Isang Yun

On EARL KIM & ISANG YUN, violinist Chi Young Song presents complete works for solo violin by the titular composers, each of whom are of Korean heritage. Blurring the lines between Western musical heritage and traditional Korean music, each piece exhibits the crosscultural and borderless qualities of music. On 12 Caprices for Solo Violin, Chi Young tackles technical, intimate passages rooted in Western standards.

Lim Yunchan's album "Beethoven, Isang Yun, Barber" includes "Concerto for Piano and orchestra No. 5 in E flat Major 'Emporor' op.73" which he performed at Tongyeong International Music hall, Isang Yun's "Exemplum in memory of Kwangju," Barber's "Adagio for strings" and more are included.

This ensemble’s playing is incredibly solid and well-balanced. All four musicians perform at the same level and their music-making is enthralling.

At the end of a career spent between his native Korea and Germany, during which he produced works that span the musical traditions of both countries, Isang Yun expressed a wish to limit himself ‘to what is substantial, in order to transmit more peace, more goodness, more purity and warmth into this world’.

Uncompromising in his life as he was in his music, Korean composer Isang Yun (1917–95) held fast to his dream of a united Korea, even as he was unjustly accused of espionage for North Korea and sentenced to imprisonment and death. From a life of unimaginable oppression and torture emerges music of raw emotional power, heard on Iang Yun - Sunrise Falling, a centennial commemoration of Yun’s life and music from the Pentatone Oxingale Series. Maestro Dennis Russell Davies, a longtime collaborator and advocate for Yun, curates the programme and conducts the Bruckner Orchestra Linz. A cellist himself, Yun’s fascinating, highly autobiographical Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1975/76) anchors the album.

Clarinetist Alicia Lee releases Conversations With Myself, a collection of works for solo clarinet with and without electronics, chronicling a year of artistic activity in isolation. Works by Pierre Boulez, Dai Fujikura, Isang Yun, Unsuk Chin, and Hideaki Aomori make for a program that highlights music by composers of Asian descent and Boulez' iconic work exploring the dichotomy between live performance and pre-recorded material.

For her third disc, the young Korean violinist Sueye Park has explored the repertoire for solo violin, and chosen works spanning exactly 100 hundred years – from Max Reger’s Prelude and Fugue from 1909 to Penderecki’s Capriccio, composed in 2008.

Italian cellist Massimiliano Martinelli is one of the most talented musicians on the international scene today. His album “Bach – Complete Cello Suites”, published under the Halidonmusic label, quickly surpassed 4 million views on YouTube after its initial release – making it one of the most popular recordings of the Bach Suites for Solo Cello on the platform.

Polish-American Kinga Augustyn is a versatile New York City-based virtuoso concert violinist and recording artist.

Yunjie Chen was born in Jiaxing city (Zhejiang province, China). Displaying extraordinary talent at a young age, Chen Yunjie's gifts were nurtured at the Shanghai Music Conservatory. Chen Yunjie subsequently earned degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music. His mentors include You Dachun, Shao Dan, Wu Ying , Phillip Kawin, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio and Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Chen Yunjie won first prize in the national piano competition of China at the age of twelve. He then won the China international piano competition in 1994.