Performers
- Ensemble Maru
- Gangwon Lee I violin
- Eunji Kim II violin
- Soyoun Park viola
- Yujin Kim cello
- Yeonwoo Park piano
Programme
Dohun Lee Nakhwa – Falling Flower Petals II for two violins, viola, cello and piano (European premiere, 2025) [8’]
Antonín Dvořák Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81 [40’]
I. Allegro ma non tanto
II. Dumka: Andante con moto
III. Scherzo. Furiant: Molto vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro
Concert description
Adapting works to fit circumstances and needs has not been strange throughout history. Only the 19th century, with its cult of genius and belief in the inviolability of the composer’s intentions, brought an aversion to alterations and strengthened the attachment to the “original.” Transcriptions and other elaborations, however, never disappeared. Was Dohun Lee guided by practical considerations when he decided to develop a second version of Nakhwa’s piece, Falling Flower Petals? The first was intended for pansori, violin, gayageum, piano and electronics. Pansori is a Korean vocal-instrumental genre and performance style, while gayageum is a native type of zither. The new version of the composition has a purely instrumental cast, so the underlying poem will not be heard this time. Wanting to escape the classical-romantic associations that the term “piano quintet” carries, the author stipulated that the cast of the piece be broken down into individual instruments. Lee drew on the poetry of Cho Chi-hun, who contemplates loss in an atmospheric image of falling petals. The composer admits that his goal was somewhat different: “I tried to express musically that the end is not an end, but a new beginning.” Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, on the other hand, was created as a side effect of a planned reworking. The composer was so dissatisfied with his first piano quintet that he destroyed the notes. Years later he decided to improve it; the score was fortunately saved by his friend. However, while working on it, Dvořák decided that it was better to simply write the second one from scratch… He then returned to the folk inspirations that had accompanied him since his youth, sometimes surprisingly combining them with an imaginative narrative. Already in the very first part one can hear both song and dance, and a tone of ballad poetry. Time has shown that this particular quintet has become one of the most famous works not only by Dvořák, but also of the entire genre.
– Dominika Micał (pisanezesluchu.pl)
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Dohun Lee – Nakhwa – Falling Flower Petals II for two violins, viola, cello and piano
Inspiracją dla tego utworu był wiersz Nakhwa (낙화) autorstwa Cho Chi-huna (1920–1968) – koreańskiego poety, krytyka i aktywisty.
Nakhwa budzi współczucie dla utraconego kraju na widok więdnącego kwiatu. Jednak w tym utworze starałem się muzycznie przekazać, że koniec nie jest tak naprawdę końcem, ale nowym początkiem.
– Dohun Lee
Concert co-financed by Daegu Concert House
