Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation's video: Chi Ho Han: Schubert s Drei Klavierst cke

Chi Ho Han, 2014 Bachauer Silver Medalist Franz Schubert's Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946 Korean pianist Chi Ho Han performs some of Schubert’s most adventurous keyboard writing, his "Three Piano Pieces". About Schubert's Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946 Schubert’s “Three Piano Pieces” were composed in 1828, six months before his death. They were edited posthumously by Johannes Brahms and published in 1868. All three are structured in a rondo-like sequence of contrasting sections. Their wide range of moods and textures represent some of Schubert’s most adventurous keyboard writing. The first of the set opens in E-flat minor with an agitated rippling of triplets and a breathless melody that evokes the famous ride of the horseman in the composer’s Erlkönig ballad. Further development leads to a brashly self-confident chordal theme. The slower and more deliberate middle section features moments of drama with dazzling runs and swirling tremolos. The second piece opens with a drone-textured lullaby in a style that Brahms would later make his own. The first contrasting episode is conspiratorial in tone; the second has a penchant for rapturous melodic expansiveness. The third piece is filled with jubilant syncopations. The exotic rhythms of Hungarian village music might be a point of reference. The middle section begins grave and hymn-like then moves toward a more lilting mood before returning to the stomping rhythms of the village square. (With grateful acknowledgment to Donald G Gislason whose notes appear in the 2017 Vancouver Recital Series program.) About Chi Ho Han At the 2014 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, German-based Korean pianist, Chi Ho Han, was awarded the silver medal. Within the same year, he also won the ARD International Music Competition (Germany) and First Prize at Seoul International Music Competition (Korea). Later, a laureate at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth International Competition, his sensational rendition of a commissioned orchestral work, “A Butterfly’s Dream” by Claude Ledoux was chosen for the competition recording. Han has performed solo recitals at major concert halls throughout Asia and Europe and with orchestras in Germany, Austria, Russia, Korea, and the USA. He has appeared at multiple festivals including Seoul Arts Center Symphony Festival (Korea), Festival Internazionale di Musica da Camera di Cervo (Italy), International Klavier-Festival Ruhr (Germany), International Bodensee Music Festival (Switzerland) Lake Como Piano Festival (Italy) and Deer Valley Music Festival (USA). “Possessing technical ease and musical flair rare among pianists of his age” (Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kong, 2018) “The 25-year-old Korean pianist blasted the overcrowded royal hall into acclamation . . .” (Schlosskonzerte, Germany 2017) More recently, Chi Ho has been working on audience-building programs in Seoul on weekly radio episodes for Korean Broadcasting System and other cultural projects. Alongside his tight schedule of recital and concerto appearances, he has also started in recent years to explore innovative programs to be performed at both traditional and non-traditional venues. In May 2019, he created a touring program for music students in central china, entitled, “In Search of the Road to Concert Artist.” He is currently working on a project entitled, “Love. Poison: Ballet Without Dancers.”