Tucked just off Research Boulevard, north of Great Hills Trail, rests a cultural gem: Austin’s only Steinway Piano Gallery. A temple to the legendary hand-crafted instrument, Steinway is to the piano what Rolls Royce is to the automobile—uncompromising, timeless, and revered. The flagship in New York, around the corner from Carnegie Hall, has seen countless greats choose their companion instrument. On this particular evening, Austin’s gallery became its own sanctum of sound, hosting a rare four-hands recital by local virtuoso Sohee Kwon and renowned guest pianist Shelley Ng based in New York City.
For me, it was a first. Four hands on one piano, sometimes braiding melodies in seamless unison, sometimes jousting for space with lightning velocity. The duo not only performed; they relished it. Smiles, glances, and shared laughter revealed how much they enjoyed their recital—every bit as much as the audience. The atmosphere was charged with joy, intimacy, and daring playfulness.
The Program
- Gabriel Fauré – Dolly Suite (for piano four hands)
- Nikolai Kapustin – Variations, Op. 54
- Alexis Weissenberg – Six Transcriptions of Songs by Charles Trenet
- Coin de rue
- Vous oubliez votre cheval
- En avril, à Paris
- Boum!
- Vous qui passez sans me voir
- Ménilmontant
- Coin de rue
- Francis Poulenc – Sonata for Piano Four Hands
From Fauré’s Dolly Suite (1893–1896), with its tender miniatures dedicated to a child, to Poulenc’s witty sonata, the evening flowed like a dialogue between eras and emotions. Weissenberg’s transcriptions of Charles Trenet’s chansons, once released under the pseudonym “Mr. Nobody,” dazzled with wit and verve. Here, French café culture was reimagined in all its contradiction: the yin and yang of public exuberance and private intimacy. One could feel the joie de vivre of the boulevard café where conversations spill into the street, then suddenly be transported to a hidden corner where lovers trade metaphors over wine.
The beauty of the evening lay in its unpredictability. At times the music conjured a ballroom in Russia or the south of France, where Art Nouveau curves brush against Belle Russe romance. In other moments, the spirit of Erik Satie—wry, surreal, dreamlike—hovered in the air. Then, without warning, an Irving Berlin–esque lyricism emerged, the kind beloved by Hollywood composers, shifting seamlessly into melodic pop. The duet wove jazz and classical, romantic and modern, into a tapestry that felt both nostalgic and entirely new.
About Sohee Kwon
Korean-born pianist Sohee Kwon is recognized as one of today’s most dynamic and versatile classical artists. With a sound both exquisite and commanding, she has carved a multifaceted career as performer, educator, curator, and arranger.
Her accolades are numerous: First Prize at the 2020 MTNA Chamber Music Competition, Second Prize at the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and performances at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Beethoven-Haus Kammermusiksaal in Bonn, and with Chamber Music International, Sarasota Music Festival, Mid-America Performing Alliance, Austin Chamber Music Center, and ATX Chamber Music and Jazz.
Collaboration is her hallmark. She has performed with JP Jofre, the Kodak Quartet, Invoke String Quartet, Artisan String Quartet, OSMOSIS String Quartet (Leipzig), Austin Unconducted, and members of Austin Camerata. Beyond performance, she founded Chamber on the Move in 2024, a salon series bringing chamber music into intimate spaces to forge deep connections with audiences.
Her arranging talents are equally striking—her adaptation of Astor Piazzolla’s Three Preludes for piano trio premiered to acclaim. As an educator, she serves on the faculties of the Austin Chamber Music Center and the International Summer Music Institute at the University of North Texas, with masterclass invitations at Rutgers, Kansas, Nebraska–Lincoln, and UNT.
Kwon’s academic path is stellar: a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin under Dr. Andrew Brownell, a Master’s from Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker, and undergraduate training at Manhattan School of Music and Rutgers with Daniel Epstein and Dr. Min Kwon. She graduated with the Elizabeth Wyckoff Durham Award for Excellence in Keyboard Performance, supported throughout by full and presidential scholarships.
Shelley Ng
Hong Kong–born pianist Shelley Ng is a cosmopolitan artist whose music has resounded across three continents, gracing legendary stages such as Carnegie Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall, Harris Hall, and Milton Court. She has become a familiar presence at major festivals — Tanglewood, Aspen, Santa Fe, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Tai Kwun Prison Yard Festival, Taiwan International Festival of Arts, and Hangzhou Contemporary Music Festival — each appearance expanding her reputation as a pianist of elegance and daring. Her interpretations and reflections have been broadcast on Radio Television Hong Kong, Metro Radio, Teledifusão de Macau, and WHRB Harvard Radio, carrying her artistry far beyond the concert hall.
The 2024/25 season finds Ng balancing tradition and modernity. She performed an all-Turkish program at the Türkiye–Hong Kong SAR Friendship Concert, presented by the Turkish Consulate, and later offered an all-Czech recital at the residence of the Czech Consul General. She also appeared at the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Palace Museum, at the Tai Kwun Booked Festival, the Airport HKIA Art & Culture Festival, the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo, and the Hong Kong International Travel Expo — venues and events that mirror her breadth as an interpreter of both the classical canon and contemporary creation.
Through her performances, Shelley Ng becomes not only a pianist but a cultural bridge — at once rooted in Hong Kong and reaching outward into the world, romantic yet fearless, refined yet adventurous.
Sohee Kwon (left) Shelley Ng (right) Photo credit: Elise Krentzel
For more about Sohee Kwon: www.pianosohee.com
For events and Chamber on the Move: www.chamberonthemove.com
For upcoming concerts at Steinway: https://www.steinwayofaustin.com/news
For more about Shelley Ng: https://www.shelleyngyc.com/