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Sunwook Kim, RCO disappoint

The hype for Wednesday's concert was so high that it attracted even A-list movie stars like Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae on top of the city's usual classical music aficionados and upper crust. But the audience received much less than they were promised.

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Putting together one of the country's most talented young pianists with arguably the world's greatest orchestra today may have looked like a surefire formula, but the performance - even under the baton of maestro Chung Myung-whun - was a disappointment.

Neither pianist Sunwook Kim nor the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest) deserved the lengthy ovations they received that evening and they seemed to know it.

Kim, 26, was in general overly robust with Beethoven's third piano concerto Op. 37. His clean tone was a delight, but it was used too consistently until the end of the first movement.

An unfortunate mobile phone ringtone echoing from the choir section ruined his cadenza.

Things improved with the following Largo and Rondo-allegro movements, but he needed to "Taste" each note more. He seemed to be struggling against instead of enjoying himself throughout.

He was much more at ease but soon ran out of steam during his encore of Brahms A Major Intermezzo Op. 118. Un fortnuately for Kim, another noise, the sound of violin from the recital hall next door once again prevented any magic from happening. His poeticism showed that he does have a bright career ahead, however.

Kim is only partially at fault for this regrettable performance filled with what-could-have-been passages because the visibly fatigued members of the Amsterdam-based orchestra worked to his disadvantage. Mistakes from the woodwind section were enough to upend the rest of the orchestra. The ensemble came alive briefly during the final movement, at last in sync with Kim's piano, but anyone who has heard the Dutch orchestra before understood that this was not their best night.

Their performance of Brahms Symphony No. 2 Op. 73 was further dragged down by, once again, several mistakes, which marred the first movement the most. The toll from their long Asian tour was again apparent, with a violinist even walking out during the third movement. Lush strings and spirited timpani carried on and produced some wonders, nonetheless.

Their encore, Weber's "Der Freischuetz" overture finally brought back the magnificent orchestra worthy of their name, giving the audience the lyricism and beautiful tones that the world has come to expect from them.

By Kwaak Je-yup

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