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Press Releases

Internationally acclaimed pianist Young-Ah Tak releases an album of Schubert Sonatas on the Steinway & Sons label on November 1

October 29, 2024 | By Amanda Sweet
President

Contact: Amanda Sweet/Bucklesweet
347-564-3371
amanda@bucklesweet.com

Internationally acclaimed pianist Young-Ah Tak releases an album of Schubert Sonatas on the Steinway & Sons label on November 1

On November 1, the Steinway & Sons label will release an album of Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, D 784 and Sonata in G Major, D 894 performed by Steinway artist Young-Ah Tak. In addition, Ms. Tak will perform Schubert’s Sonata in G Major along with works by Beethoven in a Steinway Spiriocast from Steinway Hall in New York City on November 7 with subsequent airdates on Nov 9, 21, and 28, 2024.

The album of Schubert’s Sonatas follows Ms. Tak’s acclaimed 2019 release of Beethoven Piano Sonatas on the Steinway & Sons label and features another composer who is very close to the pianist’s heart. “I have been drawn towards the music of Franz Schubert for as long as I can remember. My first experience studying a Schubert sonata was at age 12, and from then on it has been an important part of my repertoire.”

Despite Schubert’s short life – the composer passed at the age of 31 – he is counted among the greatest classical composers of the 19th century, and one of the earliest proponents of Romanticism.  Ms. Tak chose for this program from Schubert’s twelve completed Piano Sonatas two that were written late in the composer’s life. Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A minor, D. 784 was completed in 1823, but not published until eleven years after the composer’s death. He wrote the Sonata after being hospitalized for the disease that would later take his life, and the work is imbued with darkness – opening with a sparse texture and utilizing his signature “sigh” motive throughout. His last Sonata to be written with only three movements, the Sonata in A minor ushered in a new era for Schubert’s output of pianistic works. The Sonata in G Major, D. 894 – given the moniker “Fantasie” by Schubert’s publisher – was finished in 1826 and was the last of the three Sonatas published during his lifetime. Deemed by composer Robert Schumann to be Schubert’s “most perfect in form and conception,” the Sonata in G Major exhibits an uncharacteristically serene and calm mood across the 35-minute work’s four movements. 

Young-Ah Tak says that “His melodies and musical ideas unfolding so naturally and perfectly within a well-structured classical sonata form is inspirational. I believe Schubert's sonatas resonate with the human spirit - their beauty, joy, sadness, drama, and yearning. There is such an emotional depth reflected in this music. Mastering these two different but equally profound sonatas has been a magnificent journey for me.”

 

Track Listing for Schubert

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) 

Sonata in A minor, D 784

  1. Allegro giusto
  2. Andante

III. Allegro vivace

Sonata in G Major, D 894

  1. Molto moderato e cantabile
  2. Andante

III. Menuetto – Allegro moderato

  1. Allegretto

 

About the Artist

Praised for her “thrilling blend of fury and finesse” (San Antonio Express-News) and her “winning combination of passion, imagination, and integrity” (New York Concert Review), pianist Young-Ah Tak enjoys a remarkable career that has taken her throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan.

Ms. Tak made her New York City debut at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. She has since appeared with numerous orchestras including the Roanoke, Lansing, North Arkansas, Orchestra of Northern New York, Venice, Imperial, Filharmonia Pomorska (Poland), and Oltenia Philharmonic (Romania). In her native South Korea, she has appeared with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Seongnam, Busan, KNN, and Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestras. Other notable performances by Ms. Tak have taken place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Jordan Hall in Boston, Columbia University, and Ravinia Festival. She has also appeared in Korea at major concert halls such as Seoul Arts Center, and at international music festivals in Busan, Seoul, and Tongyeong. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (NYC), WRTI (Philadelphia), WMFT and LOOP (Chicago), WBJC (Baltimore), WCLV (Cleveland), CKWR (Ontario), Korea’s KBS, and Arte TV.

Active as a chamber musician, Young-Ah Tak is a member of the Marinus Ensemble, and has collaborated with the late violinist Robert Mann, cellist Paul Katz, Bonnie Hampton, and the Ma’alot Quintet. Young-Ah Tak has been awarded top prizes in numerous international competitions including the San Antonio International Piano Competition, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Korea’s ISANGYUN Competition, Germany’s Ettlingen International Piano Competition, and Italy’s Valsesia Musica International Competition.

Ms. Tak received her training from The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University where she earned her doctorate degree under the tutelage of the legendary pianist Leon Fleisher. She has also studied with Young Ho Kim, Martin Canin, Yong Hi Moon, Wha Kyung Byun, and Russell Sherman.

 Ms. Tak currently serves as an Associate Professor of Piano at the Crane School of Music of the State University of New York - Potsdam. She has presented masterclasses at prestigious universities and music festivals around the country and in South Korea, and at the Steinway Festival in Seoul. Young-Ah Tak’s debut recording of Judith Zaimont’s Wizards – Three Magic Masters was released by Albany Records to critical acclaim. Her recordings are also available from MSR Classics and on Steinway Spirio pianos. Ms. Tak’s CD recording of works by Beethoven was released on the Steinway & Sons label in 2019 as part of the Steinway & Sons essential series of Steinway Classics. Ms. Tak is a Steinway Artist. youngahtak.com

 

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