Kyung-Wha Chung

Speaker 10:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young and this is a download from the Desert Island Discs archive. This edition may be slightly different from what was actually broadcast, but it's the only version we have. It comes from the British Library's radio collection. It was archived without the music, so although the Castaways choices are introduced, they're not part of this recording. Full details can be found on the Castaways page on the Desert Island Discs website.

Speaker 10:26

The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen seventy nine.

Speaker 10:30

And the presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:33

Our castaway this week is from Korea, the violinist Kyung Hua Cheung.

Presenter0:38

Now, Miss Chung, what in your life would you be happy to have left behind?

Kyung-Wha Chung0:44

Well, uh there are a lot of things.

Kyung-Wha Chung0:47

For instance, let's say some of the

Kyung-Wha Chung0:50

Rather lovable conductors.

Presenter0:52

No, I

Kyung-Wha Chung0:53

No, I'm no. Actually, I would like to leave behind the violin.

Presenter0:58

Really?

Kyung-Wha Chung0:59

Yes.

Presenter0:59

Oh, I don't believe that.

Kyung-Wha Chung1:00

You don't?

Presenter1:02

Did it take you long to choose your eight record?

Kyung-Wha Chung1:04

No, it didn't take me terribly long. I just simply chose

Kyung-Wha Chung1:09

The records that I grew up with rather than I've been acquainted recently.

Presenter1:13

You'll collect records if you've got a big collection.

Kyung-Wha Chung1:16

No, not really, because record collection was never a obsession of mine, like with some people.

Presenter1:22

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung1:22

Because I prefer actually the live performance.

Presenter1:27

What's the first one you've chosen?

Kyung-Wha Chung1:29

Yasha Haifas playing Sinding Sweet.

Presenter1:32

Why'd you choose it?

Kyung-Wha Chung1:33

Because I've always admired hyvets.

Kyung-Wha Chung1:37

As a youngster, when I started to play violin,

Kyung-Wha Chung1:41

I just simply could not believe how humanly it is possible to achieve such a level.

Kyung-Wha Chung1:47

together on the instrument to such a degree

Speaker 11:48

So such a

Kyung-Wha Chung1:50

And, um, I think

Kyung-Wha Chung1:52

He is one violinist.

Kyung-Wha Chung1:54

all the fiddle players in the world would unanimously agree that

Kyung-Wha Chung1:59

that he has achieved that unique

Kyung-Wha Chung2:01

technical level and also playing with such a tremendous intensity

Kyung-Wha Chung2:06

And uh this uh scinding suite actually shows the side of uh that brilliant, devilish side of Haifa's, which I think uh is remarkable.

Presenter2:21

The opening of the Sinding Suite to show the brilliant devilish side of Heifitz. You nearly took lessons from him once, didn't you? But it didn't work out.

Kyung-Wha Chung2:29

How did you know that? Yes, I did.

Presenter2:31

I've been asking questions.

Kyung-Wha Chung2:34

And that is one question that always lingers in my mind whether I made the reci decision not to have had uh lessons with him. But

Speaker 12:43

Mm-hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung2:45

I could not believe what other people said about Haifa as being very difficult person. I just had to go and see it uh and so somehow experience it myself. And

Kyung-Wha Chung2:57

It isn't bi because of that difficult side that I didn't stay, but he didn't allow me to play any concert. And before h I had gone to him I said to him, I had about half a dozen engagements which I must play. Would it be all right still to study with him at the same time that I play these six engagements?

Kyung-Wha Chung3:17

And he said, Fine, but when I went to play for him, he said first thing he said was

Kyung-Wha Chung3:23

You realize, of course, you can't play any concerts.

Kyung-Wha Chung3:26

And I said, Oh, of course, of course, uh and I went home and thought very carefully and I thought

Kyung-Wha Chung3:33

Although I wanted to continue studying, that was right after my uh 11th year competition that I won and I wanted to again go on and study.

Presenter3:43

So he was being difficult.

Kyung-Wha Chung3:45

Yes, somewhat.

Presenter3:48

Now let's go back to the beginning. You were born in Korea.

