Juliana Zara
Earl Lee
Texu Kim
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Unsuk Chin Puzzles and Games from Alice in Wonderland (2019; US Premiere)
Felix Mendelssohn Octet for Strings
Texu Kim with/out (World Premiere)
On May 22, Sejong Soloists presents the world premiere of another commissioned work, with/out, by Korean-American composer Texu Kim. The three-movement work was written specifically to celebrate Sejong’s 30th Anniversary and features four violin soloists – all alumni concertmasters of Sejong who have gone on to major concertmaster posts around the world—Frank Huang (New York Philharmonic), David Chan (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Andrew Wan (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal), and Daniel Cho (Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra).
“I asked each soloist for some thoughts about Sejong before I began composing with/out,” said Kim. “It was no surprise to me that they all mentioned the ensemble's soloistic (and, therefore, virtuosic) nature, but they all also mentioned how family-like Sejong was to them. I wanted to honor this sentiment, and it confirmed my initial idea about this piece being based on 'various human relationships/dynamics.'”
Throughout its three movements, Kim’s with/out explores disconnects among humans in contemporary society. A second-movement cadenza for all four soloists is inspired by the psychological phenomenon of “collective monologues,” when young children all talk at once without appearing to meaningfully communicate with each other. The work’s final movement takes a more optimistic stance and positions Sejong Soloists as a force for connection in a fragmented society. Composer’s program note available HERE [Link TK].
“This opportunity to write for such a terrific group of musicians,” added Kim, “especially violinists, is an enormous privilege, particularly as a person who learned the violin as a kid, and as a student, knew Sejong's reputation for musicality and collaboration with esteemed composers like Earl Kim and Sukhi Kang. I am honored to be in their company, and hope my piece pays proper homage to this group’s history!”
The four violin soloists—Huang, Chan, Wan and Cho—also join members of Sejong Soloists to perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings.
Opening the concert on May 22 is the US premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Puzzles and Games, a 20-minute section of her highly acclaimed opera Alice in Wonderland arranged in 2019 for strings, winds, soprano and percussion and premiered in Germany by the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. The full opera Alice in Wonderland (2007) was named World Premiere of the Year by Opernglas magazine. “I am so happy to work together with Sejong Soloists for the first time,” says Chin. “I have known about their creative, innovative activities for a very long time, and I am deeply touched by their musicality and totally enthusiastic about their highly professional, virtuosic performances.”
The renowned Korean-Canadian conductor Earl Lee, winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, conducts. Lee is in his second season as Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and in his third season as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Puzzles & Games features soloist Juliana Zara, who is making her Carnegie Hall debut. Zara was featured on the cover of Opernwelt Magazine in May 2023, and she has been nominated for both a prestigious German Theater Prize Der Faust for her portrayal of the title character in Berg’s Lulu at Staatstheater Darmstadt, and Opus Klassik’s Singer of the Year for her interpretation of Bubikopf in her recording of Der Kaiser von Atlantis on BR Klassik. She will appear in a production of Alice in Wonderland at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam later this May.
Tickets start at $44
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