Isang Yun, also spelled Yun I-sang (17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who made his later career in West Germany.

Early life and education

Yun was born in

Sancheong Sancheong County (''Sancheong-gun'') is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. History After the unification of Silla, the Danseong region was known as Jipumcheon prefecture(知品川縣), and the modern day Dangye region was known as ...

(Sansei), Chōsen (today part of independent South Korea) in 1917, the son of poet

Yun Ki-hyon Yun may refer to: *Yǔn, Chinese name of Xionites, a nomadic tribe of Central Asia *Yun (Chinese name) (云/雲), a Chinese family name *Yun (ancient surname), an ancient Chinese surname *Yeon, or Yun, Korean (or Dutch given name) family name *Yun ...

. His family moved to

Tongyeong Tongyeong () is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (neighborhood). Chungmu city and Tongyeong cou ...

(Tōei) when he was three years old. He began to study violin at the age of 13 whereupon he composed his first melody. Despite his father's opposition to pursuing a career in music, Yun began formal music training two years later with a violinist in a military band in Keijō (present day

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

). Eventually his father relented once Yun agreed to enroll in a business school while continuing his musical studies. In 1935 Yun moved to Osaka where he studied cello, music theory, and composition briefly at the

Osaka College of Music is a private university in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1915, and it was chartered as a university in 1958. Undergraduate majors This college has following undergraduate majors * Music Business * Compo ...

. He soon returned to Tongyeong where he composed a "Shepherd's Song" for voice and piano. In 1939 Yun traveled again to Japan, this time to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in order to study under Tomojiro Ikenouchi. When the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

began in December 1941, he moved back to Korea where he participated in the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

. He was arrested for these activities in 1943 and was imprisoned for two months. Yun was interned at

Keijō Imperial University , colloquially referred to as , was an Imperial University of Japan that existed between 1924 and 1946. This university was established in 1924 in Gyeongseong, known as Keijō during the period of Japanese occupation of Korea, now modern-day S ...

Hospital for complications resulting from tuberculosis when Korea was liberated from Japanese rule in August 1945. After the war he did welfare work, establishing an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

for war orphans, and teaching music in Tongyeong and

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

. After the armistice ceasing hostilities in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in 1953, he began teaching at the

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. He received the Seoul City Culture Award in 1955, and traveled to Europe the following year to finish his musical studies. At the Paris Conservatory (1956–57) he studied composition under

Tony Aubin Tony Louis Alexandre Aubin (8 December 1907 – 21 September 1981) was a French composer. Career Aubin was born in Paris. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the Paris Conservatory under Samuel Rousseau (composer), Samuel Rousseau (music theory), ...

and

Pierre Revel Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, and

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

(1957–59), and at the Musikhochschule Berlin (today the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

) under Boris Blacher, Josef Rufer, and

Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling (9 May 1904 in Hannover – 9 December 1985 in Berlin) was a German composer. The son of a chemical manufacturer, Schwarz-Schilling embarked upon his musical studies in 1922, first in Munich and – interrupted by sev ...

. In 1958 he attended the International Summer Courses of Contemporary Music in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

and began his career in Europe with premieres of his ''Music for Seven Instruments'' in Darmstadt and ''Five Pieces for Piano'' in Bilthoven. The premiere of his

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

''Om mani padme hum'' in Hanover 1965 and ''Réak'' in Donaueschingen (1966) gave him international renown. With "Réak" he introduced the sound idea of Korean ceremonial music as well as imitations of the East Asian mouth organ

saenghwang The saenghwang is a Korean wind instrument. It is a free reed mouth organ derived from (and quite similar to) the Chinese '' sheng'', though its tuning is different. It is constructed from 17 bamboo pipes, each with a metal free reed, mounted ...

(Korean), sheng (Chinese) or shō (Japanese) into Western avant-garde music.

Kidnapping

From October 1959, Yun had been living in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

, Freiburg im Breisgau and

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. With a grant from the Ford Foundation, he and his family settled in

in 1964. However, due to alleged acts of espionage, he was kidnapped by the South Korean secret service from West Berlin on 17 June 1967. Via

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

he was taken to Seoul. In prison he was tortured, attempted suicide, forced to confess to espionage, threatened with the death sentence – and in the first instance sentenced to life imprisonment. A worldwide petition led by Guenter Freudenberg and Francis Travis was presented to the South Korean government, signed by approximately 200 artists, including Luigi Dallapiccola, Hans Werner Henze,

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss virtuoso oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classic ...

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer. Biography Kagel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family that had fled from Russia in the 1920s . He studied music, his ...

