For pianist Jeewon Park, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has always had deep personal meaning and importance.
“His music is like a musical sanctuary for me, a very personal and special place. Whenever I am there, the music gives me so much consolation,” she said.
“I think it was also subconscious, but whenever there were some extraordinary moments in my life — not in my career, but in my life as a person — I would gravitate toward his music, and then I realized that when I need it to feed my soul again, it was always Bach’s music,” Park said.
“Ten years ago, when our daughter was born, the first piece I started playing for her was Bach’s Partita in B-flat Major (BWV 825). It’s just so pure, like a little diamond. I didn’t even think about it.”
Park will be the featured soloist in the Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, when Capital City Concerts presents its annual “Music of J.S Bach” program: at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Montpelier Unitarian Church; and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in Burlington.
The program will also feature soprano Hyunah Yu in the arias, “Die Schätzbarkeit,” BWV 204, and “Bereite dir,” BWV 147, while cellist Edward Arron, Park’s husband, will perform the Solo Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010. Violinists Jeffrey Multer and Ari Isaacman-Beck will perform the Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043, for two violins, popularly known as the “Double Concerto.”
“Our audience looks forward to these Bach concerts every year,” explained Karen Kevra, founder and artistic director of Capital City Concerts.
“Many communities across the state were devastated by the flooding and otherwise difficult summer. Nothing is a better balm for the soul than the music of J.S. Bach.”
Park’s artistry is well-known to Vermont audiences for her frequent appearances at the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, and Capital City Concerts. She made her debut at the age of 12 performing Chopin’s First Concerto with the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Since that time, Park has performed in major concert halls worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, 92nd Street Y, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Seoul Arts Center in Korea.
Park’s performances this year have included Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7, with the Florida Orchestra, as well as at the Seattle Chamber Music Society Winter Festival, and in Vermont, Manchester and Lake Champlain festivals. Currently, Park lives with her family in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, was written, likely in 1734, for solo harpsichord, strings and continuo, the first of his seven keyboard concertos. This will be Park’s first time performing the work.
“I’m really happy,” Park said. “The first movement starts with everyone playing in unison, with no harmony, it’s strong and majestic. From there the piano leaps and bounds — I keep saying piano, but it was written for harpsichord.
“I don’t really see this as a performance practice problem, more of an opportunity to explore and express, and realize what the modern piano can offer,” she said. “I also think Bach’s music is so transcribable it works on almost any instrument. There is virtually no wrong answer here.”
Bach’s music continues to be a solace to Park, even when the family had to say goodbye to their old dog.
“On his final day on Earth, I played the entire ‘Goldberg Variations’ for him lying next to my piano,” she said. “It’s a piece that I have performed and practiced many times with him at my feet, and it was such a perfect way to send him off. he seemed like he was really at peace — which was mirrored in me.”
“The power of Bach’s music is so strong that it’s like putting a warm blanket over your wounded heart with so much human empathy.,” Park said. “That’s why I treasure his music so much.”
Capital City Concerts Capital City Concerts presents its annual “Music of J.S Bach” program, featuring pianist Jeewon Park, soprano Hyunah Yu, cellist Edward Arron, and others: — Saturday, Oct. 14: Montpelier — Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., 7:30 p.m. — Sunday, Oct. 15: Burlington — Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, 2 Cherry St., 3 p.m. Tickets are $15-$30; go online to www.capitalcityconcerts.org
