Isang Yun
Encyclopedia
Isang Yun was a Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 originally from Korea. According to his official publisher's Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....

 biography of him, he was granted political asylum by West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, eventually becoming a naturalised
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....

 German citizen, following his abduction and torture in 1967 by the South Korean secret service and having been sentenced to death.

Life

Yun was born in Chungmu
Chungmu
Chungmu may refer to:*Chungmu , the posthumous name given to the great generals during the Joseon Dynasty, and these peoples, who was given this posthumous name, are called as Chungmugong ....

 (now Tongyeong
Tongyeong
Tongyeong is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of 238.81 ㎢ and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup , 6 myeon and 11 dong . Chungmu city and Tongyeong county were reunited in 1995, creating Tongyeong City as we know it today...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

) in 1917, the son of renowned poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 Yun Ki-hyon. He began writing music at the age of 14, and began studying music formally two years later, in 1933. He studied at the Osaka Conservatory, and composition under Tomojiro Ikenouchi
Tomojiro Ikenouchi
was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music and professor born in Tokyo, Japan. The son of a haiku poet, Ikenouchi traveled to Paris in 1927, where he studied composition with Henri Büsser and piano with Lazare Levy. His music is influenced by French Impressionist music...

 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 from 1938. After Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he moved back to Korea and participated in the Korean independence movement. He was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese in 1943.

After the war, he did welfare work, establishing an orphanage for war orphans, and teaching music in Tongyeong and Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...

. After the armistice ceasing hostilities in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 in 1953, he began teaching at the Seoul National University
Seoul National University
Seoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...

. He received the Seoul City Culture Award in 1955, and traveled to Europe the following year to finish his musical studies.

In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...

, he studied contemporary music under Pierre Revel, Boris Blacher, Josef Rufer
Josef Rufer
Josef Rufer was an Austrian-born musicologist. He is regarded as a significant figure mainly on account of his association with and writings on Arnold Schoenberg....

, and Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling
Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling
Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling was a German composer.The son of a chemical manufacturer, Schwarz-Schilling embarked upon his musical studies in 1922, first in Munich and later in Cologne, with several extended breaks in Italy. From 1927 to 1929, he studied under Heinrich Kaminski, who also taught Carl...

. He attended the International Summer Courses of Contemporary Music in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

, and began his career in Europe with premieres of his Five Pieces for Piano and Music for Seven Instruments. His music was recognized for its fusion of East Asian and Western classical musical traditions. The premiere of his oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

 Om mani padme hum in 1965 and Réak in 1966 gave him international renown.

He first visited North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 in 1963, and returned there several times after 1979, and promoted the idea of a joint concert featuring musicians from both Koreas, which finally took place in 1990. Yun settled in West Berlin in 1964, and, in 1967, became involved in the East Berlin spy incident. On June 17, he was kidnapped by the South Korean secret police, along with his wife I Soo-ja and many Korean students in West Berlin. He was taken to Seoul, condemned for espionage and sentenced to life imprisonment. A worldwide petition led by Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

 and Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...

 was presented to the South Korean government, signed by approximately 200 artists, including Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.-Biography:Dallapiccola was born at Pisino d'Istria , to Italian parents....

, Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...

, Heinz Holliger
Heinz Holliger
Heinz Holliger Heinz Holliger Heinz Holliger (born 21 May 1939 is a Swiss oboist, composer and conductor.-Biography:He was born in Langenthal, Switzerland, and began his musical education at the conservatories of Bern and Basel. He studied composition with Sándor Veress and Pierre Boulez...

, Mauricio Kagel
Mauricio Kagel
Mauricio Kagel was a German-Argentine composer. He was notable for his interest in developing the theatrical side of musical performance .-Biography:...

, Joseph Keilberth
Joseph Keilberth
Joseph Keilberth was a German conductor who specialized in opera.He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Near the end of World War II he became principal conductor of the Dresden...

, Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...

, György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...

, Arne Mellnas, Per Nørgård
Per Nørgård
Per Nørgård is a Danish composer.-Biography:Nørgård studied with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. To begin with, he was strongly influenced by the Nordic styles of Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen and Vagn Holmboe...

, and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...

. Yun I-sang was released and exiled in 1969, returning to West Berlin. He was not allowed to visit South Korea again.

He taught at the Hanover Academy of Music for a year, and was Professor of Composition at the Hochschule der Künste
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...

 in West Berlin from 1970 to 1985. He obtained German citizenship in 1971. From 1973 he began participating in organizations and conferences in Japan and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 calling for the democratization of South Korea, and the reunification of the country.

