Yiruma
Encyclopedia
Yiruma is the stage name
of I Ru-ma (born February 15, 1978), a popular internationally known pianist and composer from South Korea
. The name "Yiruma" means "I shall achieve" in Korean
.
Yiruma frequently performs at sold-out concerts in Asia, Europe and North America. His Alma Mater King's College
in England helped him gain European popularity and recognition. Several of his most popular pieces include, "River Flows in You", "Kiss the Rain", and "May Be". His most popular album First Love
was released in 2001.
He began playing the piano at the age of five, and moved to London when he was 11, in 1988, to study at The Purcell School of Music. He possessed dual citizenship of South Korea and England until 2006, when he gave up his UK citizenship to serve in the Navy of South Korea.
. In December 1996 he participated in the album The Musicians of Purcell (Decca
). Graduating from Purcell School of Music in July 1997, Yiruma continued his musical aspirations and completed a Composition major from King's College London
in June 2000. While studying at Kings College, this promising pianist released his first album "Love Scene" through DECCA records. Additionally, during his time in college, he participated in a musical tour in Europe. Making a historical impact for his country, Yiruma was the first Korean artist to receive an invitation to perform at the 2002 MIDEM in Cannes, France. Early in his career, his albums were released in Europe and Asia, they are now available internationally through various online sources such as iTunes, Amazon, and Yiruma's recording label STOMP Records.
In 2001 he released his most popular album to date, "First Love". His #1 selling piece "River Flows in You" was on this album and since 2001 this piece has been released on two other albums (First Love [Repackaged] and Wedding Essentials: The Ceremony) Yiruma released his third album, From The Yellow Room in 2003. Pre-order sales topped 30,000 copies and the album was top-ranked on many popular music charts, including Yes24, Phono, and Hot Tracks. His 12-city Korean tour was a sellout, as well as his November concert at the Seoul National Arts Center.
His fourth album is POEMUSIC. In 2006, the following year, he composed a main theme piece for a popular KBS drama, Spring Waltz
. In his fifth album, h.i.s monologue, he utilized prepared piano. Yiruma has composed soundtracks for musicals, films and plays.
While being internationally successful in the world music industry, Yiruma dutifully decided to fulfill his South Korean patriotic duty of serving his country. Hence, in 2006 he gave up his British citizenship and enlisted in the Korean Navy.
Upon completing his service in the Korean Navy, he began the 2008 Yiruma Come Back Tour, Ribbonized, in 20 cities across Korea. Additionally, on January 1, 2009, he became a DJ for KBS1FM Yiruma's Music from All Around the World.
, the solo piano instrumentation and tendency toward "movements" often leads to labels like "new classical" or "contemporary classical". However, although his composition studies would have included the classics, neither the structure of his pieces nor his technique as a pianist are heavily influenced by them. His music has sometimes been classified vaguely as "popular", as shown by the inclusion of his hit piece River Flows in You on a compilation of wedding pieces titled "Wedding Essentials: The Ceremony". According to the iTunes Store
, he is actually considered a World Music
or New Age
artist.
For the actual structure of his music, the movement and reach required to play his pieces averages around Grade 7 by Royal Conservatory standards. Pattern and repetition feature prominently, however, making the structure more like popular pieces or movie themes than traditional solo piano compositions. Yiruma's pieces are also heavy in simple melody and rhythm, making them immediately attractive to many modern ears.
(权相佑) (a famous actor in Korea), while she was pregnant.
On his spiritual viewpoint, Yiruma has stated, “I’m Christian, and I am not a New-age artist". Most people misunderstand me.” In his album H.I.S Monologue (2006), the artist composed a piece titled, “Lord...Hold my Hand”.
This album was released on August 5, 2004 and is an exploratory album for the artist. Differentiating itself from Yiruma's previous albums, Yiruma experiments with electronic music of various genres. The name expresses his concept for the overall feeling of this album. The image of scattering lights in the night sky is reflected in his use of electronic noises to accompany his piano tinklings. Those who classify Yiruma in a certain genre were surprised by this album, he is not simply a New Age Romantic pianist. On this album, four of the pieces are composed with electric music and four are piano. These concepts had been previously introduced yet Yiruma fully expresses his desire to experiment in this album. Consistently throughout the album, the electronic vibe is present, hence the pieces flow together pleasantly.
