[In-It] I went to Seong-Jin Seong's concert in a small country in Finland.

The pianist's keyboard, which looked like a little bird, seemed unaffected by gravity.

It flew into the sky with infinite freedom, and suddenly dug deep into the ground.

His long bangs moved along with the rhythm.

Strangely, the birch branch behind the window of the concert hall swayed in the same direction.

He was not only good at vertical movement.

At the end of the song, when he reached the climax of the song, it sounded so full horizontally that it was hard to believe that he only had 10 fingers.

At this time, his left hand was also thrown into the air like a fountain.

Because this kind of power came from a small body, it felt more like 'magical power'.

The pianist Seong-Jin Seong-Jin was the last music festival held in Mänttä, a small town in Finland with a population of less than 10,000 on August 6th.

Although he arrived late and sat in the back seat, it was a small theater with only 200 people, so we could feel him up close.

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Thanks to the ticket price of 58 euros (about 75,000 Korean Won), I was able to get a chance to see a rare performance.

I know that the reason the tickets for classical concerts in Finland are not expensive is because they are sponsored by companies, local governments, and the country.

The concert of the winner of the Chopin Competition in 2021, Bruce Liu, which he and his son went to a few weeks ago was similar.

It was held in a small Finnish city rather than Helsinki, and tickets were not expensive.

The reason why this concert is more impressive is that we are Korean and our arms are bent inward, but I think the bigger reason is that the concert hall is small.

To be more precise, this concert venue is not a professional music hall.

This was done with chairs spread out in an empty hall on one side of the art gallery.

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Although he was in front of a small crowd, he sang two encore songs to a passionate standing ovation.

The people leaving the concert hall, including myself, seemed to have received a great shock beyond emotion.

The grandmother in front of her said, "What happened today?" "Who am I...

Where is this?”

The group of young men in the back was also bewildered, saying, "It's the first time I've ever experienced something like this."

After the concert, while staying in the hall for a while, something unexpected happened.

Pianist Seong-Jin Seong appeared right in front of them.

He had a faint smile that he had only shown three times during the concert.

He took pictures with the approaching audience and signed autographs.

I also wanted to 'this is my chance', but I thought that I had already met him through music, so I was able to get out of the concert hall without any regrets.

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The concert was held in a small rural village where the word “small town” can feel like a grandiose place.

Since 1999, the Mäntta Music Festival has been held here every summer.

This festival is especially specialized for small piano performances, providing the best opportunity to listen to the performances of world-famous masters up close.

In addition to Seong-Jin Cho this year, prominent pianists such as Juliana Avzeeva, winner of the 2010 Chopin Competition, and Saskia Giorgini, the winner of the 2016 Salzburg Mozart Competition, were invited.

As I wrote, I asked the organizers to take a picture.

Out of curiosity, I asked how this wonderful music festival first started in 1999.

A surprising reply came directly from the festival's head, Mr. Niklas Pokki.

It is said that the festival first started with his friends when he was a 22-year-old piano major.

There are other chamber music festivals in Finland, but there is no piano festival, so they decided to make their own.

At first, he and his friends mainly played, but over the years, it has developed into an international music festival.

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If you look at many successful events in Finland, there are many cases where they start voluntarily from the bottom up.

I thought that this is the power of Finland, that is, the underlying power, and the true face of Finland, a 'music-developed country'.

Music is music, but the picturesque Serlachius Museum Gösta along the lake where the concert was held was also pleasing to the eye.

It is said that pianist Seong-Jin Seong expressed his gratitude to the organizers for staying here for two days and being able to rest in the peaceful nature of Finland.

These days, my 'small but certain happiness' is also a short trip following the concert.

This one-night, two-day trip also seemed to be 'smaller', so I was happier.

I hope that 20 or 30 years later, like the grandparents in Finland who filled more than half of the concert hall today, no more, no less, just that much happiness.

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◇ Seong-Jin Cho Concert Performance

Handel: Keyboard Suite in F Major HWV 427

Handel: Keyboard Suite in E Major HWV 430

Handel: Keyboard Suite in F Minor HWV 433

Handel: Keyboard Suite B ♭ Major HWV 440

Brahms: Variations on a Handel Theme

Schumann: Symphonic Practice ( Symphonic Etudes)

Schumann: Scenery in the Forest, Op.

82 - Lonely Flower

Shopping: Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Op.

31

(Photo courtesy of Ville Hautkangas)

#In-It #Init #Lee Bo-Young

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