Speaker 33:51

Yeah.

Presenter3:51

During your early childhood, of course

Presenter3:54

Country was

Presenter3:55

In the aftermath of war, do you remember it as a very difficult time?

Kyung-Wha Chung4:01

Well, I was uh what not yet three, two and a half, when the war broke out.

Speaker 34:07

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung4:09

And uh my childhood memory was never unpleasant.

Kyung-Wha Chung4:14

Because uh although I was aware that something extraordinary had happened and we had to be suddenly uh moved down to south and I do remember very clearly riding on top of the truck which was loaded with so many things that I was afraid that I'll fall off the truck.

Speaker 14:30

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung4:31

But I started uh

Kyung-Wha Chung4:35

taking lessons in music when we all moved down to South.

Presenter4:38

The events.

Kyung-Wha Chung4:39

and life there was quite normal.

Presenter4:41

You come from a a big family, don't you?

Kyung-Wha Chung4:43

Yes, very big family.

Presenter4:44

And they're all musical.

Kyung-Wha Chung4:46

Professionally at the moment, four of us are musicians.

Presenter4:48

Professional musician.

Kyung-Wha Chung4:49

Yes. But all the rest of them did study piano, violin, certain instruments during their childhood.

Presenter4:57

Where do you fit in? Are you the eldest, or the youngest, or in the middle?

Kyung-Wha Chung5:00

I am the middle, the capital.

Presenter5:03

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung5:03

No, I say that because all my family has the first name starting Nyang.

Speaker 35:09

Yeah.

Presenter5:09

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung5:09

Myung so, Myungun Myunghua, Myung child, Myunghun Myung you. But my first name starts Kyung, uh Kyung, which in Chinese character signifies capital, capital city, also. And I'm the middle child.

Presenter5:24

Was it always European music that fascinated the family, not Korean music?

Kyung-Wha Chung5:30

Well, you see, during my childhood I had uh lessons in Korean folk dancing and there was a certain amount of Korean music in our family as well because my father loved that part of art as well. But

Kyung-Wha Chung5:43

Somehow we started this instrument and we were rather gifted. Uh my my parents realized we we had certain gift. So we start to uh pursue that side.

Presenter5:52

You started on the piano.

Kyung-Wha Chung5:54

Yes, that was rather disastrous.

Kyung-Wha Chung5:57

But that's very curious. I cannot understand how

Kyung-Wha Chung6:02

a child who would take an instrument um like I did with the violin so intensely

Kyung-Wha Chung6:08

can be so bored with another.

Presenter6:10

How old were you when you talked to the violin, when you gave up the piano, as it were?

Kyung-Wha Chung6:13

I was four when I uh started the piano and I was nearly seven when I uh began violin.

Kyung-Wha Chung6:21

and I was very glad to get away from the piano.

Presenter6:25

And you appeared in public quite soon after you started your violin studies.

Presenter6:30

Yes, I

Kyung-Wha Chung6:30

Yes, I remember after about two weeks I took the instrument to school and I played in front of a thousand kids.

Kyung-Wha Chung6:39

all the melodies and songs I knew by year, you know. And I I had this very curious sensation in in playing in front of this large

Kyung-Wha Chung6:50

Audience.

Kyung-Wha Chung6:52

And um

Kyung-Wha Chung6:53

And it was rather thrilling, I remember. I wasn't at all scared.

Kyung-Wha Chung6:57

And then I started uh performing in front of public, seriously.

Kyung-Wha Chung7:01

Very seriously indeed. Um, when I was uh about uh eight years old, or so very soon.

Presenter7:09

And when was the decision taken that you should go and study in the United States?

Kyung-Wha Chung7:14

Well, you see, my sister went ahead, uh who was studying flute.

Kyung-Wha Chung7:19

to study Juilliard.

Presenter7:21

She was already in in New York.

Kyung-Wha Chung7:22

Uh she is the eldest of the family.

