R. Schumann: Piano Works

Album review

Born in Bamberg in 1987 to a German mother and Korean father, Christopher Park is the product of two prestigious piano traditions: the Russian school where he was taught by Lev Natochenny and the German school where he was taught by Joachim Volkmann. The two approaches to teaching are often contradictory and Park is constantly required to make a choice by combining the approaches of the two schools according to the piece he is playing and according to his own personality. In addition to his solo career, Christopher Park is an experienced chamber musician and a sought-after accompanist for lieder, a genre in which he has already recorded three albums with Richard O’Neill and Sumi Jo.

His two recitals were released by Deutsche Grammophon and a first solo album released by Oehms Classics which placed Schumann’s Fantaisie alongside pieces by Stravinsky (Three Movements from Petrushka) and Olga Neuwirth (Marsyas). Here he is again for the same label in a program entirely dedicated to Robert Schumann in which he performs Arabesque, Concerto without orchestra, Blumenstück and Carnival of Vienna.

Christopher Park is a pianist who captivates with his beautiful sound, the fluidity of his playing and the flawless sound material of his instrument that is neither heavy nor ostentatious. The directness of his approach allows him to get straight to conveying the heartfelt voice and emotion that are so characteristic of Schumann’s work. It was these musical abilities that impressed the judges of the Leonard Bernstein Prize at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival launched in 2014 and he won alongside musicians Lang Lang and Lisa Batiashvili. Christopher Park is also a dreamer who loves nature and taking a walk in the woods to recharge his batteries between trips. “Music never stops” he says, “it’s always in my head”. © François Hudry/Qobuz