Released on July 12, 2005, this album includes the recordings for many of his sold out concerts performed at HOAM Art Hall. Yiruma's many fans include his enthusiastic female followers, young students and their parents, and older fans who find his music soothing and inspirational. His melodies on this album are comforting and different from his studio recordings. While performing live, this artist has a gift of molding his music together into a pleasing arrangement. Audiences receive a welcome break from hectic daily lives by relaxing to Yiruma's calming pieces. This album contains Yiruma's performances during 2003-2004 tours, his sold out solo concerts, and charitable school concerts. Yiruma performed pieces from his albums:'Love Scene', 'First Love', 'From the Yellow Room', 'Oasis & Yiruma', and 'Doggy Poo OST'.
These live performances were recorded by KBS using HD cameras and maintaining the highest quality to ensure fans can actually see Yiruma's facial expressions and witness his lightning fast fingers dance on the piano.
In his 3rd album released on June 20, 2002, Yiruma composes a soundtrack for the movie "Oasis" directed by Lee Chang. In this album, the audience is invited to feel the emotions of the actors while watching a visual expression of their love.
Yiruma's second soundtrack for the Children's film Doggy Poo
OST was released on December 17, 2002. By far the most popular track on this album is “Dream”.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of I Ru-ma (born February 15, 1978), a popular internationally known pianist and composer from 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...
. The name "Yiruma" means "I shall achieve" in Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
.
Yiruma frequently performs at sold-out concerts in Asia, Europe and North America. His Alma Mater King's College
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
in England helped him gain European popularity and recognition. Several of his most popular pieces include, "River Flows in You", "Kiss the Rain", and "May Be". His most popular album First Love
First Love (Yiruma album)
-Track listing:...
was released in 2001.
He began playing the piano at the age of five, and moved to London when he was 11, in 1988, to study at The Purcell School of Music. He possessed dual citizenship of South Korea and England until 2006, when he gave up his UK citizenship to serve in the Navy of South Korea.
Biography
Lee Ru-ma was born in South Korea and was raised and educated in England. Yiruma began playing the piano at the age of five, and subsequently moved to London at the age of eleven (1988), to study at The Purcell School of MusicPurcell School
The Purcell School is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal in 2003, which was received on behalf of the school by Prince Charles, who...
. In December 1996 he participated in the album The Musicians of Purcell (Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
). Graduating from Purcell School of Music in July 1997, Yiruma continued his musical aspirations and completed a Composition major from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
in June 2000. While studying at Kings College, this promising pianist released his first album "Love Scene" through DECCA records. Additionally, during his time in college, he participated in a musical tour in Europe. Making a historical impact for his country, Yiruma was the first Korean artist to receive an invitation to perform at the 2002 MIDEM in Cannes, France. Early in his career, his albums were released in Europe and Asia, they are now available internationally through various online sources such as iTunes, Amazon, and Yiruma's recording label STOMP Records.
In 2001 he released his most popular album to date, "First Love". His #1 selling piece "River Flows in You" was on this album and since 2001 this piece has been released on two other albums (First Love [Repackaged] and Wedding Essentials: The Ceremony) Yiruma released his third album, From The Yellow Room in 2003. Pre-order sales topped 30,000 copies and the album was top-ranked on many popular music charts, including Yes24, Phono, and Hot Tracks. His 12-city Korean tour was a sellout, as well as his November concert at the Seoul National Arts Center.
His fourth album is POEMUSIC. In 2006, the following year, he composed a main theme piece for a popular KBS drama, Spring Waltz
Spring Waltz
Spring Waltz is the fourth and final installment of Yoon Seok-Ho's seasonal drama series, Endless Love directed by Yoon Seok-Ho, following the preceding Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata and Summer Scent.- Series Development :...
. In his fifth album, h.i.s monologue, he utilized prepared piano. Yiruma has composed soundtracks for musicals, films and plays.
While being internationally successful in the world music industry, Yiruma dutifully decided to fulfill his South Korean patriotic duty of serving his country. Hence, in 2006 he gave up his British citizenship and enlisted in the Korean Navy.
Upon completing his service in the Korean Navy, he began the 2008 Yiruma Come Back Tour, Ribbonized, in 20 cities across Korea. Additionally, on January 1, 2009, he became a DJ for KBS1FM Yiruma's Music from All Around the World.