Kyung-Wha Chung7:25

And she was studying flute with Arthur Laura and uh

Kyung-Wha Chung7:30

When I became about eleven years old, my parents started to communicate to her saying that I should come over. But that wasn't the first time that I was interested to to go abroad. When my violin teacher, a first violin teacher, went abroad himself to Paris to study. I was uh just then turned eight and I wanted to go with him because I was so uh obsessed. You know, I wanted to play the violin very well.

Kyung-Wha Chung7:58

And uh my parents at first thought I was really childish whim, but realizing that was deadly serious, they uh spent sleepless nights really not knowing what to do because how can you send they couldn't possibly send eight years old uh child to Paris, you know.

Presenter8:17

So you didn't go?

Kyung-Wha Chung8:17

I didn't. And I was very glad I didn't, because I would have lost, I think, almost completely my background as a Korean.

Presenter8:23

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung8:25

That's how

Presenter8:25

Let's have your second record, what's that be?

Kyung-Wha Chung8:28

I would like to play human trio in D minor.

Presenter8:32

Uh

Kyung-Wha Chung8:32

Played by Casals, Teebo and Goto.

Presenter8:36

Why do you choose this?

Kyung-Wha Chung8:39

I uh chose it because I admire in the musicians such as Cotto and uh Thibault and Casals that they really lived it so intensely and uh the expressions are so full.

Kyung-Wha Chung8:55

Although the technical side is not always perfect, you know, and these days the g gramophone uh gives listener such a technical perfection.

Kyung-Wha Chung9:07

that sometimes I wonder if that comes before actual music, you know? And I always loved the music making, and that's the reason I chose it.

Presenter9:23

The beginning of Schumann's trio in D minor played by Thibault Casals and Corto.

Presenter9:30

Now, off you went to the United States. You were, what, twelve?

Kyung-Wha Chung9:34

Yes, I was twelve years old.

Presenter9:35

Did you speak any English?

Kyung-Wha Chung9:37

Hardly. I knew certain uh vocabulary and I did study English uh in school, but it's like everyone having to study one compulsory language. It didn't help me at all.

Kyung-Wha Chung9:50

On top of it, I was so painfully shy. Of course, you know.

Presenter9:54

Now you had your sister to look after you.

Kyung-Wha Chung9:55

Yeah.

Presenter9:56

And you went to the Juilliard where where she was studying?

Kyung-Wha Chung9:59

Yes, my older sister was studying flute.

Presenter10:02

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:02

And uh I went to New York with another sister who is a cellist.

Presenter10:07

Yes.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:07

So we both went to study there.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:11

with uh Ivan Galamian and uh she had studied with Leonard Rose.

Presenter10:16

You stayed with your teacher that the same teacher for a number of years.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:19

Yes, I studied with him until sixty seven.

Presenter10:23

Your parents went over to America for some time, didn't they, to stay with

Kyung-Wha Chung10:27

Yes, but they stayed in uh west coast and uh they were living there with my three younger brothers because they felt that it's much better for for my younger brother to be brought up

Presenter10:34

And

Kyung-Wha Chung10:39

Not in a insane place like New York, but place like in Seattle.

Presenter10:43

Yeah.

Presenter10:44

But the whole family was in the United States.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:46

That's right. Yeah.

Speaker 310:47

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:47

Yeah.

Speaker 310:47

Uh

Presenter10:47

Now there was this very important competition that you entered for.

Speaker 310:52

Enter

Presenter10:52

11 dread.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:52

Uh

Speaker 310:52

Uh

Kyung-Wha Chung10:53

Yeah.

Presenter10:54

A very important goal.

Kyung-Wha Chung10:55

Very?

Presenter10:56

And, in fact, you won it. You shared the top place with another violinist we know well.

Speaker 311:01

Yes, pinkers, yeah.

Presenter11:04

Yeah.

Presenter11:04

Pinkazukama

Speaker 311:05

Yeah.

Presenter11:06

Now this the the eleventh w was really a a laissez passage to the whole American musical scene.

Kyung-Wha Chung11:13

Well, that's how it looks.

Kyung-Wha Chung11:17

It wasn't exactly how it was. Yes, I must say it did get me started. And it was also very encouraging because the fact psychologically you have won the international competition and the good thing about this eleventh competition was that it did give appearance with the major symphony orchestra in in America.

