We are saddened to read of the passing of eminent Korean-American pianist Tong-Il Han who left us on 29 December 2024. He was 83 and had an illustrious performing and teaching career.
Long before the likes of Yunchan Lim, Yeol Eum Son and Seong Jin Cho became household names, Tong-Il Han was the first Korean pianist to make an international performing career by winning the Leventritt Award in 1965. He belonged to the first generation of great Korean artists, which include pianist Kun Woo Paik and violinist Kyung Wha Chung.
Han was born in what is North Korea today, and grew up in an American air force base during the Korean War of 1950-53. His talent was spotted by an American general who got him touring all around Korea before raising funds and arranging for him to study in USA. At the Juilliard School, he was taught by the great Rosina Lhevinne, who also mentored Van Cliburn, John Browning, Garrick Ohlsson and Hiroko Nakamura.
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| Performing at the White House. |
It is to my eternal regret that I missed his performances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra during the mid-1980s, which included Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and Brahms Second Piano Concerto conducted by Choo Hoey.
I was fortunate to finally hear him in a duo piano recital with his wife Helen Lee at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2013, in a lovely all-Schubert programme (Fantasy in F minor and Grand Duo Sonata). On that occasion, the audience was so moved as to parade with placards onstage after the performance. Helen, a former student of his, was a lecturer at the National Institute of Education in Singapore for some 14 years.
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| I bought this recital CD in Seoul. |
On the recording front, I am lucky to have three CD recordings of Tong, of music by Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Schubert (on Korean labels), which display solid technique and unimpeachable musical values. For him, virtuosity is but a by-product of good teaching, and where service to the music and composer comes first.
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| A gift from the Hans. |
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| Lunch at Dame Fanny Waterman's. |
My last meeting with Tong-Il and Helen came in 2015 at the Leeds International Piano Competition where he was on the jury. It was through their generous introduction that I was invited to Dame Fanny Waterman's home for lunch and afternoon tea. There, he entertained the guests with improvisations of Happy Birthday on the Steinway grand. After the competition, they mailed me a signed copy of Dame Fanny's autobiography.
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| Tong-Il Han with Nikolai Demidenko. |
Our condolences go to Helen and his family. Tong-Il's musicianship, kindness and generosity will never be forgotten.
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