Sejong Soloists Press Kit Sejong Soloists Hyo Kang, artistic director Hailed as “one of the top ensembles of today” by CNN, Sejong Soloists has established itself to be a first-class string orchestra that has performed over 500 concerts on major stages around the world. Envisioned twenty years ago as a “young cultural ambassador” by Artistic Director Hyo Kang, a renowned violin professor at the Juilliard School and Yale University, he invited eleven individually distinguished young musicians from eight different nations – Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States – to form Sejong Soloists bringing performances, television and radio broadcasts, youth development activities as well as philanthropic endeavors worldwide. Subsequently, the unique string orchestra has performed in over 100 cities across four continents, recorded seven highly acclaimed albums, premiered seven original musical works, and has been featured in several documentary films. Renowned for its exceptional dynamic style with ranges of quartet-like precision to full orchestra resonance, highlights of Sejong Soloists’ past seasons include appearances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Cadogan Hall in London, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Suntory Hall in Japan, and Seoul Arts Center in Korea to name a few. Sejong served as ensemble-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival from 1996 to 2005 and was the host ensemble for the Great Mountains International Music Festival in South Korea from 2004 to 2010. National Public Radio’s Performance Today and European Broadcasting Union regularly broadcast Sejong Soloists’ performances every year. The ensemble has also made special appearances on various CNN programs hosted by Paula Zahn. Sejong Soloists is named after the 15th century Korean Emperor Sejong the Great who was an advocate of the arts. Sejong Soloists enjoys exceptional support from Samsung. Sejong Soloists has been appointed as an Honorary Ambassador of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games scheduled to take place in PyeongChang, South Korea. Critical Acclaim "Sejong's virtuoso soloists shone. This was a highly physical performance, in which one felt the tug of bow on string, and the inner resonance of wood and varnish, at a deeply visceral level." - The Times (London) "The 15-member International Sejong Soloists form a top-notch conductor-less string orchestra." - The Washington Post "I love the variety of sounds you get. There are moments when I'd swear there are 60 players here. And then there are other times when it has the tightness and the concision of a string quartet." - Fred Childs, Host, National Public Radio's Performance Today "The International Sejong Soloists is a polished ensemble that produces beautiful sounds and projects high spirits..." - The Los Angeles Times "All of the musicians are renowned soloists and they come together tonight as one of the top chamber music groups in the world." -Paula Zahn, CNN's Paula Zahn Now “Two works by Toru Takemitsu, Music of Training and Rest, and Waltz, showed the ensemble’s stellar ability to adapt to diverse musical styles with conviction and precision.” -The Strad (London) “The conductor-less string mini-orchestra thoroughly charmed the crowd with a welcome combination of superior musicianship, crisp ensemble work and a refreshing departure from the usual chamber repertory.” - The Rocky Mountain News “The International Sejong Soloists provided a definitive example of superb string playing... Its superb cohesiveness was a direct result of the seamless match of tone and technique within each instrumental part....The ensemble made a strong impression, deftly meeting the daunting interpretive challenges while playing with masterly control...” - The Sunday Telegram (Worcester, MA) “Hartmann’s Concerto funebre…is performed with passion and commitment by Shaham and the accomplished Sejong Soloists.” ―Gramophone Editor’s Choice April 2014 “Each of these works is a milestone in time; Hartmann’s, fabulously delivered by Shaham and a Korean ensemble [Sejong Soloists], is a near-masterpiece…” ―Sinfini Music | March 17, 2014 | Norman Lebrecht Album of the Week Frankfurter Allgemeine (English Translation May 4, 2013) Die Kirche im Dorf gelassen (Keeping a sense of proportion) The Sejong Soloists from New York Impress at the Alte Oper Frankfurt Despite their name of Far Eastern origin, the Sejong Soloists are an ensemble from New York. Founded in 1994, the ensemble of mostly young musicians seem to rival the prestigious Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, although the Sejong Soloists, as pure string ensemble, are accustomed to a slightly different core repertoire. At a Pro Arte-Concert at the Alte Oper Frankfurt the guests impressively