Symphonische Szene is Isang Yun's first work for large orchestra composed in Europe, drawing inspiration from the painting style of Jackson Pollock.
Historical Context
In 1967, Isang Yun was abducted by the South Korean secret service from West Berlin to Seoul and charged with espionage for North Korea.
Recording & Production
The recording of Konzertante Figuren on this album is a live recording from a public concert in Cologne in 1980, part of a Korea project by Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Isang Yun's music often features a 'group sound language' where individual players are given special technical tasks, and solo instruments are supported by others from the same family.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The principle of a sound flow maintained in motion by Yin and Yang elements, where the whole is already present in detail, is Taoistic and central to Yun's work.
Compositional Technique
Isang Yun was likely the first composer to transfer the sounds of the East Asian mouth organ, Saenghwang, to the instrumental families of the Western symphony orchestra.
Composer Biography
Isang Yun, born in Korea in 1917, lived in West Berlin from 1964 and became a professor of composition at the Berlin University of the Arts.
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