NPR : Performance Today -- PT Young Artists-in-Residence -- International Sejong Soloists

Nov. 3-7, 2003 -- The sounds of strings fill NPR's Studio 4A. The International Sejong Soloists have been praised as a "top notch conductor-less string orchestra" by the Washington Post. For most of the year, each of these 14 musicians has his or her own successful solo career. But for 20 weeks out of the year, these soloists come together to form the International Sejong Soloists, and one of those weeks is being spent as PT's newest Young Artists-in-Residence.

All this week, we'll get to know each of the 14 Sejongs, and hear music ranging from Bach to Takemitsu, performed live in Studio 4A.

Browse the ISS Biography

Browse the ISS Member Bios

Browse PT's Player Profiles of the ISS

Purchase ISS CDs

INTERNATIONAL SEJONG SOLOISTS LIVE IN STUDIO 4A AUDIO

Friday, November 7

Listen to the entire hour
Violinist Yu-Jeong Lee, the only founding ISS-member playing this week, reflects on how the ensemble has evolved over the past eight years. Violinist Russ Stewart gets an audio blast from the past. Violist Richard O'Neill describes a few of the priceless instruments used by the group. Violist Melissa Reardon settles in, having just become the newest ISS member two weeks ago. And Se-Young Lee reveals why she makes the long commute from San Francisco to play with this New York-based ensemble.

SCHUBERT: Rondo in A for Violin and Strings

GRIEG: Holberg Suite

Thursday, November 6

Listen to the entire hour
ISS Artistic Director Hyo Kang, a violinist and teacher, formed the ensemble in 1996 after experimenting successfully with a group for Dorothy DeLay's 75th birthday celebration at the Aspen Music Festival. Concertmaster Frank Huang sheds light on Hyo Kang's role in the group. Cellist Ole Akahoshi solos in a Haydn concerto that was lost for almost 200 years. The ISS also performs film music by Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. As we learn from bassist Stephen Sas and violinist Neil Dufallo, you don't necessarily need to know the visuals that go along with the music.

J.S. BACH: "Air" from the Orchestral Suite No. 3

TAKEMITSU: "Music of Training and Rest" from Jose Torres and Waltz from Face of Another

HAYDN: Cello Concerto in C major

Wednesday, November 5

International Sejong Soloists in NPR's Studio 4A

Listen to the entire hour
For the ISS's first selection, violinist Russ Stewart picks movie music by William Walton that particularly inspired him, as well as Sir Laurence Olivier. Cellists Ole Akahoshi and Ani Aznavoorian are center stage with music by Vivaldi that Ani first heard when she was 3 years old. Violist Melissa Reardon introduces some atypically tonal and emotional Webern, written for his future wife. Violinist Judy Kang also shares news of the ISS' new summer music festival and school in Korea, while Ole remembers his "scary lessons" with Pierre Fournier, one of the great cellists of the 20th century. "He was not scary to me in his lessons. I just felt he was scary... I was only 11 and he was 80."

WALTON: "Passacaglia" and "Touch Her Soft Lips and Part" from Henry V

VIVALDI: Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor

GERSHWIN: "Lullaby"
ISS at the 2001 Aspen Music Festival

WEBERN: Langsamer Satz (Slow Movement)

Amy Iwazumi, Melissa Reardon and Beth Guterman

Tuesday, November 4

Listen to the entire hour
An "acquired taste" for Brandy -- Violists Richard O'Neill and Beth Guterman take front and center in what was their least favorite Brandenburg Concerto growing up, Bach's violin-less Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. And for something completely different, cellist Ani Aznavoorian takes solo bows in a passionate tango by Italian-born Argentinian composer José Bragato. Plus, composer and Juilliard professor Eric Ewazen gives the background on his Sinfonia for Strings, a piece he wrote expressly for the ISS. According to Ewazen, "[The ISS] are extremely expressive players. They know how to really make their instruments sing, and I love that. As a composer I enjoy so much that they're always letting their emotions be heard through the music that they're playing." We also hear from the sole ISS bassist Stephen Sas, who brings to light his role as a "secret leader."

J.S. BACH: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1051

BRAGATO: Graciela y Buenos Aires, Tango for Cello and Strings

EWAZEN: Sinfonia for Strings, Mvt. 3
from the CD, Sejong Plays Ewazen

Monday, November 3

Frank Huang, Yu-Jeong Lee, Judy Kang and Russ Stewart

Listen to the entire hour
With a name as complex as International Sejong Soloists, comes much explanation. As members of the group reveal, 'International' reflects their widespread reach through tours, plus all the different cultural backgrounds represented in the group; 'Sejong' was a 15th century Korean emperor who was a fervent advocate and contributor to the arts; while 'Soloists' reaffirms that each member is a successful solo musician and has an equally strong voice and opinion in the ensemble.

As the ISS is conspicuously without a conductor, violinist Frank Huang explains how he acts as a pseudo concertmaster to cue entrances and to make sure little things are together. Violist Beth Guterman also asserts the importance of eye contact among all the members of the group. "Frank is not the only one who gives cues... we all really work together. It's very easy, when you respect each other so much, to play with one another."

GRIEG: 'The Last Spring'

DVORÁK: Serenade for Strings

GLAZUNOV: Suite for Strings, Op. 35, Mvt. 2
from the Aspen Music Festival 2002

Na-Young Baek, Stephen Sas, Ani Aznavoorian and Ole Akahoshi

The International Sejong Soloists rehearse in NPR's Studio 4A
Photos: Nerissa Paglinauan, NPR Online