Three talented guests astonished audiences at the Blankenship Recital Hall on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
Amongst the performing artists was Dr. Armee Hong, who played the violin; Dr. Jihyun Kim, who played the piano and composed many of the pieces; and Dr. Yoon-Wha Roh, who also played the piano. The guests came from the University of Mississippi and Washington State University, respectively. Having met UT Martin’s very own Dr. Chan-Mi Jean back when they studied music at the University of Indiana, they were overjoyed to perform together again in a reunion of sorts.
The music selection’s theme was centered around fantasies. The first piece performed was a piano duet called The Garden of Eden, written by William Bolcom. The piece recounted the biblical tale in a creative fashion, starting with casual folk tunes to represent Adam and Eve’s innocence prior to their fall, then transitioning towards a more menacing, tense composition to symbolize the serpent’s temptation and the birth of sin. The musicians performed the song excellently as their hands rapidly shifted across the piano keys, timing every corresponding movement perfectly. At the very end of the piece, Dr. Jean subverted expectations by playing a few notes on a toy piano before the pianists played their final notes.
The next piece performed was a piano-violin collaboration named Fantasy for Violin and Piano, written by Dr. Jihyun Kim himself. Dr. Hong’s skills as a violinist were beautifully demonstrated through her ability, emanating both beautiful, calming sounds and uneasy, nerve-wracking trills. The song in question told a story about a fisherman who cast away his soul to win the heart of a mermaid, only for his soul to return and corrupt him. The story ends with both him and the mermaid dying, realizing his soul had betrayed him. The song ended with a slow, haunting tune to portray the loss of love’s value as each note on the piano grew quieter until silence enveloped the entirety of the recital hall.
The recital continued with a lovely piece titled Fantasie Brilliante sur Faust, composed by Henryk Wieniawski. Dr. Hong yet again showcased her dynamic strengths as a violinist throughout the song, carrying a thrilling yet beautiful melody accompanied by Dr. Roh.
As the final piece, Dr. Roh performed Four Images for Piano, another piece masterfully composed by Dr. Kim. The first part of the song was labelled as “A leaf falls, the water ripples…” and provided a corresponding visual aid that showed it. The song started out soft, with various high-pitched trills reminiscent of water drops being interrupted. The song transitioned into a section titled Effervescent, which displayed a much louder and varied composition, complemented by an image of water bubbles swirling about. After that, the song transitioned into a calm, majestic arrangement called Chamber of Mirrors, made up of soothing echoes and repeats. The song then abruptly took its final form as Pulsar Glitch, a tune filled with chaotic, restless rhythms as mysterious static imagery took hold of the projector above. Dr. Roh performed this song excellently, having played a wide variety of music within a short timeframe, and earned much applause at her completion.
The recital was evidently well received by those in attendance, validating each of the artists’ mastery in their individual musical practices.
