South Korean composer Unsuk Chin, Frontiers of Knowledge Award for her “virtuosity and overflowing imagination”

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Music and Opera has been awarded to the South Korean composer Unsuk Chin for developing a distinctive “own voice of broad global impact in contemporary music.” The jury has also highlighted, his “instrumental virtuosity” and an “overflowing imagination“which is capable of “representing symbolic universes of great expressive force.”

The “unique technique” by Chin – the record of the ruling continues – “creates landscapes in constant transformation, where color and texture play a primary role”, developing “an unmistakable aesthetic within the field of current music“.

In particular, the jury highlighted that Chin’s musical approach has been inspired by “philosophical and scientific concepts” and “draws on surrealist literature and visual arts“. Among his catalogue, the jury has highlighted his concertos for solo instruments and his operas, in which he “expands the use of the voice with extended techniques, fragmented writing and sudden contrasts between lyricism and spoken text”, creating a “highly expressive and plastic” vocal music that makes possible “a kaleidoscopic construction of atmospheres”.

Chin’s work, the minutes conclude, “is defined by her sound refinement and her masterful ability to transform sound into a game of illusions and metamorphosis, which make her one of the great innovators in the field of contemporary music,” whose scores “appear on the music stands of the most outstanding performers and orchestras in the world“.

“She is a great orchestrator, with a wide catalog that ranges from chamber music to orchestral works, including opera. She cares a lot about the technical aspect of her music, that is, His music is impeccably written, he has great craftsmanship and a unique sonic imagination.“, highlighted the composer and professor of Composition at the National Autonomous University of Mexico Gabriela Ortiz, who has served as president of the jury.

In the opinion of Víctor García de Gomar, artistic director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and secretary of the jury, Chin “is an absolute reference in the field of contemporary music, and without a doubt she is one of the artists who most clearly has her own stamp, with music that is recognized as soon as it is heard“.

A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST

The artist learned to play the piano and compose self-taught in his native Koreamarked by economic difficulties in accessing formal musical training. Thanks to a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD, he was able to study in Germany with the composer György Ligeti, who instilled in him the self-demand and excellence to develop his own musical voice, with universal and cosmopolitan aspiration, in which what matters is the score, detached from national identities and any other element external to the music itself.

His musical approach is inspired by philosophical and scientific concepts, and is nourished by surrealist literature and the visual arts, as reflected in his operas. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ y ‘The hidden side of the moon’in which “expands the use of voice with extended techniques, fragmented writing and sudden contrasts between lyricism and spoken text,” according to the jury.

His scores appear on the music stands of the most prominent performers and orchestras around the world, and he highlights his close relationship with the Berlin Philharmonicespecially under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, and with the orchestras and opera houses of Montreal, Munich and Hamburg, under the direction of Kent Nagano.

In this edition of the awards, 46 nominations were received with 42 candidates. The award-winning composer was nominated for Uzong Choe y Sebastian Clarenboth professors of Composition at Seoul National University (South Korea).

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, endowed with 400,000 euros in each of its eight categoriesrecognize and encourage contributions of singular impact in the basic sciences, biomedicine, environmental sciences and climate change, information and communication technologies, social sciences, economics, the humanities and music.