KUALA LUMPUR: Renowned South Korean pianist extraordinaire, Yiruma gave an intimate performance, dubbed Best Of Yiruma Live in Malaysia 2015, here at the Plenary Hall in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
At the one-night only concert, Yiruma (born Lee Ru-Ma), accompanied by his cellist friend, Kim Young-Min, performed 20 songs including a double-encore of Photograph and Les feuilles mortes (Autumn Leaves), where the latter has been sung by various artistes including Edith Piaf and Nat King Cole.
Starting with May Be and Love, the 37-year-old pianist was in a jovial mood as he took breaks in between his playing to address the crowd. "It's good to see everyone again. I'm really glad to be here," he said to the eager crowds who filled every seat in the hall. Yiruma last performed here in November last year.
The Kiss The Rain and River Flows In You hitmaker also invited one lucky fan up onstage to play the piano with him. As with his every other concert, the lucky fan is allowed to come up with any three music notes while Yiruma made up the rest, right there and then.
When it was done, Yiruma jokingly said he would put the song that he made with his fan, who was also a former harpist, on his next album.
"Real music combines thoughts, memories and stories. Visualise all these and you form the perfect music. Without it, there is no real music," he said.
Drawing inspiration from his surroundings, it has helped him composed many songs including Dance, which was taken off his latest studio album, Piano.
"I let myself be surrounded by nature while I was trekking in a forest in Jeju Island. At one point I felt I was getting lost and to calm myself down, I looked up and saw myself being surrounded by trees. It was at that moment that I heard sound, melody which then became Dance," he told, before elegantly striking the key on his black grand piano.
Yiruma started playing the piano at the age of 5, before moving to London at the age of 11, where he studied at the Purcell School Of Music. He gained worldwide recognition through various sold-out shows not only in Asia but also in the US and Europe. He has since released 13 studio albums, including Piano (2015).