The Bach family's musical legacy will once again resonate through the Seoul Arts Center. Pianist Lee Bora, the driving force behind the ongoing Sons of Bach concert project, returns with the series' third program, titled The Art of Fantasy.
Since last year, the Sons of Bach series has delved into the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons. Rather than treating the family as a simple musical dynasty, the project probes 18th‑century musical language, historical performance practice, the evolution of keyboard instruments and the changing aesthetics that followed Bach's generation. On the modern piano, Lee revisits and reinterprets that inheritance.
The program brings together works by Johann Sebastian Bach and three of his sons—Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach—to show how each composer pursued a distinctly different musical path despite shared roots.
The recital opens with Johann Sebastian Bach's Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother in B‑flat major, BWV 992, an early piece likely written in his youth. Structured almost like a short drama, it traces the emotional arc of a farewell—sorrow, pleading and the actual moment of departure—revealing a lyrical, theatrical side of Bach beyond his familiar contrapuntal mastery.
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's Fantasia in D minor, Fk 19 highlights an improvisatory flow and rapidly shifting ideas. As Bach's eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann earned a reputation as a virtuoso keyboard player and an original composer. The piece favors emotional transformation and spontaneous development over strict formal design, making it a clear example of the “fantasy” Lee explores in this program.
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach's Variations on "Ah! vous dirai‑je, Maman" reworks a familiar melody through a sequence of elegant, witty variations that underscore the clarity and charm of 18th‑century keyboard writing.
The program also features Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Keyboard Sonata in F‑sharp minor, Wq. 63/6, H.75. C.P.E. Bach favored sudden emotional turns and striking contrasts: the first movement, Allegro di molto, moves with sharp intensity; the second, Adagio affettuoso e sostenuto, unfolds with profound feeling; and the final movement, Fantasia, upends formal stability in favor of imaginative freedom.
The recital closes with Johann Sebastian Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903, widely regarded as one of his most dramatic and liberated keyboard works. The fantasia generates tension through chromatic progressions and improvisatory gestures, while the fugue channels that energy into rigorous counterpoint. The result is a striking balance of freedom and order, emotion and architecture.
Lee graduated at the top of her class from Seoul National University's College of Music after studying at the Seoul Arts Center Music Academy for Gifted Students, Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School. She earned a master's degree at Seoul National University and completed doctoral coursework at Yonsei University. During her studies, she received the late Professor Oh Jeongju Memorial Scholarship and the Seoul National University Development Fund Scholarship for outstanding performance. After winning first place at the Samick‑Seiler Competition, she received a scholarship from the Samick Cultural Foundation.
She has performed widely at home and abroad, winning prizes at the ISA Competition, Korea Liszt Competition, Korea Piano Society Competition and Korea Piano Duo Competition. She completed programs at the RPPF in the United States, the Brescia Talent Summer in Italy and the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Austria, and has appeared in concerts in Vienna, Tokyo, Brescia and Florida.
In Korea, she has presented solo and collaborative programs at venues including Kumho Art Hall Yonsei, Sojeon Seorim, Prugio Art Hall, Sammo Art Center, Gallery D'Arte, Samick Art Hall and Seongnam Arts Center Concert Hall. She studied with Kim Myungjin, Min Kyungsik, Choi Heeyeon, Aviram Reichert, Peter Ovtcharov and Ahn Jongdo. She currently teaches young musicians through the Heart Piano Scholarship Foundation and at Kaywon Arts Middle School, Incheon Arts High School, Chungbuk Arts High School and Yesung Girls' High School.
Her recent research examines differences between historical keyboard instruments and the modern piano. The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture selected the Sons of Bach project for its research program in recognition of its artistic and scholarly value. As part of that work, Lee visited the workshop of German maker Christoph Kern to study the construction and acoustics of 18th‑century fortepianos.
Although historical instruments and the modern piano belong to the same keyboard family, they differ markedly in tonal response, resonance and touch. As a result of her research, Lee has performed and recorded works such as C.P.E. Bach's fantasias and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata on historical instruments.
Lee Bora Piano Recital Sons of Bach Series III: The Art of Fantasy will take place at 7:30 p.m. on May 28 at Incheon Art Hall, Seoul Arts Center.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
