YEESUN KIM
Cello
Hailed by the New York Times for her "focused intensity" and "remarkable" performances, cellist Yeesun Kim enjoys worldwide acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. A founding member of the Borromeo String Quartet, Ms. Kim has performed in over 20 countries, in many of the world's most illustrious concert halls and festivals.
Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 13 with the Korean Broadcasting Service Symphony, Ms. Kim has appeared at such premier venues as Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Her international appearances have included performances throughout Europe and Asia, including the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Opera Bastille in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall and Casals Hall in Tokyo, and the Saejong Cultural Center in Seoul. Currently living in Boston, Ms. Kim enjoys returning to her native Korea, where she is frequently invited to perform as soloist with the Korean Symphony, give recitals and teach.
A much sought after chamber musician, Ms. Kim has performed at such festivals as Spoleto in the United States and Italy, Ravinia, Marlboro, Santa Fe, La Jolla, the Prague Spring Festival, the Vancouver Chamber Music, the Stavanger Festival in Scandinavia and the Evian and Divonne Festival in France. Her frequent collaborations with other artists have included appearances with Joshua Bell, Christoph Eschenbach, Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Menahem Pressler, Rudolph Serkin, Russell Sherman, and Richard Stoltzman, In addition to her extensive concert schedule with the Borromeo Quartet, she has concertized with members of the Guarneri and Julliard String Quartets, and appears frequently as a member of the Pamela Frank-Yeesun Kim-Wu Han piano trio.
As a member of the Borromeo Quartet, Ms. Kim has been part of the Ensemble in Residence for NPR's Performance Today and has had extensive involvement with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Two Program. In this capacity, Ms. Kim has performed on all the series of the Chamber Music Society, including being featured on a "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast. Her radio and television credits also include numerous appearances on WGBH in Boston, Radio France, and NHK Radio and Television in Japan.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, with advanced degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Ms. Kim currently serves on the faculty of the New England Conservatory in the cello and chamber music departments. Her teachers have included Minja Hyun, Hyungwon Chang, David Soyer and Lawrence Lesser.
Recipient of the Chamber Music America's Cleveland Quartet Award and Lincoln Center's Martin Segal Award as a member of the Borromeo Quartet, Ms. Kim has garnered numerous awards individually as well, including winner of the Ewha and Jungagng National Competitions in Korea, and the Seoul Young Artists Award for achievement in music and academics.
Ms. Kim plays a Peregrino Zanetto cello, circa 1576
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Reviews for Yeesun Kim:
She plays in phrases of remarkable concentration, totally unrelated to the hysteria that
passes for intensity with many present-day string players.
-The New York Times, New York, NY
The afternoon's prize came when Yeesun Kim revitalized Shostakovitch's searing Cello Concerto Nr. 1. For years this was so closely identified with Rostropovich that few other players dared touch it. Kim's reading proved revelatory in many respects, not least of which were her complete technical possession of the score and the passion with which she realized it. It was, I think, superior in nearly every respect to the l959 recording made by its dedicatee.
-The Spectator, Raleigh, North Carolina
"The Swan", raptly played by the Borromeo Quartet's cellist Yeesun Kim gave us a dawning star cellist if there ever was one.
-The Sun, Vancouver, Canada
In the Poulenc Sonata, Kim's strengths were in evidence: a warm tone and powerful way with a phrase, as well as extraordinary fluency.
-The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina
One example of Kim's winning cello playing was her repeat of Brahms' opening theme after the piano initially states it. Phrasing is an adjunct art that has to do not only with the written notes, but with the sensibility of an artist's unique way with a song. Just how a melody breathes and forms in time makes for individuality. It is hard to think this beautiful moment has ever been played with more affection, more refinement, more balance than Kim gave it.
-The Times Union, Schenectady, New York
Throughout the evening, Yeesun Kim drew the ear through her consistently beautiful, Impassioned but elegant tone and phrasing and unfailing sense of pitch. She Is an animated performer, but her movements and expressions are a natural extension of the musical phrase rather than a self-indulgent emoting, and her ensemble awareness borders on the Intuitional.
-Cape Cod Times, Massachusetts
Yeesun Kim's Zanetto 1576 instrument projected the quietest sound and the most subtle graduation of dynamics. Her intonation was immaculate and her phrasing plumbed the depths of the score.
-CVNC, North Carolina
Cellist Yeesun Kim set a vigorous pace through the three abstract themes of the opening allegro movement. She infused the drumbeat of repeated tones and jagged rhythms with a mesmerizing energy - a perfect foil for the lyrical phrases of violinists Nicholas Kitchen and William Fedkenheuer.
