Veteran pianist Paik Kun-woo urges young musicians to seek wider musical world
Pianist Paik Kun-woo on Tuesday urged young musicians to broaden their musical horizons and find their own artistic paths, ahead of the release of an autobiography marking the 70th anniversary of his career. Paik, one of Korea's most celebrated classical musicians, made his debut performing a piano concerto with a local orchestra in 1956 at age 10. He later trained at New York's Juilliard School and built an international career through performances at prestigious concert halls and collaborations with renowned orchestras and conductors. Reflecting on a career spanning seven decades, Paik is set to publish the autobiography, roughly translated as "Paik Kun-woo: My Story," on Nov. 20. The autobiography traces his childhood, studies in New York, decades spent in Europe and his musical encounters with the works of composers including Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann. "What I experienced during my 65 years living abroad is, in a sense, both my personal history and Korea's history," Paik said of his motivation for writing the book during a press conference in Seoul. "By telling this story, I tho
