— A stellar meeting between two continents.

He plays to sold-out houses in both Asia and Europe and is considered one of South Korea's shining, classical star pianists. For the very first time, we get to experience South Korean Jae-Yeon Won in Norway — who has invited some of his leading colleagues from ARKO Ensemble in Europe, of which he is the artistic director.

Tonight's programme draws lines from the adventurous, folk music of Schumann, Kodály and Ravel — and up to the concert's undisputed main work: Fauré's masterful Piano Quartet in C minor. Welcome to the very best from two continents!

Siyeon Cho violin
Yoona Lee viola
Kyeong Park cello
Jae-Yeon Won piano

Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.

• Programme

  Robert Schumann (1810—1856)
  Fairytale Pictures, Op. 113

  Zoltán Kodály (1882—1967)
  Dances of Marosszék (1927) for solo piano

  Maurice Ravel (1875—1937)
  Sonata for violin and cello (1922), 1st movement

  — Pause

  Gabriel Fauré (1877—1962)
  Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15

• About the performers

  "His ethereal sound strikes Herkulessaal (…)"
  — Süddeutsche Zeitung

  "This young pianist richly endowed with talents processes the highest pianistic professionalism and culture combined with musical sensibility, appealing artistry (…)"
  — Dang Thai Son

  Jae-Yeon Won possesses a uniquely captivating sound that sets him apart as an exceptional musician of his generation. His career began to take shape after his success at the 61st Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. He currently divides his time between Austria and South Korea.

  Dang Thai Son and Kevin Kenner, who greatly praised Jae-Yeon Won's performance, became his musical mentors along with his affiliation with Maria João Pires. His artistic foundation lies in his sensibility and intelligence. He has been performing in renowned venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Herkulessaal, Beethoven-Haus, Alte Aula Heidelberg, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau, Opéra Comique in Paris, Palacio de la Ópera in A Coruña, Auditorio de Ferrol, Teatro Ricardo Castro in Durango, Seoul Arts Center, and Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, among others.

  ​​His performances have led to appearances and re-invitations with Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Orquestra Sinfonica de Galicia, Das Haydn-Orchestra, Westsächsischen Symphonieorchester, Bari Province Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Musikhochschule orchestra, Quartetto di Cremona, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

  ​Jae-Yeon Won made his debut album "Bach to Bartok" on Acousence label in 2020 sponsored by Shigeru Kawai. He will release an album on the Onyx label in 2025, followed by another three albums with Onyx by 2027. Jae-Yeon Won is a Steinway Artist.

  ARKO Ensemble in Europe is a program launched in 2024 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea and supported by the Arts Council Korea. It was established to support young Korean classical musicians under the age of 34 who are studying or residing in Europe. The ensemble is led by Artistic Director and pianist Jae-Yeon Won.

  ARKO made its successful debut in November 2024 with performances at the Korean Cultural Center in Vienna and the Wiener Saal of the Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg. For the 2024–25 season, performances are planned in major European cities including Berlin, London, Paris, Barcelona, and Stockholm. In the 2025–26 season, the ensemble is scheduled to tour Eastern Europe, including Poland and Hungary, and has been invited to perform at international festivals such as the Festival International de Salon-de-Provence in France.

• Programme note

  At this concert we will not only get to know some of South Korea's leading young performers; we will also get a highly varied programme which draws lines between folk music impulses and the new art music directions that developed on the eve of Romanticism and into the 20th century.

  Schumann's Märchenbilder, in Norwegian 'Fairytale Pictures', are just that; imaginative, short character pieces that bring out Schumann's genius in melodic and harmonic development, temperament and mood. He invites us into his inner universe, where Florestan and Eusebius — two of his literary fantasy characters who represent respectively the fiery, extroverted, and the sensitive, shy and introverted — are given free rein in their dialogue with each other. Beautiful, sweet melodies meet marching rhythms and emotional, intense drama.

  The next two works nevertheless bring us into folk music; where Kodály draws melodies and rhythms from Transylvania — music that was often both sung and danced to — Ravel purifies the Hungarian in his Sonata for violin and cello, where he plays with dissonance and builds the music layer by layer, also with several references to Debussy.

  Fauré's first piano quartet, despite its key in C minor, is a work full of hope, light and optimism; it is a masterpiece in its form, in which Fauré plays with completely new harmonic progressions alternating with lyrical melodies and stormy drama - which always ends in the light. He is said to have spent three years completing the work, and obviously little is left to chance.

We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!