Violin Concerto No. 1 (Unsuk Chin)

Last updated

Unsuk Chin's Violin Concerto No. 1 was written in 2001 on a commission from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, where she was then serving as composer-in-residence. It was given its world premiere by the violinist Viviane Hagner and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Kent Nagano at the Berliner Philharmonie on January 20, 2002. [1] The piece was awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2004. [2] Unsuk Chin later composed a second Violin Concerto, Scherben der Stille (Shards of Silence), in 2021. [3]

Contents

Composition

The concerto has a duration of roughly 27 minutes and is cast in four numbered movements. [1]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo violin and an orchestra comprising two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), two oboes (2nd doubling Cor anglais), two clarinets (2nd doubling E-flat clarinet), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets, two trombones, tuba, timpani, five percussionists, two harps, harpsichord (doubling celesta), and strings. [1]

Reception

The music critic Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle highly praised the concerto, writing, "this is a score of enormous beauty, rhetorical force and structural ingenuity; by rights it should become a staple of the concert landscape." He continued, "The piece lasts about 25 minutes and is laid out in the four-movement plan traditional for symphonies, though not concertos – a substantial opening movement, a slow movement, a brisk scherzo and a lively set of variations on a dancelike tune. The writing is richly colorful without ever sounding turgid, and the solo part combines clarity and eloquence with the sort of dizzying pyrotechnics that any concerto requires." [4] Christopher Dingle of BBC Music Magazine similarly wrote, "With musings around the instrument's four strings providing the starting point to the first three of the four movements, there is a clear unity around which more unusual textures can circulate." He added, "It is not as startlingly original as the more recent Cello Concerto, but it is an absorbing and enjoyable work." [5]

Recording

A recording of the concerto, performed by Viviane Hagner and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano, was released by Analekta on March 24, 2009. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violin Concerto (Beethoven)</span> Concerto composed by Beethoven in 1806

The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1806. Its first performance by Franz Clement was unsuccessful and for some decades the work languished in obscurity, until revived in 1844 by the then 12-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim with the orchestra of the London Philharmonic Society conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Joachim would later claim it to be the "greatest" German violin concerto. Since then it has become one of the best-known and regularly performed violin concertos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esa-Pekka Salonen</span> Finnish conductor and composer (born 1958)

Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, he announced his resignation from the San Francisco Symphony upon the expiration of his contract in 2025.

Unsuk Chin is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with György Ligeti at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin</span> German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin

The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra performs its concerts principally in the Philharmonie Berlin. The orchestra is administratively based at the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) Fernsehzentrum in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violin Concerto (Ligeti)</span>

The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by György Ligeti is a violin concerto written for and dedicated to the violinist Saschko Gawriloff. A performance of the work lasts about 28 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viviane Hagner</span> German violinist

Viviane Hagner is a German violinist. She was born in Munich, Germany in 1977, to a German father and Korean mother. She is sister to Nicole Hagner, the pianist.

Olli Mustonen is a Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Philip Hefti</span> Swiss composer and conductor

David Philip Hefti is a Swiss composer and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabian Müller (composer)</span> Swiss composer (born 1964)

Fabian Müller is a Swiss composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Michael Beyer</span> German composer

Frank Michael Beyer was a German composer.

Alternative Energy is a symphony for electronica and orchestra in four movements by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for whom Bates was then composer-in-residence. It was premiered by the orchestra under conductor Riccardo Muti at Symphony Center in Chicago, February 2, 2012.

Sculpture is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The music was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with support from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation to celebrate the orchestra's inaugural season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Its world premiere was given by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen on October 6, 2005.

Unsuk Chin's Piano Concerto was composed between 1996 and 1997 on a commission from the BBC for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The piece was first performed by the pianist Rolf Hind and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Mark Wigglesworth at St David's Hall, Cardiff, on 6 June 1997.

Triathlon for Saxophonist and Orchestra is a saxophone concerto written in 2020 by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony with support from Michèle and Larry Corash, to whom the piece is dedicated. Its world premiere, initially delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was given by the saxophonist Timothy McAllister and the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall on April 7, 2022.

The Violin Concerto No. 2, Scherben der Stille , is the second violin concerto by the Korean composer Unsuk Chin. It was written for the violinist Leonidas Kavakos in 2021 on a joint commission from the London Symphony Orchestra supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, the Boston Symphony Orchestra supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council's New Works Fund, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The piece was given its world premiere by Kavakos and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle at the Barbican Centre, London, on January 6, 2022.

Unsuk Chin's Clarinet Concerto was written in 2014 on a joint commission from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Philharmonia Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. A partial premiere of piece was given by the clarinetist Kari Kriikku and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano at the Gothenburg Concert Hall on May 8, 2014; the complete concerto was given its world premiere by Kriikku and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert at Avery Fisher Hall on September 23, 2014.

SPIRA—Concerto for Orchestra is an orchestral composition written in 2019 by the South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. It was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which gave the piece its world premiere under the direction of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on 5 April 2019.

Rocaná is an orchestral composition written in 2008 by the South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. The work was commissioned by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian State Opera, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Beijing Music Festival. Its world premiere was given by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montreal, on March 3, 2008.

Subito con forza is a short orchestral composition written in 2020 by the South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. The work was written on a joint commission from BBC Radio 3, the Kölner Philharmonie, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Its world premiere was given by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Klaus Mäkelä at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, on 24 September 2020. The score is inscribed, "On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth."

Milky Ways is concerto for cor anglais and orchestra written in 2022 by the Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen. The work was written on a joint commission from the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and BBC Radio 3. Its world premiere was performed by the oboist Nicholas Daniel and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon at the Helsinki Music Centre, Helsinki, on 15 March 2023. The score is inscribed "for Nicholas Daniel in loving memory of his Mother Billie."

References

  1. 1 2 3 Unsuk Chin (2001). "Violin Concerto". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ Lorenzon, Matthew (April 18, 2018). "Deep Listen: Unsuk Chin Violin Concerto". ABC Classic . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Allen, David (March 13, 2022). "Unsuk Chin on the Violin Concerto She Swore She'd Never Write". The New York Times . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ Kosman, Joshua (September 15, 2004). "Korean composer's brilliant challenge". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Dingle, Christopher (January 20, 2012). "Unsuk Chin – Violin Concerto & Rocana". BBC Music Magazine . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.