Renowned Violinist Returns To Harrogate With Magical Programme
Hyeyoon Park burst onto the classical music scene in 2009 when she became the youngest ever winner of the ARD International Music Competition which launched her stellar career. The South Korean-born violinist recently appeared with both the Hallé and Royal Northern Sinfonia alongside Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Benjamin Grosvenor in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Hyeyoon made her debut in the Sunday Series in 2016 and returns in April when she will be joined by pianist Juho Pohjenen. Here, Hyeyoon explains what audiences can expect and talks about her own music journey:
Your HISS programme is really varied. What can you tell us about it?
I start with Mozart’s Violin Sonata in F major. It’s quite a refreshing, light-hearted sonata which I thought would set the mood. Then we move on to Takemitsu who is completely different. He was heavily influenced by Debussy and in this piece you can really hear the French influences so it works really as a bridge to the Debussy sonata. This is one of Debussy’s very atmospheric works. It’s quite edgy and finishes quite brilliantly. Then we have Vaughan Williams’ famous Lark Ascending and that really sets the mood. It’s a 10 or 15 minute piece that is utterly beautiful and very melodic and lyrical and then we move onto the last piece, which is Grieg’s third Violin Sonata, in C minor, which is quite dark but brilliant as well. It’s such a varied programme but I like having all these contrasts, there’s definitely a lot of light and shade.
You made your Harrogate debut in the Sunday Series in 2016. What are your memories of that?
It was Sunday morning and I remember the audience was really attentive. It was also my first time in Harrogate and we walked through the park after the recital and it was just beautiful. I’m really looking forward to coming back.
How did you first become interested in music, and what inspired you to pursue a career in it?
My way into classical music was quite weird. I’m the only professional musician in the family, though my parents are music lovers – my father being an amateur guitarist and singer. When my cousin was six and I was four we were on a family vacation and she brought this violin along and played us something and I stood there mesmerised and said to my parents, ‘I want to do that too.’ So they got me a violin and soon afterwards my cousin quit and I carried on. By the time I was six I was accepted into the College of Music in Seoul as a young student. I think I’ve always known I wanted to be a musician.
Why did you choose the violin as your instrument?
I wanted to be a violinist very early on. I did have piano lessons but it wasn’t a strong pull for me, not like the violin. It was the melody and lyricism I think that pulled me in.
I started playing the violin as a hobby and we had a neighbour who turned out to be violin teacher and she came round and said to my parents ‘I think she’s talented, she should be trained.’
What drew you to classical music?
It was just a very natural way of getting into music and I really loved it. The more I got into it I didn’t want to get out of it.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I won the ARD International Music Competition when I was 17. I was the youngest winner in the history of the competition so that was my big break. After that my career took off and I’ve played with a lot of big orchestras.
What is the future of classical music? Do you think it’s still relevant to people today?
I do worry. Every time I perform I see fewer young people than older people. But I don’t only worry, because I know classical music will always have an audience regardless of how popular it is. It’s never going to be like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift with a massive audience, but there will always be people who love what we do. But there are things to be done and I’m quite vocal about this. I like visiting schools and talking to kids about what I do and playing to them. I try and do that whenever I can because I think it’s so important to get to children with classical music when they’re young and still have that curiosity and are open to asking questions and open to listening to music they’ve never heard of. By the time they’re teenagers it’s more difficult.
How do you hope the Harrogate audience responds to your concert?
I want them to enjoy my performance but I think a live performance should always be a communication. I give and they also give back. It should be a two-way thing, otherwise you might as well be sitting at home watching YouTube videos or hearing a recording. It should be an experience where we’re living the moment – that’s what makes live concerts so special.