Pianist Choi Hyun-ah's Dialogue Series: Bach & Beethoven 1

[Performance Introduction] Bach, the Architect of Music, and Beethoven, the Pioneer of Form Pianist Choi Hyun-ah's Dialogue Vol.1 Source & Structure Bach and Beethoven are the root and foundation of Western music history. If Bach established the structure of music, Beethoven used that structure as a foundation to dramatically capture human emotion. Pianist Choi Hyun-ah's newly presented begins its first story with the 'source and structure' chosen by Bach and Beethoven. The story of Bach and Beethoven, which will unfold over five installments, weaves together Bach's original works and their arrangements along with Beethoven's compositions in a program that moves toward the source of music. The audience will be able to observe how musical language that stems from a single motif connects through different eras and figures, taking on new forms, and will experience how structure and form can become a foundation for free imagination rather than a constraint in music appreciation. This performance opens with Prelude and Fugue BWV 846 from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I. Completed with only the most basic materials without complex ornamentation, this piece becomes central to the theme of 'source' in this series. The following piece is Bach's Italian Concerto, BWV 971. Although this work bears the title 'concerto,' it is performed by a single harpsichord without an orchestra. Bach realized the characteristic interchange of the concerto through the use of tonal contrast. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1, the closing piece of Part I, is his first published piano sonata. It inherits the classical language of his teacher Haydn while attempting to incorporate a four-movement structure and expanded scale within the sonata form. The opening piece of Part II is Beethoven's 32 Variations, WoO.80. This set of variations consists of a short eight-bar theme and thirty-two variations. Dominated by a descending chromatic progression, it reflects Beethoven's intention to inherit the language of the Baroque era. August Stradal arranged Bach's Organ Sonata No. 4 for piano, and Busoni arranged the Chaconne BWV 1004 from Bach's Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin. These two works, which gave new life to pieces originally composed for organ and violin through the piano, establish the structure that pianist Choi Hyun-ah intended: 'Bach's original work-arrangement-Beethoven.' Pianist Choi Hyun-ah completed her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Korean National University of Arts, then studied abroad at the Hanover University of Music and Drama, where she completed the Advanced Performance Program, and at the Berlin Hans Eisler State University of Music, where she earned a master's degree in Art Song. She currently teaches the next generation at Seoul City University, Pusan National University, Yewon School, and Seoul Arts High School, while also meeting audiences on various stages as representative of Ensemble Berno and as a member of Piano Duo Sono and Curious.