Latest news with #ViolinConcertoNo.1
New Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: MPO teams up with violin virtuoso Bomsori Kim
THE Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) continues its tradition of exceptional musical collaborations, this time featuring South Korean violin virtuoso Bomsori Kim. Kim's performance, this Saturday at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP), will mark her debut with the MPO. "I'm thrilled to perform Bruch's Violin Concerto with the MPO in Kuala Lumpur. I've heard about the warm, enthusiastic audiences here and it'll be my first time playing there, so I'm excited to share this experience together," the 35-year-old shared in an email interview with Groove. She added: "Performing with new partners is always inspiring. I love how an orchestra and a soloist connect. I hope the audience feels the blend of deep emotions and technical refinement in the music that we are creating. Kim, a regular guest at renowned music festivals across Europe and a prizewinner of many prestigious violin competitions, has been honoured with the Young Artist Award from the South Korean Ministry of Culture. She has performed under acclaimed conductors such as Paavo Jarvi and Fabio Luisi, captivating audiences in Hong Kong, London, New York and Los Angeles with her exceptional musicality. The MPO now joins the ranks of her illustrious orchestral collaborations, which include the New York Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. Together with the MPO, Kim will enchant the DFP audience with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, a work celebrated for its brilliant lyricism. Completed in 1866, this piece opens with the MPO's vigorous and energetic musicianship before the soloist enters with a full, gypsy-like theme and virtuosic flair. A distingushed career In February 2021, Kim signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in Berlin. Highlights of Kim's 2024/25 season include opening with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali, making her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, and touring with the Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hrusa in Germany and Asia. She is also set to debut with the RSB Orchestra Berlin, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and at Wigmore Hall. Additionally, she will return to the Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and Ryan Bancroft, and to Hong Kong with Jarvi. Recent career milestones include her debuts at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic and at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has also toured with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and Jarvi, and made her debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Spanish National Orchestra. Kim has performed with the Vienna Symphony at the Vienna Konzerthaus and made her Concertgebouw debut with the Residentie Orchestra. This highly experienced violinist is a regular guest at renowned festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and Verbier Festival. In 2021, she became the Focus Artist of the Rheingau Musik Festival and began a five-year residency at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival as a Menuhin's Heritage Artist. Her discography with Deutsche Grammophon includes Violin on Stage with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic and a duo album with Rafal Blechacz featuring works by Faure, Debussy, Szymanowski, and Chopin, which won the Fryderyk Music Award for Best Polish Album Abroad. Her latest recording of the Nielsen Violin Concerto with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi won the 2024 Gramophone Award. Born in South Korea, Kim studied at Seoul National University with Young Uck Kim and at The Juilliard School with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes. Kim shared that watching fellow South Korean Kyung-Wha Chung at age 5 was a pivotal moment that deeply moved her and shaped her approach to music. "Chung inspired me with her direct, emotional tone. I also learned from every great musician I've worked with; each collaboration has shaped my voice. "Another moment was when performing Shostakovich Concerto in Montreal, the audience gasped at the cadenza. It was a breakthrough for me," explained Kim, who performs on the 1725 Guarnerius del Gesu violin 'ex-Moller', generously loaned by The Samsung Foundation of Culture and The Stradivari Society of Chicago. Despite demanding schedule, Kim prioritises her fitness routines. "I do yoga almost daily even while touring. it keeps my body flexible, prevents strain from long practices and helps me stay relaxed and focused," said Kim, who is a proponent of yoga, combining physical stretching with mental calm. Beyond her physical wellbeing, she dedicates considerable time to rehearsals. "I study rehearsals carefully, record them, and then mentally rehearse and imagine performing on stage. "That preparation builds confidence. Before going on stage, I will calm myself, focusing on the mood of the opening piece. That mental space prepares me to swim freely in the music," she added. t the upcoming concert, conductor Jaume Santonja returns to lead tha MPO for an evening of sweeping romanticism and passionate tonal colours. The MPO will open the concert with Overture to Byron's 'Manfred', composed by Schumann and based on Byron's great dramatic poem. In addition to the evening performance, Kim will host a violin masterclass on June 26 at 6pm at DFP for music enthusiasts.
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Korea Herald
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
[Exclusive] Composer Chin Unsuk to continue as Tongyeong International Music Festival artistic director
Amid festival's success, Chin's tenure to be extended beyond her initial five-year term TONGYEONG, South Gyeongsang Province -- Renowned composer Unsuk Chin's leadership at the Tongyeong International Music Festival is set to continue, as she and the foundation are close to signing an extension beyond her initial five-year term as the festival's artistic director, according to people familiar with the matter. Now in her fourth year at the helm, Chin presides over this year's festival, which opened Friday in the southern coastal city of Tongyeong under the theme 'Journey Inwards.' The festival opened Friday with a captivating performance by pianist Lim Yunchan, the festival's artist-in-residence, and the festival orchestra led by French conductor Fabien Gabel. The planned extension comes as the festival is enjoying broader popularity and setting its sights beyond Korea. 'The mid- to long-term goal is to expand our audience to other parts of Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan,' Kim So-hyun, the foundation's Director of Artistic Administration, said during a press conference on Friday. The Tongyeong International Music Festival launched in 2002 as a tribute to the internationally acclaimed composer Yun I-sang (1917–1995), who, born in the city, had an active career in Germany. The festival's early journey was challenged by limited funding, a lack of infrastructure and its remote location -- more than a four-hour drive from Seoul. Opened in 2014, the Tongyeong Concert Hall and its renowned acoustics played a key role in propelling the festival's growth. Given that preparations for the festival must begin years in advance, the foundation was expected to start searching for a new artistic director. However, with Chin expressing her willingness to continue, the contract extension is expected to be finalized soon, according to sources. In 2022, then-CEO Lee Yong-min noted that Chin had signed an 'unusually long five-year contract.' At the time, Chin had taken nearly a year to decide whether to accept the role, telling The Korea Herald in a 2022 interview that she had not expected to return to work in Korea after stepping down as composer-in-residence with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018, a position she held for 11 years. TIMF's previous artistic directors include German conductor Alexander Liebreich, who became the festival's inaugural artistic director while serving as principal conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and German cultural manager Florian Riem, who held the role from 2014 to 2020 while also serving as CEO of the foundation. Born in Gimpo in 1961, Chin is one of the most prominent composers of contemporary classical music. She studied composition under Kang Suk-hi at Seoul National University and later with Gyorgy Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany. Her innovative works have earned international acclaim and numerous honors, including the 2004 Grawemeyer Award for her Violin Concerto No. 1, the 2005 Arnold Schönberg Prize and the 2024 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, widely regarded as the 'Nobel Prize of Music.' In addition, "The Unsuk Chin Edition," a comprehensive recording of her works performed by the Berlin Philharmonic, recently won the 2025 International Classical Music Award in the contemporary music category. Her compositions, including the operas "Alice in Wonderland" and "Frontispiece," have been performed worldwide, cementing her reputation as a leading figure in modern classical music. Her upcoming opera — based on the intellectual exchange between physicist Wolfgang Pauli and psychoanalyst Carl Jung — is scheduled to premiere this May in Hamburg.
