Bloch & Bartók: Works for Violin & Piano Suyeon Kang & Stephen De Pledge

• Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959): Nuit exotique:
• 1 Bloch: Nuit exotique 09:10
• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75, BB 84:
• 2 Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75, BB 84: I. Allegro appassionato 13:04
• 3 Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75, BB 84: II. Adagio 11:56
• 4 Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75, BB 84: III. Allegro 10:14
• Andante in A Major, BB 26b:
• 5 Bartók: Andante in A Major, BB 26b 03:18
• Ernest Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47 (Version for Violin & Piano):
• 6 Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47 (Version for Violin & Piano): I. Vidui 03:08
• 7 Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47 (Version for Violin & Piano): II. Nigun 06:32
• 8 Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47 (Version for Violin & Piano): III. Simchat Torah 04:32
• Abodah, B. 66:
• 9 Bloch: Abodah, B. 66 06:24
• Total Runtime 01:08:18

Info for Bloch & Bartók: Works for Violin & Piano

This recording is an element of the First Prize of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, won by Suyeon Kang in 2015. The competition aims to recognise and encourage musical excellence and artistry, and to expand performance opportunities for young violinists from all over the world.

Suyeon Kang particularly admires the two composers on this CD, Bartok and Bloch, specifically valuing how they pursued their own paths in music, mixing folk qualities into their compositions and producing repertoire for violin and piano that she describes as "powerful and daring, searching and rebellious."

"The pairing of works by Bartok and Bloch is inspired, music by a Hungarian and a Jewish composer that shares the same deeply-etched passion to which Kang responds so brilliantly. From the start, she catches the full dramatic impact of Bartok's 1921 First Sonata, as De Pledge lays down mysterious Debussian textures behind her. Producer Wayne Laird almost becomes a third player in the hushed moments of the Adagio, as the microphone reveals the ultimate intimacy of bow on string. A positively seismic jolt from De Pledge sets off a finale that unleashes some formidable fire and fury." William Dart NZ Herald

"A timely and treasurable reminder of the Michael Hill legacy"

Suyeon Kang, violin
Stephen De Pledge, piano

Suyeon Kang
Praised for her innate sensitivity and extraordinary flexibility as a musician- ‘...nowhere was violinist Kang found wanting...’ (Dominion Post, 2016), as well as her depth of understanding- ‘...incredible maturity...more than mere playing of the music but an appreciation and understanding of the possibilities of the music and brought out qualities of ecstasy, pathos and introspection. Kang’s playing at times appeared to be a human, animal or avian presence, intruding into the landscape or soaring above it.’ (National Business Review, 2015), Korean-Australian violinist Suyeon Kang secured the 1st prize and audience prize at the 2015 Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand).

Other international competition successes include major and/or special prizes at the International Violin Competitions of Princess Astrid (Norway, 2016), Indianapolis (USA, 2014), Bayreuth (Germany, 2014), Buenos Aires (Argentina, 2012), Yehudi Menuhin (Norway, 2010), and Leopold Mozart (Germany, 2009). At the age of 16, shortly before relocating to Germany, she received Australia’s most coveted accolade for instrumentalists: Symphony Australia ABC Young Performer of the Year Awards.

Since then, she has performed as soloist with many orchestras throughout Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Asia. Her first CD was released under ABC Classics at the age of 16. Her second album was released in 2017, featuring works by Bartok and Bloch, under the Atoll Label.

Alongside her solistic endeavours she is a passionate and frequently sought-out chamber musician. Previous/upcoming collaborations include concerts with musicians including Lukas Hagen, Clemens Hagen, Isabel Charisius, the ATOS trio, Antje Weithaas, Thomas Hoppe, Eszther Haffer, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Julian Steckel, Maximilian Hornung, Sarah Christian, Hannah Weinmeister, and Daniel Gaede. She performed alongside Christian Tetzlaff and Stephen Isserlis at the 2014 edition of Chamber Music Connects the World in Kronberg.

In 2014 she co-founded the Boccherini Trio (String Trio), to which she dedicates a large part of her musical life. The trio have received important musical impulses from Rainer Schmidt and Hatto Beyerle, as well as from Johannes Meissl, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Natascha Prischepenko and Günter Pichler. Several successful performances all throughout Europe and Australia have led to glowing reviews- ‘A spectacular moment of chamber-music making...from their first note, they offered such a fine, unified sound that captivated each member of the audience’ (LiveKritik, 2014).

As an orchestral musician, she has appeared in leading positions with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Camerata Bern, Ensemble Kontraste, the Euro-Asian Philharmonic, amongst others. Since 2017 she holds a post in the 14-member ensemble Camerata Bern, in Switzerland. Further appearances with the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, and a four-year membership of the European chamber orchestra ‘Spira Mirabilis’ enrichen her orchestral experience.

Kang received her Konzertexamen Degree and Master of Music with highest honours at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, studying with Antje Weithaas. Since October 2016 she holds a teaching contract at the university as Weithaas’s assisant. She completed her undergraduate degree as a student of, and teaching assistant to Daniel Gaede in Nürnberg. Prior to her studies in Germany she studied with Goetz Richter, Alice Waten, and received her first lessons at the age of 6 with Josette Esquedin Morgan.

Aside from the music-making, she has a great affinity for creative writing as well as composition, and has a keen interest in working with underprivileged children. In 2013, as part of the AFSK course at the HfM Hanns Eisler in collaboration with the education program of the Berlin Philharmonic, she undertook a year-long project incorporating music into the lives of children with physical or mental disabilities. During a tour with Chamber Music New Zealand in 2016 she was involved in several outreach programs with El Sistema, youth orchestras, homes for the blind, and the Hohepa community for adults with disabilities.

Booklet for Bloch & Bartók: Works for Violin & Piano