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As a small child, world-renowned cellist Chung Myung-wha showed no sign of interest in the instrument. She took up the piano at five and, when her little brother Myung-whun followed in her footsteps, she ran around singing about her future as an operatic diva.
It was not until the age of 11 that she encountered the cello. Chung, whose hands are as large as most men's, knew the instant she took the instrument in hand that the cello was for her. That was on Feb. 25, 1955.
The little girl is now 60 years old. Although her dream of becoming an opera singer faded, she found her voice through the cello. Her brother and sister are also now famous musicians - Chung Myung-whun has stuck with the piano, and Chung Kyung-wha is a violinist.
To celebrate her half-century with the cello, Chung will give concerts that will see her reflect on present, past and future. First she will hold a duo-recital with her friend of 40 years Kim Jung-ja (piano), a fellow student at Juilliard. "They say traditional sauce and friendship get better as they age," said Chung. "This was a chance to strengthen our friendship, and we have so much fun even in rehearsal."
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From left: Chung Myung-wha, Chung Kyung-wha and Chung Myung-whun
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In her youth, she was drawn to ornate, virtuoso pieces, but now she prefers quieter, more intimate music that speaks to the audience. That is why she chose an early work of Beethoven's, the Cello Sonata No 1, and Rachmaninov's G-Minor Sonata.
More concerts, this time focused on the future, are planned for April and December. She will be playing with young musicians from Korea and abroad including a 30-year-old Russian pianist Dennis Matsouev who won first prize in the Tchaikovsky International Competition.
Though Chung Myung-wha is often described in terms like "natural," she did have her share of hardship and difficulty. Invited to play at the White House at the age of 24 and praised by the Washington Post when playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she says that when she reached her 30s she felt her performance, instead of maturing, somehow went astray. In Rome in 1980, she did not play the cello for a whole week. "I told my family that I wouldn't play the cello again, but it was like missing a meal every day. Then my two daughters urged me to play again, so I slid back into my place," Chung says. But she realized there and then that she needed time to work on the fundamentals.
To Chung, the two ideal musicians are her own teacher, the legendary cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, who said "It always make me nervous to go on stage," and the Russian pianist Artur Rubinstein, who taught her the importance of performing. "No matter how small a village may be, there is always an audience to listen to me play," he said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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