His notable students include Daniel Asia
Daniel Asia
Daniel Asia is an American composer.Daniel Asia was born in Seattle, Washington, in the United States of America. He received a B.A. degree from Hampshire College and a M.M. from the Yale University School of Music...

, Jolyon Brettingham Smith
Jolyon Brettingham Smith
Jolyon Brettingham Smith was a British composer, conductor, performer, author, and radio presenter, and a university teacher at the Berlin University of the Arts.-Life and work:...

, and Toshio Hosokawa
Toshio Hosokawa
is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:Hosokawa studied with Yun Isang at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 1998, Hosokawa has served as Composer-in-Residence at the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. In 2004, Hosokawa became a guest professor at Tokyo College of Music...

.

In 1984, the Isang Yun Music Institute opened in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...

, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

. Yun was invited to attend a festival of his music in South Korea in 1994, but the trip was broken off after conflict with the government. On 3 November 1995, Yun died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. The International Isang Yun Society was founded in Berlin in 1996.

Yun is often criticized for his pro-North Korean activities and his close ties with the Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...

 regime. Oh Kil-nam
Oh Kil-nam
Oh Kil-nam is a retired South Korean economist, who defected to North Korea with his wife Shin Suk-jaand daughters, then left them behind to obtain political asylum in Europe.-Early life and education:...

 explained, that Yun persuaded him to relocate to North Korea with his family. But when Oh’s wife Shin Suk-ja
Shin Suk-ja
Shin Suk-ja is a South Korean political prisoner held in a North Korean political prison camp. She is married to Oh Kil-nam and has two daughters Oh Hye-won and Oh Kyu-won...

 and her little daughters were imprisoned in Yodok camp
Yodok concentration camp
Yodok concentration camp is a political prison camp in North Korea. The official name is Kwan-li-so No. 15.-Location:...

, Yun refused to help them.

Music

Yun's primary musical concern was the development of Korean music
Korean music
Traditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people. Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times....

 through Western musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

s. After experimenting with 12-tone techniques
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...

 during his studies at Darmstadt, Yun developed his own musical personality in his works of the early 1960s. Yun's music employed techniques associated with traditional Korean music, such as glissandi, pizzicati and vibrati. Also central to his style was the presence of multiple-melodic lines, which Yun called Haupttöne ("principal" or "main tones").

Yun's composition for symphonic forces followed a systematic pattern. From Bara in 1960 until the Overture of 1974, he concentrated on tone-poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...

 like pieces. He next wrote a series of concerti
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...

, beginning with the Cello Concerto of 1975-1976, and climaxing with the First Violin Concerto of 1981. From 1982 until 1987 he wrote a cycle of five symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 which are interrelated, yet varied structurally. In 1998 violinists Angela and Jennifer Chun recorded his "Sonatina for two violins" and "Pezzo Fatasioso" which was written for Chun Duo.

His life-long concern with his native country and culture was expressed in several of his compositions, including the Exemplum in Memoriam Kwangju which he wrote in 1981 to the memory of the Gwangju massacre
Gwangju massacre
The Gwangju Democratization Movement refers to a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea from May 18 to May 27, 1980. During this period, citizens rose up against Chun Doo-hwan's military dictatorship and took control of the city...

.

Awards

  • Goethe Medal
    Goethe Medal
    The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe Institute honoring non-Germans for meritorious contributions in the spirit of the Institute. It is an official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany....

     (1995)
  • Grand Cross for Distinguished Service of the German Order of Merit (1988) from the Federal Republic of Germany

Operas

  • Der Traum des Liu-Tung (1965)
  • Die Witwe des Schmetterlings (Butterfly Widow) (1967–1968)
  • Geisterliebe (1971)
  • Sim Tjong (1971–1972)

Orchestral

  • Symphonies
    • Symphony No. 1 (1982–1983)
    • Symphony No. 2 (1984)
    • Symphony No. 3 (1985)
    • Symphony No. 4 Im Dunkeln singen (1986)
    • Symphony No. 5, for baritone and orchestra (1987)
    • Chamber Symphony No. 1, for 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings (1987)
    • Chamber Symphony No. 2 Den Opfern der Freiheit (1989)
  • Bara, for small orchestra (1960)
  • Symphonic Scenes (1960)
  • Colloïdes sonores, for strings (1961)
  • Fluktuationen (1964)
  • Réak (1966)
  • Konzertante Figuren, for small orchestra (1971)
  • Harmonia, for 16 winds, harp & percussion (1974)
  • Muak (1978)
  • Exemplum in memoriam Kwangju (1981)
  • Impression for small orchestra (1986)
  • Mugung-Dong (Invocation) for winds, percussion and double bass (1986)
  • Tapis, for string quintet or string orchestra (1987)
  • Konturen (1989)
  • Silla (1992)

