Young Jo Lee studied composition with Carl Orff and Wilhelm Killmayer in Munich and later taught as a professor at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
Interpretation
Yoora Lee-Hoff recorded this album of Young Jo Lee's music because it allowed her to express her Korean background and artistic identity, which she felt was missing in purely European music.
Notable Performances
Young Jo Lee's opera Hwang-Jini premiered in Seoul in 1999 and has since been performed in major cities including Peking, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Moscow.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Young Jo Lee aims to create a new musical language by combining the strong logic of German music with Korean emotionality, freeing himself from both Western and Korean traditional conventions.
Historical Context
Koreans first encountered Western music in 1885 when an American missionary introduced religious hymns, which greatly differed from traditional Korean music.
Composer Biography
Young Jo Lee, the composer on this album, is the second son of Heung Ryul Lee (1909-1980), a pioneer of Western-style Korean songs known as 'Korea's Schubert'.
Performer Biography
Soprano Yoora Lee-Hoff, born in Seoul, initially studied violin in Seoul, Berlin, and Leipzig before her extraordinary voice was discovered, leading her to pursue vocal studies.
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