-Denver Post
Cello
Hailed by the New York Times for her "focused intensity" and "remarkable" performances, cellist Yeesun Kim enjoys worldwide acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. A founding member of the Borromeo String Quartet, Ms. Kim has performed in over 20 countries, in many of the world's most illustrious concert halls and festivals.
Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 13 with the Korean Broadcasting Service Symphony, Ms. Kim has appeared at such premier venues as Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Her international appearances have included performances throughout Europe and Asia, including the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Opera Bastille in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall and Casals Hall in Tokyo, and the Saejong Cultural Center in Seoul. Currently living in Boston, Ms. Kim enjoys returning to her native Korea, where she is frequently invited to perform as soloist with the Korean Symphony, give recitals and teach.
A much sought after chamber musician, Ms. Kim has performed at such festivals as Spoleto in the United States and Italy, Ravinia, Marlboro, Santa Fe, La Jolla, the Prague Spring Festival, the Vancouver Chamber Music, the Stavanger Festival in Scandinavia and the Evian and Divonne Festival in France. Her frequent collaborations with other artists have included appearances with Joshua Bell, Christoph Eschenbach, Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Menahem Pressler, Rudolph Serkin, Russell Sherman, and Richard Stoltzman, In addition to her extensive concert schedule with the Borromeo Quartet, she has concertized with members of the Guarneri and Julliard String Quartets, and appears frequently as a member of the Pamela Frank-Yeesun Kim-Wu Han piano trio.
As a member of the Borromeo Quartet, Ms. Kim has been part of the Ensemble in Residence for NPR's Performance Today and has had extensive involvement with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Two Program. In this capacity, Ms. Kim has performed on all the series of the Chamber Music Society, including being featured on a "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast. Her radio and television credits also include numerous appearances on WGBH in Boston, Radio France, and NHK Radio and Television in Japan.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, with advanced degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Ms. Kim currently serves on the faculty of the New England Conservatory in the cello and chamber music departments. Her teachers have included Minja Hyun, Hyungwon Chang, David Soyer and Lawrence Lesser.
Recipient of the Chamber Music America's Cleveland Quartet Award and Lincoln Center's Martin Segal Award as a member of the Borromeo Quartet, Ms. Kim has garnered numerous awards individually as well, including winner of the Ewha and Jungagng National Competitions in Korea, and the Seoul Young Artists Award for achievement in music and academics.
Ms. Kim plays a Peregrino Zanetto cello, circa 1576
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reviews for Yeesun Kim:
She plays in phrases of remarkable concentration, totally unrelated to the hysteria that
passes for intensity with many present-day string players.
-The New York Times, New York, NY
The afternoon's prize came when Yeesun Kim revitalized Shostakovitch's searing Cello Concerto Nr. 1. For years this was so closely identified with Rostropovich that few other players dared touch it. Kim's reading proved revelatory in many respects, not least of which were her complete technical possession of the score and the passion with which she realized it. It was, I think, superior in nearly every respect to the l959 recording made by its dedicatee.
-The Spectator, Raleigh, North Carolina
"The Swan", raptly played by the Borromeo Quartet's cellist Yeesun Kim gave us a dawning star cellist if there ever was one.
-The Sun, Vancouver, Canada
In the Poulenc Sonata, Kim's strengths were in evidence: a warm tone and powerful way with a phrase, as well as extraordinary fluency.
-The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina
One example of Kim's winning cello playing was her repeat of Brahms' opening theme after the piano initially states it. Phrasing is an adjunct art that has to do not only with the written notes, but with the sensibility of an artist's unique way with a song. Just how a melody breathes and forms in time makes for individuality. It is hard to think this beautiful moment has ever been played with more affection, more refinement, more balance than Kim gave it.
-The Times Union, Schenectady, New York
Throughout the evening, Yeesun Kim drew the ear through her consistently beautiful, Impassioned but elegant tone and phrasing and unfailing sense of pitch. She Is an animated performer, but her movements and expressions are a natural extension of the musical phrase rather than a self-indulgent emoting, and her ensemble awareness borders on the Intuitional.
-Cape Cod Times, Massachusetts
Yeesun Kim's Zanetto 1576 instrument projected the quietest sound and the most subtle graduation of dynamics. Her intonation was immaculate and her phrasing plumbed the depths of the score.
-CVNC, North Carolina
Cellist Yeesun Kim set a vigorous pace through the three abstract themes of the opening allegro movement. She infused the drumbeat of repeated tones and jagged rhythms with a mesmerizing energy - a perfect foil for the lyrical phrases of violinists Nicholas Kitchen and William Fedkenheuer.
-Denver Post