Presenter11:37

But you continued to study for a while before you started travelling overseas.

Kyung-Wha Chung11:41

Yes, I continued for for a long time. I went to actually Ziggeti.

Kyung-Wha Chung11:47

Before that was High Fest, uh the visit to High Fest, and then I came back to New York and then went to Ziggetti, but

Kyung-Wha Chung11:54

I remember after winning the competition I called up Mr. Galamian.

Kyung-Wha Chung12:00

who was actually uh hospitalized uh from the car accident. And I said to him,

Kyung-Wha Chung12:07

You know, Mr. Konami, I won. I won first prize.

Kyung-Wha Chung12:11

And he was always very, very uh.

Kyung-Wha Chung12:15

disciplinarian, you know, uh very very strong with me and uh was driving me very hard. I was very often in the classroom in tears and he wouldn't take any notice of them.

Kyung-Wha Chung12:27

But I th I thought this one time that he would be very pleased and he would say, Oh, I'm very happy, that's wonderful. No.

Kyung-Wha Chung12:35

After a few moments of silence, he says, You know, now is the time to really start practising And I got so fed up, finally I said, Oh, mister Colamian

Speaker 112:42

I got

Kyung-Wha Chung12:46

You know.

Speaker 112:47

I just

Kyung-Wha Chung12:47

Can't you just simply say that that you're very happy that I won't? You know, I I actually didn't say that to him, I was much too shy, but I thought that very much

Presenter12:58

Mm-hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung12:58

But uh yes.

Presenter13:00

Anyway, you took his advice and you did work terribly hard.

Kyung-Wha Chung13:01

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung13:03

I went to uh Switzerland to study with Yeti.

Presenter13:06

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung13:06

Yeah.

Presenter13:08

Another record, please.

Kyung-Wha Chung13:10

For next record I chose Mozart Sonata, played by Arthur Grumiel and Clara Haskell.

Presenter13:19

Why?

Kyung-Wha Chung13:19

I I chose this recording because the partnership of course I admire the musicianship, but I found it is so difficult

Kyung-Wha Chung13:32

It's like having a perfect marriage, probably, w which must be, uh, rather like chasing a rainbow, but

Kyung-Wha Chung13:40

Um

Kyung-Wha Chung13:41

To have a perfect partnership of the uh violin and piano is such a rare thing.

Kyung-Wha Chung13:48

And uh I do admire that uh beautiful communication between their playing. It seems to be such a marvellous balance.

Presenter13:59

The beginning of the slow movement of the Mozart Sonata in F major, Koekel, three seventy six, Arto Grummio and Clara Haskell.

Presenter14:09

Now, you were in Switzerland studying with Siggetti. What was your first engagement in Europe?

Kyung-Wha Chung14:17

My first engagement actually was a performance in Madrid. I played uh proof concerto, but my uh biggest moment actually I would say was in London when I stepped in to play uh the Tchaikovsky concerto.

Presenter14:37

You stepped in to take over from someone.

Kyung-Wha Chung14:39

Yes, I think Itzak was supposed to do that performance and his wife was expecting a baby.

Kyung-Wha Chung14:45

So, uh, you know, beginning of my career, I uh stepped in for singers suffering from laryngitis or of suffering from, I don't know, flu and even a colleague of mine

Kyung-Wha Chung14:58

That's why having a baby gave me a chance to uh have that wonderful concert in the middle of the middle.

Presenter15:04

That's what young artists are expected to do. That concert, that was in London with the LSO. That's right.

Kyung-Wha Chung15:07

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung15:11

That's right, L S O and Previn. And that was for British Art. That was rather uh exciting because there was a mixed up in rehearsal. And when I showed up for the rehearsal in the f afternoon there were hardly any members of the L S O.

Kyung-Wha Chung15:27

And uh

Kyung-Wha Chung15:29

Andre was very worried that I should have such a difficult situation to rehearse and that was my uh first appearance in London.

