New York Concert Artists and Associates presents Yunwha Song
Yunwha Song, flute; Soyeon Kim, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
May 29, 2015
It’s hard not to like a flute recital, for the sounds the instrument makes are nearly always beguiling. This may result in a sameness of sound over a long program, unless the flutist is sufficiently adventurous, as was mostly the case on Friday night at the fine recital of Yunwha Song. She was at her best in the contemporary (21st century) selections she performed, two of the three involving extended, non-traditional techniques. She displayed abundant virtuosity and a welcome sense of “oneness” with the instrument.
The recital began with a Sonata by C.P.E. Bach, given a bland rendition that didn’t show much of the personality of either performer. However, all that changed with the next work, Honami, by Dutch-born Wil Offermans, a champion of extended flute techniques. Quoting Mr. Offermans, “Ho means ear (i.e. ear of corn) and nami means wave. Together they refer to the waving scenery one can see when the wind blows over a blooming rice field. For Honami, the breath is the cause, the printed music is the medium and the sound of the flute is the consequential result.” Ms. Song used every sound in the flutist’s arsenal to depict the natural forces of air. The audience gasped with pleasure and astonishment at the faint high whistling sound she achieved at the end.
The first half concluded with the unabashedly sensuous, tonal Sonata for Flute and Piano (2003) by Yuko Uebayashi. The work is beautifully written for both players, true chamber music, with passages that sometimes recall Ravel, or Dutilleux without the “edge.” The coordination between flute and piano was stunningly together, all the more so because the evening’s pianist, Soyeon Kim, was a substitute for the one listed on the program. Ms. Kim gave the impression that the two had been working together for years, the highest praise for any collaborative pianist. I don’t know how much time they had to put this recital together, but it sounded completely thought-out. In fact, I could have used a bit more sound from Ms. Kim all evening (no short stick, pianists!). Their rapid playing was thrilling, and each metric shift and surprising silence happened magically.
After intermission, the stick was lifted for Ms. Kim’s “orchestral” part in Song’s rendition of every flutist’s dream role: the opening solo of Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (which was wrongly billed on the program). The transcription was uncredited, but it did no favors to the sumptuous orchestral writing that cushions the flute throughout the original. It was like looking at a pencil sketch of an oil painting. Sometimes the flute, in fact, needs to blend into the texture, not always to be out in front. In this work, Ms. Song sounded short of breath (which I know is not an issue for her); the phrasing was not smooth enough. I would rather have heard her do Debussy’s evocative Syrinx or his elusive and summery Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp.
Next came a world premiere by Seungwoo Paik called PAN II. Ms. Song began by striking a golden singing bowl gently with a small mallet, as if summoning the noonday god of the senses. Then she picked up the flute and went into an extended set of variations on a mostly pentatonic “theme,” using many extended techniques, such as humming or singing a guttural pitch while blowing notes on the flute. The music crested and then relaxed, bringing Ms. Song back to the lid of the bowl, for the final oracular ringing.
Finally, a shameless showstopper by obscure French flutist François Borne: his Carmen Fantasy for flute and piano. Every hit tune from the opera was included, with virtuoso variations spiraling into ever faster scales and arpeggios. Clearly Ms. Song was in her element, and the audience yielded to the visceral thrill such a display was meant to, and in this case did, evoke.
