The Catskill Chronicle

By Barry Plaxen

Now in its 17^th year, the 2010 Shandelee Festival concerts in the Sunset Pavilion five miles from Livingston Manor began on August 7 and continue through August 14 with world class musicians performing in solo and chamber settings. Then, on August 19 and 21, the “International Artists of Shandelee” will perform.

Each year, Shandelee selects about a half dozen upcoming pianists (those International Artists of Shandelee) who are preparing for international concert careers. At Shandelee, they perform in recitals and take master classes to develop their artistry with an eye towards that career.

One such artist, who was part of the Shandelee program a few times in the past, and has since embarked on a highly successful international career performing and winning competitions all over the globe while being tutored by some of Europe’s greatest teachers, is Yoon Soo Rhee.

Born in Seoul, Korea, she began her piano studies at the age of six. She now resides in Germany where she went in 2006 to continue her studies and has since completed her Masters degree with Honors. For her August 10 concert at Shandelee she performed works by Haydn, Brahms, Ravel and Liszt.

Haydn’s Sonata in C, Hob. XVI:50 (circa 1794/95 in London) is more technically demanding than most of his others piano sonatas because it was written for a professional pianist rather than one of his students. Full of joyful melodies, the second movement was published before the entire sonata as an “Adagio” in a slightly different edition and one can see why it could stand by itself as a one movement piece with its lovely melodies that foreshadow the coming of music’s Romantic period. This “Andante con espressione movement” was indicative of Ms. Rhee’s pianist abilities in everything she played.

She is a highly expressive performer, communicating everything though emotional means to her audience, rather than through the bravura of her beautifully-honed and remarkable technical skills. The program notes say this Haydn Sonata “requires mental endurance,” and happily, Rhee chose to play it deeply and profoundly and it became quite an emotional sonata, instead of the technical showcase it could have been.

And highly expressive she was throughout Brahms’ Sonata No, 2 in F#, Op 2. Opus 2 is quite an early work, and is an early example of Brahms’ deep, dark and brooding style, particularly in the first movement where she moved this viewer to tears with her intense emotionality. Like the Haydn work hinting at the Romantic period, Brahms includes some dissonances announcing the forthcoming Impressionistic and Modern styles, yet his music remains emotional rather than cerebral in the hands and fingers of Ms. Rhee.

Rhee’s superb artistry was also evident in the Impressionistic “Miroirs” (“Reflections”), a five movement work that Ravel wrote in honor of five of his friends. Again, expressive is the word here, with Ravel painting his pictures to express their titles and Ms. Rhee expressively weaving her way through the highly French music, which includes the somewhat well-known Spanish influenced “Alborada del Gracioso.”

The program closed with Liszt’s exciting and difficult “Mephisto Waltz,” and then for an encore, a Chopin Prelude.

Ms. Rhee plays like a mature and seasoned adult, not like someone embarking on a career. A most intelligent performer, she is very discerning about how she deals with every phrase and, I would guess, has heavily studied all about the music and about the composers so that she can dissect every possible nuance with both her talent and her knowledge. In every piece she plays, she examines every phrase, every line, all the harmonies and rhythms, and makes the most of the music by clearly and cleanly executing those nuances and spinning masterful musical magic.

For information on the additional August concerts visit www.shandelee.org. For reservations: 845-439-3277.