London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Seoul Philharmonic, Unsuk Chin and Sunwook Kim at Cadogan Hall

A tour-de-force concerto that will leave you breathless, Tchaikovsky’s romantic piano concerto opens this inaugural visit from the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra with soloist Sunwook Kim. Programme Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Unsuk Chin Frontispiece for orchestra (2019) Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919) Performers Osmo Vänskä conductor Sunwook Kim piano Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra Sunwook Kim came to international … [Read More]

Unsuk Chin’s Piano Etudes committed to disk

The fiendishly difficult Etudes by Unsuk Chin have been recorded by British pianist Clare Hammond in a disc sponsored by the British Korean Society. It will be released by BIS Records on 2 February and there is a launch event (including a short recital of works from the CD) at the Guildhall School of Music … [Read More]

Seoul Philharmonic records Unsuk Chin for DG

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Chung Myung-whun were in the recording studio for Deutsche Grammophon last month recording Unsuk Chin’s concertos for Sheng (with Wu Wei), Piano (with Sunwook Kim) and Cello (with Alban Gerhardt – who premiered the work at the BBC Proms in 2009 – LKL review here). The orchestra will be coming … [Read More]

MinJung Baek at St Martin-in-the-Fields

I don’t often try to make it to a West End lunchtime recital from the fastnesses of Canary Wharf. But I’m going to make an exception this Friday to try to get to hear MinJung Baek. The programme is an exciting one, including a piano work by Korean composer Unsuk Chin, who had a whole … [Read More]

FT asks for Unsuk Chin

The FT reviews Seoul Philharmonic / Chung Myung-whun playing Debussy and Ravel on DG, a release which coincides with their debut at the Edinburgh Festival http://t.co/Tf9s3on # The playing has precision and delicacy, showcased in the Mother Goose suite, but also the machine-like evenness characteristic of Asian orchestras. La Mer and La Valse are too … [Read More]