Eun Joo Chung Exclusive Interview

Author - Mag. T.C. Carlin/Tealartis

Your gripping interpretations of the piano literature and superb musicianship have led you to major venues around the world. Can you share some standout moments you experienced?

I remember my tour of Italy playing the Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto with the Moscow Radio Symphony. It was about 30 minutes before the concert and we had not rehearsed at all because there was a problem with the transportation and the orchestra had arrived late, the conductor was nowhere to be found. Then about 15 minutes before the start of the concert, the conductor showed up and said that we are playing the concerto without any rehearsals. The concert began and we were all playing together for the very first time! It went pretty well regardless but I just could not believe it.

Another time, I was scheduled to play the Liszt concerto no.1 in Berlin and I caught the strep throat a few days prior. I remember my train ride from Vienna to Berlin with a very high fever, I was not sure whether I would actually make it and I played the concert feeling like my head was going to explode. I even had dinner with friends afterwards but I still remember how sick I felt.

How would you describe the process from being a young musician to performing in the most prestigious concert halls? Did the preparing for the live concerts change?

Nothing prepares you for the concert halls like performing in concert halls, you learn by doing it. Whether it is a subscription concert or just a short performance at the end of a Summer camp, being on stage is such a valuable experience. I entered a lot of competitions, and I did not win many but the opportunity of playing in concert halls under tremendous pressure helped me become strong and tough. Sometimes I had to perform many nights in a row playing different repertoire, sometimes I had to perform at weird hours like midnight when the competition would run late for different reasons. But all this can be a testament to whether you are up for the challenge. When you have learned to grace these situations, you realize that the actual practicing is the easy part.

During your music studies, what were the most important lessons learned?

I think I learned that being a musician requires you to have almost every trait you can think of. You have to be healthy, you have to be smart, you have to be diligent, you have to have financial resources, you have to be lucky, you have to have to be a good communicator, you have to have charisma, you have to be artistic, you have to be imaginative, you have to possess an immense heart to feel everything and anything, you just have to know so much… and there is no shortcut. If you want to be good, you have to work so hard for so many years. And the music you produce is the result of all these things plus whether you were able to bring what is in your head out of you through your fingers.

Does fame reflect how you perceive yourself as a musician? Is fame a crucial factor or an accompanying element?

If I associated fame with success, I would be a total failure. Yes, I think I wanted to be famous although it would come with a lot of baggage.. I think that different people would handle fame in different ways but for me, I think fame is secondary and it is a byproduct of success in many instances.

Is becoming a successful concert pianist the essential goal, or are other life experiences more important?

I think in order to be a profound musician, a true life with many first hand experiences is a must. If you asked me to choose between being a pianist with a successful career and a pianist who is a profound musician who does not have a successful career, I would choose the latter. When I was a student in Vienna, I went to concerts of many masters. My conclusion was that the masters who had gone through hardships in life were considerably better musicians than their counterparts. I realized that music does not lie, it comes from within and what is within? What you have experienced in life.

What advice would you give to young musicians with regard to their career planning? Do you have any practical tips?

I am not the one to ask for practical advice, but I want to say one thing. Music is not a career path, it is a calling. If you feel that you need music to breathe and to live, that you cannot imagine doing anything else with your life, then go for it with all you’ve got.