Musical style
Yiruma's musical style is easy to misclassify. Because his music is popular among many listeners who are not familiar with classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, the solo piano instrumentation and tendency toward "movements" often leads to labels like "new classical" or "contemporary classical". However, although his composition studies would have included the classics, neither the structure of his pieces nor his technique as a pianist are heavily influenced by them. His music has sometimes been classified vaguely as "popular", as shown by the inclusion of his hit piece River Flows in You on a compilation of wedding pieces titled "Wedding Essentials: The Ceremony". According to the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, he is actually considered a World Music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
or New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
artist.
For the actual structure of his music, the movement and reach required to play his pieces averages around Grade 7 by Royal Conservatory standards. Pattern and repetition feature prominently, however, making the structure more like popular pieces or movie themes than traditional solo piano compositions. Yiruma's pieces are also heavy in simple melody and rhythm, making them immediately attractive to many modern ears.
Family and spouse
Yiruma married Son Hye-Im on May 27, 2007. The piece "27.May" is about his marriage to Son Hye-Im. Son Hye-Im's younger sister is the Korean actress Son Tae Young, who attended Yiruma’s concert with her husband, Kwon Sang-WooKwon Sang-woo
-Career:Kwon Sang-woo, the most visible example of the so-called "mom-zzang" movement, started his career as a fashion model in the late 1990s. His first acting experience was in the TV drama Delicious Proposal, and for the first few years of his entertainment career he received only minor roles...
(权相佑) (a famous actor in Korea), while she was pregnant.
On his spiritual viewpoint, Yiruma has stated, “I’m Christian, and I am not a New-age artist". Most people misunderstand me.” In his album H.I.S Monologue (2006), the artist composed a piece titled, “Lord...Hold my Hand”.
Studio albums
- 2001 Love Scene
- 2001 First LoveFirst Love (Yiruma album)-Track listing:...
- 2003 From The Yellow RoomFrom the Yellow Room- External links :* *...
- 2005 Destiny of Love
- 2005 Poemusic
- 2006 H.I.S. Monologue
- 2008 P.N.O.N.I
Special albums
- 2004 Nocturnal Lights...They Scatter
This album was released on August 5, 2004 and is an exploratory album for the artist. Differentiating itself from Yiruma's previous albums, Yiruma experiments with electronic music of various genres. The name expresses his concept for the overall feeling of this album. The image of scattering lights in the night sky is reflected in his use of electronic noises to accompany his piano tinklings. Those who classify Yiruma in a certain genre were surprised by this album, he is not simply a New Age Romantic pianist. On this album, four of the pieces are composed with electric music and four are piano. These concepts had been previously introduced yet Yiruma fully expresses his desire to experiment in this album. Consistently throughout the album, the electronic vibe is present, hence the pieces flow together pleasantly.
Live albums
- 2005 Yiruma: Live at HOAM Art Hall
Released on July 12, 2005, this album includes the recordings for many of his sold out concerts performed at HOAM Art Hall. Yiruma's many fans include his enthusiastic female followers, young students and their parents, and older fans who find his music soothing and inspirational. His melodies on this album are comforting and different from his studio recordings. While performing live, this artist has a gift of molding his music together into a pleasing arrangement. Audiences receive a welcome break from hectic daily lives by relaxing to Yiruma's calming pieces. This album contains Yiruma's performances during 2003-2004 tours, his sold out solo concerts, and charitable school concerts. Yiruma performed pieces from his albums:'Love Scene', 'First Love', 'From the Yellow Room', 'Oasis & Yiruma', and 'Doggy Poo OST'.
These live performances were recorded by KBS using HD cameras and maintaining the highest quality to ensure fans can actually see Yiruma's facial expressions and witness his lightning fast fingers dance on the piano.
Movie soundtracks
- 2002 Oasis and Yiruma
In his 3rd album released on June 20, 2002, Yiruma composes a soundtrack for the movie "Oasis" directed by Lee Chang. In this album, the audience is invited to feel the emotions of the actors while watching a visual expression of their love.
Yiruma's second soundtrack for the Children's film Doggy Poo
Doggy Poo
Doggy Poo is a 30-minute stop motion-animated film from South Korea, directed by Kwon Oh-sung, based on Kwon Jung-saeng's 1968 children's book Doggy Poo, illustrated by Annie Rose Godsman. There are both English and Korean-language versions of the film.-Plot:After being "created" by a dog, Doggy...
OST was released on December 17, 2002. By far the most popular track on this album is “Dream”.