2009 Analekta CD of two works by a Korean composer who studied with, and apparently learned from, Ligeti. Her four movement Violin Concerto
is long on atmosphere, with the orchestra making slowly-shifting
textures rather than melodies, and the the soloist (Viviane Hagner)
frequently making acrobatic leaps but still seeming to blend with the
orchestra rather than stand out as a protagonist. The language feels
like Lutoslawski and Berg, dissonant and cool. Her Rocana for Orchestra
is a 21-minute work with more impressionist color and also more
modernist tendencies -- quite still for most of its length but
punctuated with outbursts that could be by Kalevi Aho. The Montreal
Symphony Orchestra is led by Kent Nagano.
I did it! I got all the way through this description without making
the pun about her violin concerto being 'Chin Music'! ...oh, drat.
From the American Record Guide review:
Unsuk Chin (b. 1961) was born in Seoul and trained there and in Europe, including a period of study with Ligeti. She has earned an impressive list of awards; and top ensembles in Europe, Asia, and the USA have played her music in the last two decades. This is my first encounter with her music, and I am impressed. She clearly has considerable skills--the more you listen, the more you realize how complex this music is, but it is never academic, fussy, or complicated merely for the sake of it. She apparently absorbed Ligeti's aesthetics: just because it is technically challenging and new, it does not have to be impossible for the audience to grasp-people might actually like it. The first piece, Rocana, is an astonishing display of Shin's composition skills. It is a virtuosic orchestral work, played here with skill and grace. The title means "room of light" in Sanskrit, and Shin is, in her own words, attempting to translate the behavior of beams of light into music--not in an entirely literal sense, but in an aesthetic, elastic way. The orchestration itself is not new--there are broad hints of everything from Ravel to Rouse here--it is how she uses the forces of a large orchestra that is so interesting. There was one curious moment as I listened with my eyes closed when the music dissolved into a mosaic of sliding, shifting images in my mind, somehow quite viscous and beautiful all at once. The violin concerto did not give me the same immediate pleasure, but it grew on me after a couple times. You really have to pay attention to hear the subtle nuances of color and shape she is using--and to grasp how she is changing the concept of what a violin soloist is "supposed" to sound like at the front of a large orchestra. The Montreal Symphony, led by Nagano, is the ideal ensemble for this music. Nagano's trademark balance of energy and control is evident here. The brass never overpower others, winds play with good blend and balance, and the orchestra as a whole seems to feed on the exuberance of their leader. A must find for fans of new, exciting music. --Christopher Chaffee
Disc, booklet, and case are in near-mint condition.
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