When the lights dimmed at Dingeldine Music Center, a woman in a blue dress walked to the large piano center stage. Once her hands touched the keys, the audience became quiet, as some closed their eyes and listened to the variations of sound.
Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts and the department of music hosted a guest artist recital Saturday night. Pianist Junghwa Lee performed the music of composer Clara Wieck-Schumann, accompanied by Bradley faculty member, Chee Hyean Choi, for one song.
Lee is the associate professor of piano at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and has performed with orchestras worldwide. She has done solo performances in 16 countries and has recorded a CD, which has received the Global Medal from Global Music Awards.
Lee performed to an audience mostly consisting of students and community members in Eleanor Sikes Peters Recital Hall. Lee used her performance to honor the composer’s anniversary and to share Wieck-Schumann’s life.
“I was looking for some repertoire at the end of last year for this year,” Lee said. “And I came up with this cover and it’s the 200th anniversary of her birth, Clara Schumann’s, so I was very excited since it’s rarely performed live.”
For her performance of “Geburstagmarsch” in E-flat Major, Lee was accompanied by Choi. While students did not know about the performer before Saturday night’s recital their interest in the instrument brought them together.
“Geburstagmarsch” was one of the first songs Schumann composed after her husband, Robert Schumann’s, death. She wrote it for her friends as a wedding present, according to Lee.
The program also consisted of two sets of three romances, an impromptu piece and other works by the Schumanns.
Darina Dyazhuk, a freshman kinesiology major, said she was interested in the recital because of the relaxing sound of the piano and her love for playing the instrument.
“I could feel the music and actually it brought me different emotions,” Dyazhuk said. “So different piece of music made me see something related to myself.”
Jared Acido, a freshman music business major, said he went to the recital with his friend because they enjoy the instrument.
“It was really nice,” Acido siad. “The first half I could relate to the romance songs, like I was imagining like a story in my head.”
Choi will be performing at the National Conference of the College Music Society in October.
The department of music has events throughout the semester including guest artists, Bradley student ensembles and a band concert on Alumni Quad. More details can be found at https://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/music/events/.
