..

_ Young-Won Sung [Monthly Review] 12/2023

[CD] Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 18, 26, 27, 30 – HieYon Choi

“… already from the beginning of Op. 31 No. 3 you realize: Choi is more than just at home with the linguistic ductus of this music. She understands this music, reconstruct it and by doing so she can form lots of details to a big entirety. – the biggest challenge for Sonatas. She can subtly untangle Beethoven’s linear work, the deliberate confusion in elaboration of theme for the listener, fill them with life, let them become comprehensible. At the same time her way of playing is connected with magnificent sense of sound, never exaggerate the tempos, (marvelous pacing in Op. 90, the 2nd mvt.!) the dynamic, even the hard accents and eruptions sound mellifluous, without losing their meanings. In op. 81a she traces the pain of statement so convincingly that one could understand the emotions which is transformed in this music. And also, the Op. 109 which is hardly leading to comprehensible flow, she succeeds excellent! What a shame that this CD is released only at Decca Korea.”

_ Carsten Dürrer [PIANO NEWS] Vol.03/2019

[CD] Get to you the “Viennese Feeling”, Beethoven Sonatas

New Album of Pianist HieYon Choi | Performed on ‘Boesendorfer’ born in 1828…Deep and Elegant Sound | Contrast to Brilliant Tone Color of ‘Steinway’

“A Beethoven recording which you’d want to keep next to you for long time; an album of Beethoven Sonata No. 18, 26, 27, 30, performed by HieYon Choi (Professor Seoul National University), released by Decca label. A selection of calm and intimate character. A flowing and elegant connections, architecture of an intelligence and without any vanity; it feels like an intimate talk with a thoughtful friend. The abundant acoustic which makes one feel listening to it in a proper-sized living room adds to a perfection of this recording….”

_ Yoon-Jong Yoo [DONG-A DAILY] 01/2019

Beethoven captivated in Bagband

“…Her appearance was the „Hammer“ (‘awesome’ in German slang) – in the true sense of the word itself….”

_ Karen Hochmuth [Ostfriesische Nachrichten] 07/2017

As if Beethoven Himself Sitting at the Piano

“… Eyes closed; you would believe that the honorable composer himself would have sat at the piano.….”

_ Ina Wagner [Emder Zeitung] 08/2015

A Wild Fury over All Keys

Spectacular Experience of Highest Art of Piano

_ Roland Moll [Ostfriesischer Kurier] 08/2015

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