"...the passions, whether violent or not, must never be expressed ad nauseam, and music, even in the most terrible context, must never offend the ears but please them none the less, that is, music must always remain music."
********************(Mozart, 1756-1791)
"...The desperate struggle upwards of the soul towards the Supreme Beauty, however dimly and darkly felt, is what produces all great art whether in
poetry, or in music, or in sculpture, or in painting."
*********************************(Alfred Douglas, 1870-1945)
Wanda Landowska
Alfred Cortot
Sounds Like
Methinks one's style is but an expression of his belief, and as a composer, I strive to offer my audience what is most beautiful and emotionally truthful. I believe that only beauty, together with emotional sincerity, will ultimately give us the due pleasure to be shared in Art both sensually and spiritually. I am simply picking up the life of music from where it was unnaturally--and entirely unnecessarily--cut off at the beginning of the twentieth century. The remedy for decadence should have been Restoration, not Revolution.
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Composer Quentin Kim, whose “unique” art is “marked by a tireless pursuit of excellence…and a fascination with beauty” (Professor Nicholas Roth, Drake University), has created a vivid world of fantasy, drama and intimacy, led by his belief in aestheticism over banality, communication over intellectualism, and the perpetual modernity of tonality over atonal modernism. Continuing the universal musical language spoken by Bach through Brahms, eschewing experiments for their own sake, he has committed himself to refining harmonic and contrapuntal intricacies, which he believes to be the way to Supreme Beauty in music. His compositions have been praised and favored by the public and professional musicians alike for their “expressive, sensitive and poetic” quality, as in the words of pianist Vassily Primakov.
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Quentin’s music has been heard to acclaim in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, at such venues as Alice Tully Hall and Society for Ethical Culture in New York City, Salle Cortot in Paris, Cajastur Cultural Center in Gijón, Spain, National Theatre of Costa Rica, Heredia Theatre in Colombia, Palace of Fine Arts in The Dominican Republic, and many institutions including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Kyungwon University (Korea) and Tianjin Conservatory of Music (China), as well as at the Concerts at the Crossroads series in Cleveland and at the Residence of the United Nations Secretary-General. Among the groups and artists who have performed his works include the Alianza String Quartet, violinist Jing Wang, pianists Nathan Carterette, Akimi Fukuhara, Marko Pavlovic, Vassily Primakov, soprano Jeanette Vecchione, tenor Ben Sosland, baritone David McFerrin, and conductor Vince Lee.
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Quentin is equally active as a pianist. Hailed as “the most charming…vivid, observant artist...with personality...wit, buoyancy and affection” (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland), whose playing “worked magic” and was “simply beautiful” (Goslarsche Zeitung, Germany), he tours extensively worldwide, having been invited to perform at Alice Tully Hall, Bishopsgate Hall in London, Hoam Art Hall in Seoul, and the Permanent Missions of Korea, and of India, to the United Nations, as well as in the illustrious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series. He appeared with many orchestras, including the Elgin Symphony, Kankakee Valley Symphony, and Michigan Chamber Symphony Orchestra, among others. His performances have been broadcast on WXQR, WCLV, WJFF, and WFMT.
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He attended the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, and Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and is a graduate of Michigan State University, The Juilliard School, and Yale University. Currently he is in his final stages of doctoral candidacy at The Juilliard School in piano performance.
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Quentin Kim’s works have been published by Publishing Guild of New York, and his music can be heard on the Blue Griffin Recording. He is also a frequent guest artist-lecturer at the Dead Pianists Society concert series presented by the Hudson Valley Piano Club in New York.
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Dearest Quentin!
Thank you for your support this past sunday - it was wonderful of you to come hear me play. It was also great to see you today at Arium and I apologize that I was not able to greet you and chat but I had just gotten to work and had a lot to care of. I hope you will let me know ahead of time next time and I can spend more time with you. Have a great day and talk soon!
N
Wanda Landowska
Alfred Cortot
