Yekwon Sunwoo’s new Liszt album includes 11 masterworks, from "Liebestraum" to "Consolation"
Album due May 7; nationwide recital tour follows
Album due May 7; nationwide recital tour follows
Pianist Yekwon Sunwoo has issued a new recording titled Liszt — his first studio album in three years and his third overall, following 2020’s Mozart and 2023’s Rachmaninoff: Reflection. He released the single "Consolation" on the 23rd; the full album is scheduled for release by Universal Music on May 7.
The program collects well-known Liszt pieces — "Consolation," "Liebestraum (Dream of Love)," the "Mephisto Waltz," and "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" — alongside a rarer piece, "The Isle of the Gotha Princes' Tombs."
The disc also includes Liszt’s own reworkings of other composers’ music, such as the Rigoletto Paraphrase, Schumann’s "Widmung" (Dedication), Mendelssohn’s "On Wings of Song," and Schubert’s "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel" and "The Miller and the Brook," as well as Dessauer’s song "Temptation."
Sunwoo says his aim was to bring out the human voice and drama that lie beneath Liszt’s reputation for virtuosic display. "From the deeply lyrical 'Consolation' to the dramatic, transcendent moments in the 'Mephisto Waltz,' it’s the depth of imagination and the wide emotional range Liszt invested in these works that define his appeal," he said. "Rather than present Liszt as a parade of technical fireworks, I wanted to reveal the music’s expressive richness and philosophical depth."
Describing Liszt as a "poet of sound," Sunwoo added that the composer preserved the essence of the human voice while reimagining it through the piano’s vast expressive possibilities.
On Dessauer’s "Temptation," he said, "The first time I heard it I was struck by its intimacy and sincerity. Liszt clearly perceived and honored the work’s value."
Sunwoo rose to international prominence after becoming the first Korean to win the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017. He now performs regularly across the United States and Europe.
To mark the album’s release, Sunwoo will begin a nationwide recital tour in May, visiting seven cities. He will appear in Seoul on May 30 at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. The program pairs Schubert’s Sonata No. 20 in the first half with selections from the new Liszt album in the second.
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