Hyejin Lee, violin

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York

November 2, 2018

Violinist Hyejin Lee appeared on a marathon concert of competition winners. Ms. Lee was born in South Korea where she began her musical studies at age 10. She received her bachelor’s degree from Chungang University , her master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati, and her doctoral degree in violin performance at the University of North Texas. She chose the first movement of Prokofiev’s little-known Sonata for solo violin in D major, Op. 115. Few know that it was originally intended for an entire class of violinists, as many as twenty, playing in unison (traditional in Russian pedagogy of the time), and what a ruckus that would have made.

It would be rash as well as impossible to assess someone’s talent on the basis of only four minutes of playing. However, I can report that Ms. Lee gave a confident reading of the work, strong in rhythm, though lacking sufficient dynamic contrast. The sharpness of accentuation that gives Prokofiev’s music its sardonic bite was also downplayed. The movement has two contrasting theme areas: the first, a sort of rough village dance, the second, a lyrical song. These two could have been delineated with greater character, nevertheless her poise was admirable, after waiting nearly two hours backstage.