Kyung-Wha Chung
Encyclopedia
Kyung-wha Chung is a Korean violinist.
and Itzhak Perlman
. Chung later extended her repertoire in her interpretations of Romantic
, Modern music, Baroque
and Mozart.
with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
. As time progressed she steadily won most of the famous music competitions in Korea
. Chung, with her siblings, toured around the country, performing music both as soloist and as a part of an ensemble. As the children became more and more famous in Korea, Chung's mother felt that it was too small a country for her children to further their musical careers, and she decided to move to America. All of Chung's siblings played classical instruments and three of them became professional musicians. Her younger brother, Myung-whun Chung
is a conductor and a pianist who won the second prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition against Andrei Gavrilov
. Her older sister, Myung-wha Chung
, who plays cello and studied under great Gregor Piatigorsky
, has won many competitions (among them, the Geneva Competition) and currently teaches at the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul.
, Chung received an invitation to audition for Pre-College division of Juilliard. The audition was successful, and Chung was awarded a full scholarship to Juilliard with the possibility of studying under the renowned pedagogue Ivan Galamian
.
Faced with these challenges she was determined to distinguish herself, working so hard that her family began to fear for her health. Galamian's training was very strict, renowned for causing students to leave the school. However, for Chung's work-ethic, it seemed that his technique was exactly what she needed. Her playing matured considerably during this time with the help of her teacher. Galamian, however, was known to be prejudiced against female violinists. Although he knew of her talent, he thought she could go only so far as a professional violinist. He always told her not to get married, as he had seen promising female violinists before her choose marriage over violin performance. Subsequently, she proved the possibility of having children and a successful concert career.
, but because of the Cold War and the tense relationship between the Soviet Union and South Korea, she could not participate. So instead in 1967, she decided to participate in the Edgar Leventritt Competition, a prestigious competition in which Itzhak Perlman
had won first prize. However, many around her tried to dissuade her from participating. Her manager thought that if she did not win, it would be very detrimental to her career.
Her teacher Ivan Galamian was also not in favor of this because Pinchas Zukerman
, another of his students, was participating in the same competition. Because he was being supported by the famous and very powerful Isaac Stern
, Zukerman seemed to have better chance of winning the competition. But to boost her confidence, Chung's determined mother sold the family house in Korea to buy her a Stradivarius
violin.
In the final stage of the competition, the judges found it impossible to decide a winner between Chung and Zukerman, and Isaac Stern demanded that they play again. Yet even after the second time, the judges still could not decide, and finally for the first time in the history of the Leventritt competition, it declared two winners; both Chung and Zukerman for first place. That outcome was a highly remarkable one: because of the exceptionally high standards of the Leventritt competition, in some years the judges picked no winner when they felt that the candidates were not ripe for major concert appearances. It was for the first time in the competition's 27-year history that, two winners were named. Please click here to read the 1967 Time Magazine article on the competition.
Kyung-wha had concerts with major American orchestras such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra
and New York Philharmonic
, and substituted for Nathan Milstein
for his White House
Gala when he became indisposed. However, her career was still not blossoming. Her chance came in 1970, when Itzhak Perlman could not come to London for his concert with London Symphony Orchestra (his wife was giving birth to their child), and Chung was asked to step in at the last minute. The orchestra was initially very hostile to Chung, whom they considered an "amateur". The orchestra started playing the Mendelssohn Violin concerto during the rehearsal, although Chung had been told that she would be playing Tchaikovsky for the concert. However, she played the Mendelssohn concerto perfectly, winning the respect of the orchestra. The rehearsal went smoothly afterwards, and the concert was a huge success.
The success in London meant a lot to her career; she had many engagements in the United Kingdom and she subsequently had an exclusive recording deal with Decca/London. Her debut album with André Previn
and LSO
, which coupled Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concertos, brought her to the international stage.
It was in Europe that Chung then met her second great teacher, the well-known violinist Joseph Szigeti
. Szigeti not only refined her violin skill, but also concentrated on expanding her understanding of music and art. He encouraged her to read books and go to galleries, and Chung later said at an interview that this experience had taught her how a visual medium of artistic expression, such as a painting, might be transformed into musical language.
Since then she has performed around the world, most of the time to critical acclaim. She has worked with most of the major orchestras including Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, and Boston Symphony Orchestra
. She has worked with many famous conductors such as Georg Solti
, André Previn
, Simon Rattle
, Claudio Abbado
, Charles Dutoit
and Riccardo Muti
. She has also worked with many celebrated pianists such as Radu Lupu
, Krystian Zimerman
, Peter Frankl
, Stephen Kovacevich
and her younger brother Myung-whun Chung. She plays also in the Chung Trio
, with her brother and her older sister, Myung-wha Chung. Her repertoire includes most of the famous concertos ranging from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky to Berg
, and she has recorded several important sonatas such as the Brahms violin sonatas, Franck & Debussy sonatas, and Respighi
& Strauss
sonatas (with Krystian Zimerman, a recording which earned her Gramophone Award for Best Chamber Recording). Her interpretations are known to be very passionate but at the same time well structured and with a lot of tonal variations. Her early recordings show the astonishing degree of perfectionism which Chung pursued.
