The Park Sisters

Born in Seoul Korea, Mi-Young and Pong-Hi Park began performing together as a violin-piano duo while Mi-Young was still in grade school. They concertized for 50 years, delighting a wide range of audiences with repertoire spanning over three centuries. Achieving an impressive unity of ensemble and displaying the highest level of musicianship, a number of their recitals were taped and can be heard under Recordings.

Mi-Young Park began violin lessons at age 5.  She continued her studies with Byeongso Ahn, a revered Korean violinist and teacher. In 1955, she was invited to perform for  President and Mrs. Syngman Rhee on his 80^th birthday. She appeared as soloist with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra in 1961, and after winning First Prize at the Korean National Music Competition in 1963, she soloed with the Seoul Philharmonic. At age fourteen, she was accepted by Efrem  Zimbalist as a full scholarship student to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Upon Zimbalist’s retirement, Ms. Park continued her studies with Ivan Galamian and Paul Makanowitzky, graduating in 1971.  She assisted Galamian for two summers at the Meadowmount School of Music. While at the Curtis Institute and following her graduation, she performed as soloist and member of Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. She was regularly featured in 18^th and 19^th century solo violin works on the Orchestra’s subscription series as well as on tour in the US, Europe and Israel. Some of her performances were taped and can be heard under Recordings. Ms. Park collaborated with Concerto Soloists’ Music Director in developing an informed performance approach to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons beginning in the 1980s. The resulting “realistic” interpretation brought an entirely new meaning to many passages in the music that had previously been misunderstood. She was a faculty member of the New School of Music in Philadelphia and Dickinson College. A great part of her career was devoted to performing recitals with her sister Pong-Hi. Because of health issues, Mi-Young limited the number of her performing engagements. In 1986, she purchased a Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu dated 1722 (Cozio 49179) that she played until she retired in 2005. She resides with her husband, conductor Marc Mostovoy, at Medford Leas, a retirement community in  southern New Jersey.

Pong-Hi Park began studying piano when she was four years old and was considered a child prodigy. She graduated from the Seoul National University College of Music, and performed extensively in the Far East before coming to the USA to pursue advanced study with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she received a Master of Arts degree and the coveted Artist Diploma. Upon her graduation from Peabody, she was appointed to the Peabody faculty and taught at Wilson College (PA). She was then asked to head the piano department at Dickinson College in Carlisle PA, where she instructed for over 30 years, gaining a stellar reputation among students and faculty. Her popularity was such that students were put on a waiting list until she had an opening. Ms. Park continued to concertize with orchestra (Pittsburgh Symphony, Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and others), in solo recital, and in duo with her sister — to critical acclaim.

Mi-Young and Pong-Hi performed together until 2005. Mi-Young is now retired and living in southern New Jersey. Pong-Hi passed away in late 2011.