London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Meehyun Ahn at the Wigmore

FlyerNotice of a sparkling piano recital by Korean pianist Meehyun Ahn, this Sunday 12 July at the Wigmore Hall at 7:30pm.

Meehyun Ahn (안미현) has been described as one of the leading pianists of her generation “with skilled and artistic excellence” who has been influenced by the traditional Russian school of pianism. Her solid and confident technique, honed in Russia, has been further polished by the Italian school of pianism following her studies at the renowned Imola International Piano Academy in Italy. She has performed widely in Europe, the USA and in Korea as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.

A distinctively Russian programme:

Rachmaninov Preludes Op.32 No.12, Op.32 No.5, Op.32 No.10
Moments Musicaux Op.16 Nos.1,3,4,5,6
Prokofiev Sonata No.3
Rachmaninov Prelude Op.23 No.4
Elegie Op.3 No.1 (E flat minor)
Etude Op.39 No.1, Op.33 No.4 (7) (E-flat major)
Tchaikovsky / Pletnev The Nutcracker: March, Danse de la Fée Dragée, Intermezzo, Trepak, Chinese Dance, Andante Maestoso

Tickets: £18, £16, £12, £10

Needless to say, with Mikhail Pletnev having arranged the Tchaikovsky, there’s a lot of notes to play. Here’s Meehyun Ahn making it look easy, from YouTube:

How to Book:

In person 7 days a week; 10am – 8.30pm. Days without an evening concert 10am – 5pm.
No advance booking in the half hour prior to a concert.
Telephone 020 7935 2141
7 days a week; 10am – 7pm. Days without an evening concert 10am – 5pm.
There is a £1.50 administration fee for all telephone bookings, which includes the return of your tickets by first class post.
Online www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
7 days a week; 24 hours a day
There is a 50p administration fee for online bookings, which includes the return of your tickets by first class post.

About Meehyun Ahn:

Korean pianist Meehyun Ahn has been acclaimed as one of the most promising pianists in the new millennium. A student of the Moscow State Conservatory, she now performs extensively in major venues in Russia, Europe, the United States and Asia. Her solid and confident technique, honed in Russia, has been further polished by the Italian school of pianism following her studies at the Imola International Piano Academy in Italy.

Recital performances in such venues as the Rachmaninoff Hall (Moscow), Marmor Saal in the Mirabell Palace (Salzburg), Morse Recital Hall (Yale University) and Kumho Art Hall (Seoul) and performances with orchestras including the KBS Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Samara Philharmonic, Rumanian Philharmonic and others have been greeted with unanimous acclaim.

As well as her solo career, Meehyn Ahn has earned a solid reputation in chamber music, performing with a number of the leading ensembles in Europe. As a cultural envoy of the Republic of Korea, she made a major contribution to elevating the musical stature of Korea by playing solos, duos and trios (Kumho Trio) in special concerts held in Rome, Milan, Paris, Lyon and the United Nations in Geneva in 2004, following the success of a performance in (recital and duo) in Vladivostok in 2003.

Highlights of her career to date include performances at the Bolshoi Salle in Moscow, Kozerthaus in Vienna, Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Santa Cecilia Sala Accademia in Rome, United Nations General Assembly Hall in Geneva and the Arts Center in Seoul.

International prizes she has been awarded include the Viotti-Valsesia International Music Competition, Leschetitzky International Piano Competition and the Asian Youth Music Competition. In 1991 she was awarded “The Best Music prize” by Seoul Arts School as the best performing student in the School and also the second “Woonpa Music Prize” to be given to the most promising young music student in Korea in honour of Maestro Lim Won Shik. She was chosen as a “Kumho Artist” in 2004 and the “KBS Artist” in 2005.

Meehyun Ahn has recorded two CDs, the Scriabin Piano Concerto and Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 with the Moscow Orchestra conducted by Mikael Avetisyan, and a recording of solo pieces including the Prokofiev Sonata No.3, Scriabin Sonata No.10 and Chopin Scherzo No.2.

The American Record Guide (March/April 2004) said of her Scriabin concerto CD “Harold Schonberg was quite taken with Meehyun Ahn on RCD calling it as good a performance as any on record.”