Sunwook Kim Plays Brahms
Sunwook Kim joins the Philharmonia for one of the all-time greats of the piano repertoire.
Sunwook Kim’s interpretation of Brahms won him the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, aged just 18, and he has been a fixture on the international music scene ever since.
Brahms teasingly described his concerto in a letter to Clara Schumann as ‘a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo.’
In fact, it’s a 50-minute masterclass in how to compose for piano and orchestra. Its four movements explore every facet of the piano’s expressive potential, by turns graceful and dramatic, stormy and tender.
Thirty years before Brahms premiered his concerto, Robert and Clara Schumann enjoyed a trip from their new home in Düsseldorf along the Rhine to Cologne. It was the inspiration for the Rhenish Symphony, the last Robert Schumann wrote.
The second movement evokes the broad, peacefully flowing river, the fourth, with its sombre brass chorales, tells of a ceremony the couple witnessed in Cologne Cathedral, and the work ends in celebratory mood.
There’s musical treasure from the Rhine in Santtu-Matias Rouvali’s choice of opening piece, too. Between brass fanfares evoking the grandeur and power of the Norse gods, singing woodwinds and rippling harp play the ‘Rhinegold’ theme that runs like a golden thread through Wagner’s entire Ring Cycle.
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor
Sunwook Kim piano *
Repertoire
Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2
Schumann: Symphony No.3 in E flat (Rhenish), Op.97
Wagner: Entry of the Gods into Valhalla from Das Rheingold arr. Zumpe
Need to know
* Please note change of artist from originally advertised.
The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall at 6pm: Pre-concert performance. Musicians of Sutton Youth Orchestra perform with members of the Philharmonia. Admission free.
For your visit
This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
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Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.