Kyung-Wha Chung15:38

He suggested I should uh cancel that and he will give me another time possibly.

Kyung-Wha Chung15:43

And I said, No, Alesso knows this Tchaikovsky concerto, so do you, and so do I. Let's make music.

Kyung-Wha Chung15:50

And and because in the evening that we hardly rehearsed, everybody was on tip of their chairs and there was much more tension and certain amount of electricity, which gave that kind of excitement.

Speaker 315:50

Yeah, certainly.

Presenter15:51

Yeah.

Presenter16:04

And you had a wonderful success, and you've been travelling more or less ever since, haven't you?

Kyung-Wha Chung16:09

I didn't know what I was getting into, you see.

Presenter16:13

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung16:13

Yeah.

Presenter16:14

You've been a nomad. Which countries haven't you been to yet?

Kyung-Wha Chung16:18

Well, I haven't actually been to China, Russia, uh

Kyung-Wha Chung16:23

Czechoslovakia or any of the the communistic regime.

Presenter16:28

You go to Korea quite often to see the family.

Kyung-Wha Chung16:31

I go there annually.

Presenter16:32

Yeah.

Presenter16:33

How much practice do you do every day?

Kyung-Wha Chung16:35

Now

Kyung-Wha Chung16:38

Well, it's very difficult to tell you. Do you want a real answer or?

Presenter16:42

A real answer, yes, of course.

Kyung-Wha Chung16:44

Very encouraging answer for youngsters.

Presenter16:45

No, no, no, they told me the truth.

Kyung-Wha Chung16:46

Yeah.

Presenter16:48

Grim though it may be, tell me the truth.

Kyung-Wha Chung16:50

Well, um seriously, when I have some time off uh like two months holiday and so on, I try to be very strict and practice really possibly average about six, seven hours a day. But during the season I find it very difficult to practise many hours and then at the same time uh perform in the evening and then make uh travelling and so on.

Presenter17:12

Yeah.

Presenter17:14

What sort of ratio is the

Presenter17:16

in your engagements between appearance of the orchestras and recitals.

Kyung-Wha Chung17:20

Unfortunately, the recital engagement are not uh as much as that I should like to do. So in the future I would like to have more control on that and give more recitals because the repertoire is so rich. But I would say if I do um hundred performances of uh orchestral engagement I would do about fifteen recitals.

Presenter17:42

You appear sometimes with your brother and with your sister.

Presenter17:46

Oh yes, that

Kyung-Wha Chung17:46

Oh yes, that's right. I do uh also uh do cambo music with them. Yes. Uh trio and the duo and so on.

Presenter17:50

Dead.

Speaker 117:51

Uh

Kyung-Wha Chung17:54

And my brother now, who's been studying conducting for about eight, nine years,

Kyung-Wha Chung18:00

Last season we did a programme where he conducted

Kyung-Wha Chung18:03

Triple concerto from the keyboard.

Kyung-Wha Chung18:05

Beethoven and then he conducted us the Brahms double and it was all f very very nice family affair. Very nice.

Presenter18:11

Okay.

Kyung-Wha Chung18:12

Another

Presenter18:13

Another record, please, we've got to number four.

Kyung-Wha Chung18:15

Aha. Next selection is by Oscar Peterson, who is absolutely fabulous player in my opinion. And this is the kind of music I like to play when I want to relax.

Presenter18:33

OSCAR PETERSON A LITTLE JAZ EXERCISE.

Presenter18:37

Now you have, I know, a big repertoire.

Presenter18:40

How many concertos can you play altogether?

Kyung-Wha Chung18:42

Oh, I don't know, but

Kyung-Wha Chung18:44

Forty, for different, I don't know.

Presenter18:46

There we go.

Presenter18:47

A lot of twentieth century music. Which music do you find particularly difficult?

Presenter18:53

Which composer?

Kyung-Wha Chung18:54

Oh, I find the

Kyung-Wha Chung18:56

More sell the extreme edge.

Presenter18:57

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung18:58

Definitely.

Kyung-Wha Chung18:59

And uh I feel actually less foreign playing Bach.

