The Lee Brothers | For Two Pianos | Beethoven 200

For several years, Hyuk Lee and Hyo Lee have formed one of the most exciting piano duos of the younger generation. Together, they perform on leading concert stages across Europe and Asia. They are united not only by their bond as brothers, but also by an exceptional musical intuition that allows two pianos to become a single musical voice.

The elder brother, Hyuk Lee, is today regarded as one of the most distinguished Korean pianists of his generation. He is a prizewinner of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris, a finalist of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and the winner of the Paderewski International Piano Competition. He studied in Moscow and Paris, where he received the prestigious Prix Cortot, and his repertoire includes dozens of piano concertos.

Despite his young age, Hyo Lee has also established a remarkable international career. He has received awards at the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz as well as the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris. Critics have praised his exceptional musicality and artistic maturity, qualities rarely encountered in performers at such an early stage of their careers. Together, the brothers form a duo whose greatest strengths are mutual trust and the effortless naturalness of their music-making – qualities that cannot be achieved through an occasional collaboration between two soloists.

The programme is every bit as remarkable as its performers. It was originally conceived to mark the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, yet it extends far beyond a commemorative occasion. It is a journey through the extraordinary expressive possibilities of two pianos, leading audiences across three strikingly different musical worlds.

The evening opens with Arthur Benjamin's Six Caribbean Pieces. Born in Australia and closely associated for many years with London's Royal College of Music, Benjamin drew inspiration from the rhythms and melodies of the Caribbean, combining classical forms with dance music and vibrant exotic colours.

The programme continues with Maurice Ravel's La Valse, one of the most fascinating musical explorations of the Viennese waltz. Balancing elegance with an ever-growing sense of unease, the work is often interpreted as a symbol of the collapse of the old European order following the First World War. The culmination of the concert is Ferenc Liszt's monumental transcription of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in the art of transcription. With extraordinary fidelity, Liszt transformed the richness and grandeur of the symphony into a work for two pianos. It demands not only phenomenal technical mastery from the performers, but also the ability to think symphonically and create a sound world of almost orchestral breadth.

This concert is therefore not only an opportunity to hear two outstanding pianists of the younger generation, but also a celebration of the extraordinary possibilities of the piano duo – two instruments capable of evoking the power of an entire orchestra while offering a fresh perspective on some of the greatest masterpieces in the classical repertoire.