Jeajoon Ryu (b.1970)
Sinfonia da Requiem • Violin Concerto No. 1
Jeajoon Ryu belongs to the most prominent composers of his generation and has wide-ranging musical and extra-musical
interests. He studied composition with two great masters – Professor Sukhi Kang in Seoul (South Korea) and
Professor Krzysztof Penderecki in Kraków (Poland). He also received a Ph.D. in Music from the Music Academy in
Kraków. He has received numerous awards at composers’ competitions. His output includes many outstanding works
which testify not only to his command of the compositional craft but above all to his great talent.
Sinfonia da Requiem
Immediately after the Korean War (1950–53), Korea was
a country in ruins. The country had suffered tremendously
from the ravages of war, and people despaired for their
future. This desperate situation, however, was seen as a
great opportunity by the post-war generation, who strove
to create a new Korea. Their hard work and devotion gave
the Korean people hope and nourished their dreams of a
bright new future. Korea's success today, its economic
development and prosperity, are the result of their efforts.
While we have been enjoying their achievements, it is
sometimes easy to forget those who gave so much of
themselves to rebuild our country after the war. It is
important to show them that they and their incredible
achievements have not been forgotten, and to give thanks.
Their actions may be viewed by some as no more than a
passing phase of our history, but the sacrifices of the postwar
generation are the cause of our position in today's
world.
The Sinfonia da Requiem was composed as a tribute
to those who have devoted themselves to the development
of Korea and who strove for the greater prosperity and
international reputation of our country. It was commissioned
by Chairman Mong Il Chung, and is dedicated
to Juyung Chung, the founder of Hyundai. The work is
scored for soprano soloist and chorus, with a large
orchestra, including triple woodwind and brass and an
extensive percussion section.
Jeajoon Ryu
Violin Concerto
Jeajoon Ryu’s Violin Concerto (2006), was premièred in
December 2006 during the 13th International Festival
‘Laboratory of Contemporary Music’, at the Witold
Lutosławski Concert Hall of Polish Radio in Warsaw, by
the Korean-born British violinist So-Ock Kim and the
Symphony Orchestra of the Podlasie Opera and
Philharmonic conducted by Piotr Borkowski. Despite the
composer’s use of modern expressive devices, this is a
work of truly Romantic provenance. Jeajoon Ryu seems to
have been inspired by the music of his eminent teachers
and mentors, as well as by the European musical tradition,
particularly of the turn of the nineteenth century,
employing the best features of that legacy while treating
them in a creative way…The Violin Concerto is proof of
Ryu’s exceptional talent, his sensitivity to orchestral colour
and texture, his concern for dramatic pacing and his
command of architecture. The work is notable for its
exquisitely scored, almost Mahler-like climaxes, its slow,
meditative introduction and its depth of expression, as well
as the beautifully lyrical solo violin part…It is also
characterized by an imaginative interplay between soloist
and orchestra, which allows for both a virtuoso display
from the soloist (albeit without the typical violin
‘pyrotechnics’) and spectacular sounds from a large
symphony orchestra.
Adapted from a review by
Professor
Marian Borkowski,
the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Warsaw