Kyung-Wha Chung19:04

than Mozart. But it's so terribly frustrating because he s seems to be so simple and so beautiful. But uh I feel very comfortable in romantic music and twentieth century repertoire.

Presenter19:17

Any gaps in your repertoire, any work that you must tackle but you haven't got to yet.

Kyung-Wha Chung19:23

Well, I haven't done all the sonatas of Mozart and uh I left the last G major of the ten sonatas of the Beethoven because I like to work with a pianist whom I really feel very much communication. But as far as twentieth century uh repertoire is concerned let's say I play up to Albanberg. I would like to I I still haven't added the Schoenberg concerto which I would like to add to my uh which is very very difficult. He did say he needs a person with six fingers and I do believe

Presenter19:55

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung20:02

Believe it.

Presenter20:02

Believe it. And you just don't have them. No, I just have to.

Kyung-Wha Chung20:04

No, I just have a a quick surgery before I start, you know.

Presenter20:06

Star.

Presenter20:09

Tell me about your instruments. How many violins do you have?

Kyung-Wha Chung20:12

I have two instruments, two lovely instruments which you have a strad?

Presenter20:16

You have a strad?

Kyung-Wha Chung20:17

A strad, yes, uh which is dated sixteen ninety three, which is called Ex Harrison.

Kyung-Wha Chung20:27

and uh Gonerius Delgesu, which is seventeen thirty five, ex cublic.

Presenter20:34

It belonged to Kupolik, did it? Yes.

Kyung-Wha Chung20:35

Yes, rather could explain.

Presenter20:36

Which one do you prefer?

Kyung-Wha Chung20:38

At the moment I play the Guaneros and I do prefer Guaneri simply because it suits me better.

Kyung-Wha Chung20:45

And um the stret for me was because it's a long pattern, it was very difficult to uh manage to play, get around it. But I was so stubborn and I loved the instrument so much, I m managed to play it for seven years and nobody could believe it because I'm not that uh I don't have such a big fingers, long fingers.

Presenter21:02

Long fingers.

Kyung-Wha Chung21:03

But when I change to Guanerius, um I think Guanari suits me better actually.

Presenter21:08

When you travel, do you take them both?

Kyung-Wha Chung21:10

No, no. I think it would be too risky.

Presenter21:13

Yes, sir.

Kyung-Wha Chung21:13

And so I just travel with one instrument.

Presenter21:17

We've got to record number five. What's that?

Kyung-Wha Chung21:20

Donkey Shot by Richard Strauss, played uh by Pietygowski, Gregor Pietyowski.

Presenter21:26

Quite.

Kyung-Wha Chung21:28

My sister studied with Pedigorski for three years and I got to meet him and I did play for him. But

Kyung-Wha Chung21:36

I I must say there are few concerts that you really treasure.

Kyung-Wha Chung21:41

And uh one of the concerts is Pierigovsky playing Donkey Shoot in Puerto Rico Festival, Casa's Festival.

Kyung-Wha Chung21:48

With Zubin Mehta, and it was such a hair-raising performance because he really.

Kyung-Wha Chung21:55

It has such a

Kyung-Wha Chung21:58

Marvellous, marvellous sound

Kyung-Wha Chung22:00

which is so human.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:02

And uh he really speaks to the audience.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:05

And I remember I was absolutely in tears and I don't think I was that emotional in any other concert.

Speaker 122:08

There is

Kyung-Wha Chung22:12

And I really, uh love his playing.

Presenter22:19

Richard Strice's Don Quixote

Presenter22:21

Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Gregor Patiglowski.

Presenter22:27

You've had, of course, great success as a as a recording artist, but you didn't start until comparatively recently.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:33

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:34

Yeah.

Presenter22:35

Where do you usually record?

Kyung-Wha Chung22:36

Uh

Presenter22:36

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:37

Well, I made most of my recordings in London.

Presenter22:41

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:41

But uh recently I went to Vienna.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:44

And uh

Kyung-Wha Chung22:46

Worked with Viadam Pharmonik doing the Beethoven concerto.

Presenter22:50

Oh yes.

