Interview by Ruxandra Predescu
Yeon-Min Park is the first-prize winner in the Piano Final of the 2020/2021 George Enescu Competition. Representing South Korea, Yeon-Min chose Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3, a difficult piece, which she performed with compelling force and passion.
Right after the awards ceremony, she gave us a short interview while still nervous and excited:
How do you feel right now?
I still can’t believe what’s happening! I wasn’t expecting this in the least. I always try to give my best performance on stage, regardless of the results, and I think I did play well, but still, what is happening now feels like a dream.
How was the Enescu Competition experience for you?
I participated in the previous edition too and I wanted to try again. Romania is very beautiful, I can tell even if I didn’t have a lot of time to travel. I wanted to come back.
What do you think was different this time?
The first two rounds were different being online, with the jury proceedings online as well. I think I had lots of good luck. First, because this way I was less nervous, and then because we were in quarantine and I almost missed the deadline because of this – I only had one day for the recordings.
The repertoire was also different, but so was the experience in Bucharest, because after all this time it gave me the chance to play on a stage, with an orchestra and an audience.
And you reencountered Enescu.
Yeees! Such beautiful work! I practiced with great pleasure; I enjoyed it a lot.
Will you include it in your repertoire?
This time, yes. I will go on practicing it and yes, I intend to play it in concerts, maybe even a recital.
What do you think it takes to become a truly special pianist, a maestro?
I think it’s important to know yourself very well, what kind of person you want to be, and what kind of musician you can be. It’s very important how you present yourself and your music to the audience, how you convey the music and the emotion. I always think about that.
