CONCERT 1: Artist Highlight, Myung Hwang PARK/Vígslutónleikar í Tálknafjarðarkirkja/

CONCERT 1: Artist Highlight: Myung Hwang PARK (Composer & Pianist)

Our festival kickstarts with a program highlighting our composer-in-residence and pianist, Myung Hwang PARK (France/South Korea). Two of his newest works for piano solo, "Souvenir de" (2021) and "Tales Under the Snow" (2022), the latter which was commissioned by Westfjords Piano Festival, will be premiered in concert by artistic director, Andrew J. Yang. 

Then, PARK will perform a fascinating, deep, and powerful program of mostly Baroque era and more modern works: 

J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor BWV 853 (1722) 

Tristan Murail: La Mandragore (1993)

On the name of Haydn: 

Reynaldo Hahn: Thème varié sur le nom de Haydn (1910) 

Maurice Ravel: Menuet sur le nom de Haydn (1909) 

Benjamin: Meditation on the name of Haydn (1982) 

Park: Quantum cat with the name of Haydn (2022) 

Bach - Dimitri Kabalevsky: Toccata and fugue in d minor “Dorian” BWV 538 (original between 1708-1717, transcription 1930) 

Myung Hwang PARK (France/South Korea), both pianist and composer-in-residence, received Master’s degrees in Composition Theory and Film Scoring at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, one of the top programs in the world, while being laureate of scholarships from the Tarazzi Foundation and Leg Jabès Foundation Composer. He also holds a Master of Arts degree with piano at Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève. Park did numerous collaborations with animation schools such as Les Gobelins, Atelier Supérieur de l’Animation de Sèvres or École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, and with Conservatoire européen d’écriture audiovisuelle (CEEA) for a pilot of series. Park is one of the most ingenious young composers of our time. 

Artistic Director, Andrew J. Yang (USA/Iceland), deemed "a prodigy, [running] the emotional gamut from brooding introspection to manic exuberance" (The San Francisco Examiner), has lived in Patreksfjörður for the last couple years where he teaches at Tónlistarskóla Vesturbyggðar. Most recently, he won the top prize at the International FLAME Piano Competition in Paris, France, and received the "White Rose" Medal of Honor from the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, for musical excellence. He is currently a doctoral student at USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, where as a Studio TA, he also teaches at the university level. Yang received a Master’s degree in piano performance from Mannes School of Music in New York City, and both B.A. in Economics and B.M. in Piano Performance from Northwestern University. 

This concert takes place at Tálknafjarðarkirkja (Þinghólsgata, 460), the church perched on top of a hill.