Kyung-Wha Chung22:51

And uh that was a very, very interesting experience.

Presenter22:55

Why did you find that particularly interesting?

Kyung-Wha Chung22:58

Because first of all, you know, to all violinists I think the Beethoven concerto is one of the biggest challenge.

Presenter23:04

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung23:06

And uh when I started to record for Becca, I was asked to do Beethoven concerto and immediately the Brahms concerto and so I said, Oh, no and I said, It's just I'm not ready for that.

Kyung-Wha Chung23:19

And I postponed it and for a long time.

Kyung-Wha Chung23:23

And I don't think I'm still ready for it. I don't think any artist feels they're completely ready to really

Kyung-Wha Chung23:29

put on the disc their final confession of the piece.

Kyung-Wha Chung23:33

But the fact that I had opportunity to work with the Vienna Pheromonic, which was the first time, I decided to take the challenge and went and the beauty of the sound that they produce and the phrasing and that

Kyung-Wha Chung23:49

tradition which you can't really implement.

Speaker 323:52

Hmm.

Kyung-Wha Chung23:53

It's just grown there. And that was something which I will keep long, long time in my ear, uh the kind of inspiration they've given me working with these people.

Kyung-Wha Chung24:04

And uh I don't know how the recording is. Uh I have to wait a little while. It's always when I make a recording, I have to wait few months.

Kyung-Wha Chung24:13

to be somehow not too emotional about it and be a little more objective.

Presenter24:17

What other recording plans do you have?

Kyung-Wha Chung24:19

Other recording plans? Oh, I don't remember.

Presenter24:23

Reg on number six, what now?

Kyung-Wha Chung24:27

Oh yes, I would like to play a record song by Ella Fitz Fitzgerald. Oh goodness, I have

Presenter24:34

Ella Fitzgerald, come on, that's the first time you've slipped in your English. Oh, come on.

Kyung-Wha Chung24:37

Oh, come on. I have such a difficult time pronouncing her name. Um, singing Cole Potto. So.

Presenter24:43

And who is singing it?

Kyung-Wha Chung24:45

Oh, no, no, don't ask me. Don't be nasty, now.

Kyung-Wha Chung24:51

I'll make you say a few difficult Korean words.

Presenter24:54

Ella Fitzgerald.

Presenter24:59

Coal porters, let's do it. Let's go straight into your seventh disc. What next?

Kyung-Wha Chung25:04

I would like to play the Beethoven Quartet, Oppos one Thirty.

Kyung-Wha Chung25:11

Played by Buddha Pas String Quartet.

Presenter25:13

Any particular reason?

Kyung-Wha Chung25:15

These late quartets, which were the last uh compositions of Beethoven, is something that I think all the musicians would agree with me that it has that kind of depth and strength and beauty and the power, which I think we could all live with.

Presenter25:37

The opening of Beethoven's string quartet number thirteen in B flat opens a hundred and thirty by the Budapest Quartet.

Presenter25:45

Now, the sort of climate that you were accustomed to until you were twelve years old, until you went to America.

Presenter25:51

You will find again on your desert island.

Presenter25:53

Nice, warm, tropical. Could you look after yourself?

Kyung-Wha Chung25:57

Oh, yes, I think I could look after myself quite well.

Presenter26:00

You could get enough to eat.

Kyung-Wha Chung26:02

Well, I've never gone fishing. Oh, yes, I did go fishing few times. Maybe I

Presenter26:07

What did you do and where was it?

Kyung-Wha Chung26:09

Oh, well in America, in uh upstate of New York I used to during the

Presenter26:14

In the mountains?

Kyung-Wha Chung26:15

Oh, in lakes and so uh

Kyung-Wha Chung26:18

And but uh yes, I suppose I could pick some fruit and uh catch some fish and manage quite well.

Presenter26:26

Would you try to escape?

Presenter26:28

Would you try to build a a raft or anything of that sort?

Kyung-Wha Chung26:29

The build of a raft.

Kyung-Wha Chung26:33

Yes, of course. No, it depends. Uh, I really love uh this tropical uh climate. I love swimming. I love sun.

