Listening to the confident vibrato and daring scales of two student virtuosos on Saturday night, no one could have fathomed the mishaps and close calamities the musicians faced in preparation their performance. Oboe expert Steve Kim ’11 and violin extraordinaire Angela Kim ’12 dazzled the audience with a masterful student recital and later surprised friends with comic tales of the how they managed to avoid disaster. Steve began the performance with Francis Poulenc’s “Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano,” with Instructors in Music Neil Fairbairn and Christopher Walter on bassoon and piano respectively. A weary bassoon voice opened the piece with minimal piano accompaniment. Then the oboe answered, playing a similar tune with some variation. The two joined and after a few plaintive long tones embarked on a playful and energetic melody filled with staccato beats and quick chromatic scales. Each instrument had an audible personality, expressed through the musical dialogue of the bassoon and oboe. At the beginning, the bassoon played with an improvisational feel reminiscent of the slowness of early morning, and the oboe answered sorrowfully. When the character became cheerily frenzied, it seemed as if one instrument had told the other some exciting news. The two instruments alternated between chattering back and forth and playing together. “I like the Poulenc because it’s really French. It’s bright, it’s happy music…really flamboyant as well…It’s the very piece that made me start playing the oboe,” said Steve. Next, Angela came to the stage and stunned the audience with an impassioned rendition of the complete “Violin Concerto No. 5” by Henri Vieuxtemps, accompanied by Walter on piano. From angry sections to calm legato melodies, loud chords to pianissimo scales, the piece provided various opportunities for Angela to display her mastery of the violin. Angela played completely from memory. Enraptured in the piece, she moved dramatically and closed her eyes, filling the room with an orchestral sound. Although the piece lasted for twenty minutes, time seemed to stop and the audience did not stir. Even several moments after the last chord, the audience remained shocked and silent. Oboe instructor Charlyn Bethell said, “I’d never heard Angela play, but she was absolutely stunning. That she played by memory was amazing.” Angela said, “My fingers memorized it. I don’t have it memorized in my head.” Paul Noh ’12 joined Angela on piano to play Shostakovich’s “Violin Concerto,” Allegretto-Allegro con brio. The piece began with a fast piano theme, which the violin picked up and carried. Evocative of a steady train, a pulsing underneath the opening melody kept the piece rolling forward. “There are a lot of off-beats. It’s very rough, very ugly, but there is beauty inside of that,” said Angela. Finally, the two soloists came together in an energetic performance of the third movement from Bach’s “Concerto for Oboe and Violin,” accompanied by Walter. The movement accentuated the unique sound that comes from combining the oboe and the violin. They played one catchy melody in several variations, taking turns leading and echoing each other. “We really wanted to play the Bach Oboe and Violin Concerto for a long, long time, and then as recital we decided to do it completely all together,” said Steve. Invisible behind musicians’ skill and composure, several close calls and last minute saves gave Steve and Angela an extra dose of nerves heading into the concert. “It was a very dangerous thing we did,” said Angela. She described the chaos of hiring an accompanist, and how she ended up asking Walter and Noh to play with her days before the concert. Steve modestly recounted trouble preparing for the concert. “I didn’t practice because, you know, it’s Upper year. You don’t practice—you study. During the Poulenc there were parts where I just didn’t get it down, so it was nerve-racking, but it was also a good experience because I learned to play unprepared. It showed that my musicianship was at a point where I could still handle it., I hope” He displayed incredible proficiency and control of the instrument. The audience observed none of the musicians’ qualms. “I thought they were very well prepared. Their hard work paid off,” said Jacob Shack ’10. To suppress anxiety, Angela said, “I try to concentrate on what I am playing right now instead of thinking about hard parts that are coming up five bars later. I just try to focus on that note, that measure.” Steve said, “I decided, I’m just going to do it! Just do it! It’s not the end of the world.” With skill and willpower, the musicians achieved a successful, professional performance. “It was an out-of-the blue, spontaneous, improv kind of recital,” said Steve. However hassled the performers felt offstage, their recital was a spectacular display of virtuosity. The Andover community can expect more inspiring concertos from Steve and Angela in the coming years.