proved to be an artistically top-class formation with flawless intonation, resolute discipline and thrilling spiritedness. It requires a great deal of confidence to begin a program with a composition horrendously complicated like Dimitri Shostakovich´s Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet op.11. No problem for the Sejong Soloists; the rhythmic-harmonic challenges almost seem to spur the fervently focused artists on to set the standard for the evening right from the beginning. For Edvard Grieg’s lovely suite in olden style “From Holberg´s Time” G-major op.40 the ensemble, now with a slightly enlarged lineup (14 musicians), exquisitely succeeded in creating a balance between the beautifully harmonious Sarabande, the slightly nostalgic Gavotte and the mercurially forward moving Rigaudon. For the second half, the soloist Gil Shaham joined the New Yorkers for “Le quattro stagioni” by Antonio Vivaldi - a usually way too often heard, seemingly worn-out concert hall-evergreen. Entirely different this enchanting performance: For the first time in a long while, with Shaham and the Sejong Soloists we witness an ensemble that devotes itself to a serious interpretation of the work, trusting in the impetuosity of the composition, rather than exorbitant accents, overly exaggerated dynamics, or further gimmickry that often strain interpretations of Vivaldi´s “Best of”. However that does not mean that the music sounded inappropriately understated and that the partially also drastic narrative of the composition never fully blossomed. But because of the waiving of anachronistic exaggerations both, music and the special qualities of the instrumentalists were shown in the best light. Harald Budweg Classicaltoulouse.com 07 May 2013 Beautiful Season! On May 6, the “Great Interpretations” Cycle welcomed, after a long absence, one of the greatest violinists of our time and, for the first time, a string ensemble whose reputation deserves particular attention. Gil Shaham and Sejong Soloists presented a program centered around the celebrated Four Seasons of Vivaldi, completed by two relatively rare scores by Shostakovich and Grieg. The first part of the evening featured Shostakovich and Grieg, performed under the astonishing bows of these young musicians—the ensemble a “brainchild” of Hyo Kang, professor of violin at the renowned Juilliard School and Yale University—who invited here eleven young musicians from eight different countries: Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S.—comprising the New York Sejong Soloists. The ensemble has developed and acquired a reputation of which the Toulousian public can finally establish is justified. Playing without a conductor, standing (except for the cellists and the harpsichordist of course!), these incredible artists displayed a musical passion that warms the heart. Absolute cohesiveness, a “diabolical” precision, an overall sense of musical vision was described by Gil Shaham himself: “To play with them is a bit like playing basketball with the NBA!” The diptych of Dmitri Shostakovich, Prelude and Scherzo for string octet, written in 1924‐25 when the composer was still a student at the Leningrad Conservatory, is a testament to the precocity of its 19‐year old creator. Arranged in an arc, like two string quartets in mirror‐image, the group [interpreters] brought out both the elegy and outrage that Shostakovich dedicated to his friend, the poet Volodia Kurtchavov, who was prematurely deceased. They animated the explosive violence, the ardent writing both aggressive and dissonant in this Scherzo, with a virtuosity and collective sense of play that makes this ensemble like one instrument of thirty‐two strings! After this fiery burst, the Holberg Suite (more precisely, the Suite in the Ancient Style, Op. 40: of Holberg’s time) by Edvard Grieg, recovers a world more calm and skillfully “reset”. The Norwegian composer paid homage to these baroque dances. There again one must applaud the precision, the [articulation], the nuances and phrasing, the beautiful characterization of each dance, the trembling fervor of the Prelude to the Scandinavian emphasis of the final Rigaudon, passing through the languor of the Saraband and the Air, also the joviality of the Gavotte. It is in the second part of the concert, dedicated to these mythic “four seasons”, that Gil Shaham finally appeared. A ce lose hearing of this [war‐horse] of all music, expressed by Stravinsky’s whim, which affirmed that “the red‐haired priest didn’t compose five hundred concertos, but the same concerto five hundred times! ….these four concertos are unique masterpieces. Certainly parking, supermarkets, elevators, television have permanently spread these ancient scores throughout the twentieth century…. The melodic and rhythmic invention are astonishing when