In 1997, she celebrated the 30th anniversary of her international debut at Barbican Centre in London and her hometown, Seoul. Her most recent recordings include Vivaldi's Four Seasons (which was selected as Gramophones editorial choice) and Brahms violin concerto with Vienna Philharmonic under Simon Rattle.
In 2007, she joined Juilliard as a member of the faculty of the school's Music and Pre-College Divisions.
In 2011, she received the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
division for her illustrious, 40-year long career as a violinist and an educator. In November that year, after a five year break with a finger injury and family bereavements, she resumed her playing career .
Biography
Kyung-wha Chung's musical career began at the age of three. Her fame in the seventies and eighties was at the top level, and ranked alongside the great violinists Pinchas ZukermanPinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
and Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
. Chung later extended her repertoire in her interpretations of Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
, Modern music, Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
and Mozart.
Early years
Kyung-wha Chung was born to a very musical family. Her mother recognised her musical talent from a young age (she began to sing at the age of two). With her perfect pitch, Chung was a good singer, winning several small competitions. Following this success she was introduced to the piano, but the instrument bored her so much that she often fell asleep while practicing. However, the moment she first heard the sound of a violin, she was instantly mesmerized by its tone. With an amazing amount of focus, and surprising speed of learning for one so young, Kyung-wha Chung began to play the violin from the age of seven. She was known as a child prodigy, and by the age of nine she was already playing the Mendelssohn Violin ConcertoViolin Concerto (Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 is his last large orchestral work. It forms an important part of the violin repertoire and is one of the most popular and most frequently performed violin concertos of all time...
with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1948, is one of the oldest and most famous orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia in 1977, the United States in 1982, 1986 and 1996, a 1988 tour of Europe before the...
. As time progressed she steadily won most of the famous music competitions in 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...
. Chung, with her siblings, toured around the country, performing music both as soloist and as a part of an ensemble. As the children became more and more famous in Korea, Chung's mother felt that it was too small a country for her children to further their musical careers, and she decided to move to America. All of Chung's siblings played classical instruments and three of them became professional musicians. Her younger brother, Myung-whun Chung
Myung-Whun Chung
Myung-whun Chung is a South Korean pianist and conductor.His sisters, violinist Kyung-wha Chung, and cellist Myung-wha Chung, and he at one time performed together as the Chung Trio. He was a joined second-prize winner in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Chung studied conducting at...
is a conductor and a pianist who won the second prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition against Andrei Gavrilov
Andrei Gavrilov
Andrei Vladimirovich Gavrilov is a Russian pianist.- Life :Gavrilov was born into a multinational family of artists in Moscow. His father was Vladimir Gavrilov , one of the leading Russian painters of the middle of the 20th century, through whom Gavrilov also has German ancestors...
. Her older sister, Myung-wha Chung
Myung-wha Chung
Myung-Wha Chung is a Korean cellist.- Biography :Myung-wha Chung was born in 1944 in Seoul, South Korea, to a musical family...
, who plays cello and studied under great Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
, has won many competitions (among them, the Geneva Competition) and currently teaches at the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul.
America
At age thirteen she arrived in the United States. However, Chung's family found that moving to America was not an easy undertaking. With the help of Myung-Soh, her older flautist sister who was studying at Juilliard SchoolJuilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, Chung received an invitation to audition for Pre-College division of Juilliard. The audition was successful, and Chung was awarded a full scholarship to Juilliard with the possibility of studying under the renowned pedagogue Ivan Galamian
Ivan Galamian
Ivan Alexander Galamian was an influential Armenian violin teacher of the twentieth century.He was born in Tabriz, Iran, but his family soon emigrated to Moscow, Russia. Galamian studied violin at the School of the Philharmonic Society there with Konstantin Mostras until his graduation in 1919...
.
Juilliard
Studying in Juilliard was not easy. The language barrier was huge and being a part of a racial minority group meant that Chung often felt like an outsider. She was one of the best child violinists in Korea, but at Juilliard, competing against some of the best young prodigies in the world, Chung found that her talent was less developed than others.Faced with these challenges she was determined to distinguish herself, working so hard that her family began to fear for her health. Galamian's training was very strict, renowned for causing students to leave the school. However, for Chung's work-ethic, it seemed that his technique was exactly what she needed. Her playing matured considerably during this time with the help of her teacher. Galamian, however, was known to be prejudiced against female violinists. Although he knew of her talent, he thought she could go only so far as a professional violinist. He always told her not to get married, as he had seen promising female violinists before her choose marriage over violin performance. Subsequently, she proved the possibility of having children and a successful concert career.
Career
Chung always wished to compete in the Tchaikovsky Violin CompetitionInternational Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
, but because of the Cold War and the tense relationship between the Soviet Union and South Korea, she could not participate. So instead in 1967, she decided to participate in the Edgar Leventritt Competition, a prestigious competition in which Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
had won first prize. However, many around her tried to dissuade her from participating. Her manager thought that if she did not win, it would be very detrimental to her career.
