Violinist Kim Bomsori releases 1st album through Deutsche Grammophon

Violinist Kim Bomsori performs during a press conference held to promote her first Deutsche Grammophon album, "Violin on Stage," and recital tour at ODE Port, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Violinist Kim Bomsori poses during a press conference held to promote her first Deutsche Grammophon album, "Violin on Stage," and recital tour at ODE Port, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Violinist Kim Bomsori has released her first album, "Violin on Stage," on Deutsche Grammophon (DG). In it, she focuses on playing violin arrangements of opera and ballet repertoires since commencing her contract with the label in February.

Kim is the third Korean who has signed an exclusive agreement with DG, after pianist Cho Seong-jin and soprano Park Hye-sang in January 2016 and November 2020, respectively. It is known that the label spotted her after she performed in a duo recording for DG with Polish pianist Blechacz, released in January 2019.

"Legendary violinists in the 20th Century, such as Kreisler and Heifetz, arranged opera arias or ballet music and played them. I made this work as if preserving that tradition … I tried to sing those works through my violin," Kim said during a press conference Monday.

The album reflects the great influence of the music of Poland. Opening with Polish composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawsk's "Polonaise Brillante No.1 Op.4," she plays well known and rare classical pieces from opera and ballet repertoires, such as Tchaikovsky's "Pas de Deux" (from "The Nutcracker"), Waxman's "Carmen Fantasy" and Saint-Saens' "Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso Op. 28."

She also played three out of nine works written by Polish composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawski while recording the album with the polish orchestra, the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, in Poland. She made her first album with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra while working with Polish pianist Blechacz on the second album.

When asked to describe her new album, Kim called it "intense," comparing it to the feeling of watching an action thriller film and added that on the first listening, one of her friends became so engrossed in the music that "she was unable to leave her seat, even to go to the toilet."

She said that she focused on playing the instrument as if it were singing, so that listeners will be able to picture a certain image through her performances.

"Since I was young, I really enjoyed singing. I really like the fact that singers can freely express themselves by singing from heart. Recently, I thought I had finally got used to my violin and could use it like a voice. I decided to reflect the voice-like qualities of the violin in the arrangement … I hope that my performances can help the audience to picture images and use their imagination freely ― without being limited by the physical performance space ― and enjoy a moment of freedom."

She is also set to hold a national recital tour beginning Tuesday with pianist Ilya Rashkovskiy. Starting with a recital at Gyeonggi Arts Center in Suwon, she will be performing at Dalseo Smiling Arts Center on Wednesday, Anseong Matchum Art Hall in Gyeonggi Province on Friday and Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on Saturday.

She will be performing Beethoven's "Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, 'Spring'"," Szymanowski's "Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28," and Wieniawski's "Fantaisie brillante sur des motifs de l'opera Faust de Gounod Op. 20."

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