Concertante

  • Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981)
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 (1983–1986)
  • Violin Concerto No. 3 (1992)
  • Cello Concerto (1975–1976)
  • Flute Concerto (1977)
  • Clarinet Concerto (1981)
  • Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and Chamber Orchestra (1977)
  • Fanfare and Memorial, for harp and orchestra (1979)
  • Gong-Hu, for harp and strings (1984)
  • Dimensionen, for organ and orchestra (1971)
  • Duetto concertante, for oboe, English horn, and strings (1987)
  • Concerto for Oboe, Oboe d'amore, and Orchestra (1990)

Chamber/Instrumental

  • Five Pieces for Piano (1958)
  • Music for Seven Instruments (1959)
  • String Quartet No. 3 (1959)
  • Loyang (1962)
  • Garak (1963)
  • Gasa (1963)
  • Nore (1964)
  • Shao Yan Yin for Cembalo (1966)
  • Images (1968)
  • Riul (1968)
  • Glissées für Violoncello solo (1970)
  • Piri for oboe solo (1971)
  • Piano trio (1972–5)
  • Trio for flute, oboe & violin (1973)
  • Etude for flute solo (1974)
  • Fragment for organ (1975)
  • Rondell (1975)
  • Duo for viola & piano (1976)
  • Pièce concertante (1976)
  • Königliches Thema for violin solo (1976)
  • Oktett for clarinet(bass clarinet), basson, horn & string quintet (1978)
  • Sonata for oboe & oboe d'amore, harp, viola/cello (1979)
  • Novellette (1980)
  • Concertino for accordion & string quartet (1983)
  • Inventionen for 2 oboes (1983)
  • Sonatina for 2 violins (1983)
  • Monolog for Bassoon for solo bassoon (1983)
  • Clarinet quintet (1984)
  • Duo for cello & harp (1984)
  • Inventionen for 2 flutes (1984)
  • Flute quintet (1986)
  • Quartet for 4 flutes (1986)
  • Rencontre for clarinet, cello & harp (1986)
  • In Balance for harp solo (1987)
  • Tapis for string quintet or string orchestra (1987)
  • Contemplation for 2 violas (1988)
  • Distanzen for woodwind & string quintets (1988)
  • Festlicher Tanz, wind Quintet (1988)
  • Intermezzo for cello & accordion (1988)
  • Pezzo fantasioso for 3 instruments (1988)
  • Quartet for flute, violin, cello & piano (1988)
  • String quartet no. 4 (1988)
  • Rufe for oboe & harp (1989)
  • Together for violin & double bass (1989)
  • Kammerkonzert no. 1 (1990)
  • Kammerkonzert no. 2 (1990)
  • String quartet no. 5 (1990)
  • Sonata for violin & piano (1991)
  • Wind Quintet (1991)
  • Espace I for cello & piano (1992)
  • Quartet for horn, trumpett, trombone & piano (1992)
  • String quartet no. 6 (1992)
  • Trio for clarinet, bassoon & horn (1992)
  • Chinesische Bilder for recorder solo (1993)
  • Espace II for oboe, cello & harp (1993)
  • Clarinet Quintet no. 2 (1994)
  • Ost-West-Miniaturen for oboe & cello (1994)
  • Oboe quartet (1994)
  • Wind Octet (1994)

Vocal/Choral

  • Om mani padme hum (1964)
  • Ein Schmetterlingstraum (1968)
  • An der Schwelle (1975)
  • Der weise Mann (1977)
  • Der Herr ist mein Hirte (1981)
  • O Licht... (1981)
  • Naui Dang, Naui Minjokiyo! (My Land, My People) (1987)
  • Engel in Flammen (1994)
  • Epilog (1994)

External links


See also

  • Koreans in Germany
    Koreans in Germany
    Koreans in Germany numbered 31,248 individuals , according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Though they are now only the 14th-largest Korean diaspora community worldwide, they remain the second-largest in Western Europe, behind the rapidly-growing community...

  • List of Koreans
  • List of Korea-related topics
  • List of 20th century classical composers
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