Her teacher Ivan Galamian was also not in favor of this because Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
, another of his students, was participating in the same competition. Because he was being supported by the famous and very powerful Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, Zukerman seemed to have better chance of winning the competition. But to boost her confidence, Chung's determined mother sold the family house in Korea to buy her a Stradivarius
Stradivarius
The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
violin.
In the final stage of the competition, the judges found it impossible to decide a winner between Chung and Zukerman, and Isaac Stern demanded that they play again. Yet even after the second time, the judges still could not decide, and finally for the first time in the history of the Leventritt competition, it declared two winners; both Chung and Zukerman for first place. That outcome was a highly remarkable one: because of the exceptionally high standards of the Leventritt competition, in some years the judges picked no winner when they felt that the candidates were not ripe for major concert appearances. It was for the first time in the competition's 27-year history that, two winners were named. Please click here to read the 1967 Time Magazine article on the competition.
Kyung-wha had concerts with major American orchestras such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
and New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, and substituted for Nathan Milstein
Nathan Milstein
Nathan Mironovich Milstein was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist.Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for works from the Romantic period...
for his White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Gala when he became indisposed. However, her career was still not blossoming. Her chance came in 1970, when Itzhak Perlman could not come to London for his concert with London Symphony Orchestra (his wife was giving birth to their child), and Chung was asked to step in at the last minute. The orchestra was initially very hostile to Chung, whom they considered an "amateur". The orchestra started playing the Mendelssohn Violin concerto during the rehearsal, although Chung had been told that she would be playing Tchaikovsky for the concert. However, she played the Mendelssohn concerto perfectly, winning the respect of the orchestra. The rehearsal went smoothly afterwards, and the concert was a huge success.
The success in London meant a lot to her career; she had many engagements in the United Kingdom and she subsequently had an exclusive recording deal with Decca/London. Her debut album with André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
and LSO
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, which coupled Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concertos, brought her to the international stage.
It was in Europe that Chung then met her second great teacher, the well-known violinist Joseph Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti was a Hungarian violinist.Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with the renowned pedagogue Jenő Hubay...
. Szigeti not only refined her violin skill, but also concentrated on expanding her understanding of music and art. He encouraged her to read books and go to galleries, and Chung later said at an interview that this experience had taught her how a visual medium of artistic expression, such as a painting, might be transformed into musical language.
Since then she has performed around the world, most of the time to critical acclaim. She has worked with most of the major orchestras including Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, and Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
. She has worked with many famous conductors such as Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
, André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
, Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
, Charles Dutoit
Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
and Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
. She has also worked with many celebrated pianists such as Radu Lupu
Radu Lupu
Radu Lupu is a Romanian concert pianist. He has won a number of the most prestigious awards in classical piano, including first prizes in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition....
, Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman is a Polish classical pianist who is widely regarded as one of the finest living pianists.-Biography:...
, Peter Frankl
Peter Frankl
Peter Frankl is a Hungarian-born British pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period , the Romantic period and the early Modern period...
, Stephen Kovacevich
Stephen Kovacevich
Stephen Kovacevich , who has also been known as Stephen Bishop and Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich is an American classical pianist and conductor.-Biography:...
and her younger brother Myung-whun Chung. She plays also in the Chung Trio
Chung Trio
The Chung Trio is a Piano trio consisting of Korean siblings, each of whom is an internationally renowned soloist. The trio consists of:* Myung-whun Chung * Kyung-wha Chung * Myung-wha Chung...
, with her brother and her older sister, Myung-wha Chung. Her repertoire includes most of the famous concertos ranging from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky to Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
, and she has recorded several important sonatas such as the Brahms violin sonatas, Franck & Debussy sonatas, and Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
& Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
sonatas (with Krystian Zimerman, a recording which earned her Gramophone Award for Best Chamber Recording). Her interpretations are known to be very passionate but at the same time well structured and with a lot of tonal variations. Her early recordings show the astonishing degree of perfectionism which Chung pursued.
In 1997, she celebrated the 30th anniversary of her international debut at Barbican Centre in London and her hometown, Seoul. Her most recent recordings include Vivaldi's Four Seasons (which was selected as Gramophones editorial choice) and Brahms violin concerto with Vienna Philharmonic under Simon Rattle.
In 2007, she joined Juilliard as a member of the faculty of the school's Music and Pre-College Divisions.
In 2011, she received the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
The Ho-Am Prize is a Korean annual award awarded to "those who have made outstanding contributions to the development of science and culture and enhancement of the welfare of mankind," often referred to as the Korean equivalent of the Nobel Prize....
division for her illustrious, 40-year long career as a violinist and an educator. In November that year, after a five year break with a finger injury and family bereavements, she resumed her playing career .
External links
- Kyung-Wha Chung at Opus 3 Artists
- [ Kyung-Wha Chung] at allmusic