Presenter26:42

Maybe.

Kyung-Wha Chung26:42

Maybe I might just stay there for a while.

Presenter26:43

All right. Well, we'll do our best to get you back.

Kyung-Wha Chung26:45

Yes, I I'll count on you. I

Presenter26:49

Now your last record, what's that?

Kyung-Wha Chung26:51

I chose uh Bach.

Kyung-Wha Chung26:54

unaccompanied suite, played by Casals, whom I admire greatly. He was not only fantastic musician, he was uh wonderful humanitarian. Music was just part of his whole uh belief in suffering uh uh and uh joy of human mankind.

Kyung-Wha Chung27:15

He's the first one.

Kyung-Wha Chung27:17

who actually brought this tremendous joy.

Kyung-Wha Chung27:21

in playing Bach, because before it was approached rather I would say could be rather boring, you know.

Presenter27:28

Mm.

Speaker 127:28

Yeah.

Kyung-Wha Chung27:29

Not as daring and expressive.

Kyung-Wha Chung27:33

And uh I played for him uh once uh at the Kazar's festival.

Kyung-Wha Chung27:39

And foolishly enough, I went to play him Bach unaccompanied. I must have been really very stupid to decide that, because I suddenly realized when I started to play Bach

Kyung-Wha Chung27:51

How ridiculous it was. I I felt so little and so completely paralyzed. What came out was rather in total different style of

Kyung-Wha Chung28:00

Bach but he did give me uh tremendous inspiring lectures on the approach of Bach and how all the joys of making music

Kyung-Wha Chung28:12

Rather than this uh serial, so, you know, a serious side.

Speaker 128:14

What's your side?

Kyung-Wha Chung28:15

was most uh necessary in playing Bach, because one approaches usually terribly seriously. And he played I remember whole G minor prelude of the the violin, sonata on piano, and he said that's how he started every day, each day.

Kyung-Wha Chung28:32

of his life playing the the anochibach on the piano and also

Kyung-Wha Chung28:38

Cello, you know.

Presenter28:39

Now which one of the suites are we going to hear?

Kyung-Wha Chung28:42

Uh C minor.

Presenter28:47

Casal's playing the Couron from Bach's Cello Suite No. Five in C minor. If you could take only one disc out of the eight you've chosen, which would it be?

Kyung-Wha Chung28:57

I think I will it's a difficult choice, but I think I would choose still the caddles.

Presenter29:03

The cassava, the one we just played.

Kyung-Wha Chung29:03

The one we just picked.

Presenter29:05

And you're allowed to take one luxury to the island with you?

Kyung-Wha Chung29:08

Yeah.

Presenter29:09

Yes, what have you got?

Kyung-Wha Chung29:11

I don't know if this is counted as a luxury item, but I would like to take

Kyung-Wha Chung29:15

A bag full of

Kyung-Wha Chung29:18

Flower seed. Am I allowed to take it or not?

Presenter29:21

A flower garden you shall have for your island.

Kyung-Wha Chung29:24

You see, because when you plant

Kyung-Wha Chung29:27

I'm not supposed to know what I'm going to expect. I love flowers.

Presenter29:31

So you want mixed flower seeds, so you don't know what's going to grow up.

Kyung-Wha Chung29:33

Yes, back of all different seeds of flowers.

Presenter29:38

Splendid idea. You'll look most decorative as a middle of that. And one book apart from the Bible and Shakespeare, and not a big encyclopedia.

Kyung-Wha Chung29:47

I would like to take The Seed Hatter by Herman Hesi.

Presenter29:53

I don't know that one. No, I know one or two of Hess's. I don't know that one.

Kyung-Wha Chung29:54

Mm-hmm.

Presenter29:58

Siddh Hatha

Kyung-Wha Chung29:59

Yeah. Yeah.

Presenter30:00

Right?

Presenter30:01

Well, Hesse fans will know about it. And thank you, Kyung Hua Chung, for letting us hear your Desert Island Discs.

Kyung-Wha Chung30:08

Thank you very much.

Presenter30:09

Goodbye, everyone.