Earl Kim, born in California, studied with prominent composers Arnold Schoenberg, Ernst Bloch, and Roger Sessions.
Compositional Technique
In several pieces, Earl Kim constructed musical discourse using palindromes (mirror images), such as in the Violin Concerto where opening string chords and the solo melody are palindromic.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Kim's fascination with voice and narrative stemmed from his childhood experiences learning Korean poetry and folk songs, and listening to opera radio broadcasts with his mother.
Compositional Technique
Kim adapted serialism, a compositional method invented by his teacher Arnold Schoenberg, to serve his own emotional or dramatic purposes.
Composer Biography
Earl Kim was a combat intelligence officer in the Army Air Force and was among the first Americans to fly over Nagasaki after the atomic bombing.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Composer Earl Kim was deeply familiar with Western classical music but also drew inspiration from diverse sources like Korean folk-song, Japanese rock gardens, and Javanese gamelan.
Composition History
The Violin Concerto was written for the renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman in 1979.
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