, Herbert von Karajan,

Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth (19 April 1908 – 20 July 1968) was a German conductor who specialised in opera. Career He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orches ...

, Otto Klemperer,

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

Arne Mellnäs Arne Otto Birger Mellnäs (Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandina ...

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; born 13 July 1932) is a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style has varied considerably throughout his career, his music has often included repeatedly evolving melodies—such as the infinity series—in the vein o ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann. Yun was released on 23 February 1969, returning to West Berlin at the end of March. In 1971, he obtained German citizenship. He never returned to South Korea. From 1973 he began participating in the call for the

democratization of South Korea The June Democratic Struggle (), also known as the June Democracy Movement and June Democratic Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987. The demonstrations force ...

and the

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governmen ...

of the divided country.

Teaching

Yun taught composition at the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (german: Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, italics=unset, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating ...

(1969–71) and at the Hochschule der Künste in West Berlin (1977–85). Among his students are Kazuhisa Akita,

Jolyon Brettingham Smith Jolyon Brettingham Smith (9 September 1949 – 17 May 2008) was a British composer, Conducting, conductor, performer, author, and radio presenter, and a university teacher at the Berlin University of the Arts. Life and work Brettingham Smith w ...

, In-Chan Choe, Conrado del Rosario, Raymond Deane, Francisco F. Feliciano, Masanori Fujita, Keith Gifford, Holger Groschopp,

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio ''Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

, Sukhi Kang, Chung-Gil Kim, Wolfgang Klingt, Erwin Koch-Raphael,

Isao Matsushita Isao Matsushita is the president of JX Holdings, a Japanese petroleum and metals conglomerate, and a Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measure ...

, Masahiro Miwa, Hwang-Long Pan,

Martin Christoph Redel Martin Christoph Redel (born 30 January 1947) is a German composer, music theorist, percussionist and university teacher. Life Martin Christoph Redel was born in Detmold on 30 January 1947 as the son of the flutist Kurt Redel and the pianist Er ...

, Byong-Dong Paik, Bernfried Pröve, Takehito Shimazu, Minako Tanahashi, Masaru Tanaka, Michail Travlos, Jürgen Voigt. After 1979 Yun returned several times to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

to introduce new Western composition techniques as well as his own music. In 1982, the first Isang Yun Festival took place in Pyongyang. In 1984, the Isang Yun Music Institute opened in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. An ensemble had been founded there under his name. Yun promoted the idea of a joint concert featuring musicians from both Koreas in

Panmunjom Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean A ...

, which failed in 1988, but South Korean artists could be invited to Pyongyang in 1990.

Later life and death

Two concerts with works of Isang Yun had been performed in Seoul (1982) by

, Ursula Holliger, and Francis Travis, later by Roswitha Staege and

Hans Zender Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...

. Yun was invited to attend a festival of his music in South Korea in 1994, but the trip was broken off after internal and external conflicts. Yun was told by South Korean officials that to return, he would have to submit a written confession of “repentance,” which he refused. On 3 November 1995, Yun died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The International Isang Yun Society was founded in Berlin in February 1996. Yun has often been criticized for his "pro-North Korean activities", i.e. musical activities in North Korea, and his close ties with the Kim Il-sung regime.

Oh Kil-nam Oh Kil-nam (born 1942) is a retired South Korean economist, who was offered a job as an economist in North Korea, and so South Korean defectors, defected to North Korea with his wife Shin Suk-ja and daughters, then left them behind when he obtaine ...

has said that Yun persuaded him to relocate to North Korea with his family. When Oh's wife

Shin Suk-ja Shin Suk-ja (also spelled Shin Sook-ja; born 1942) is a South Korean woman who is currently imprisoned, along with her daughters, in North Korea after her husband Oh Kil-nam defected from North Korea to Denmark, having been given a political as ...

and her little daughters were imprisoned in Yodok camp, Yun helped them and took photos and a tape from North Korea to Berlin (for further details and Mr. Yun's own comments see the website of International Isang Yun Society). It was only in 2006 the entire East Berlin Spy incident in which Yun was among the accused, was finally declared by the Korean Government a fabrication of the intelligence services.

Music

Yun's primary musical concern was the fusion of traditional

Korean music Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditi ...

through Western avant garde musical techniques. After experimenting with 12-tone techniques Yun developed his own musical personality beginning in his post-serialistic "sound compositions" of the early 1960s. Yun's music employed techniques associated with traditional Korean music, such as glissandi, pizzicati, portamenti, vibrati, and above all a very rich vocabulary of ornaments. Essential is the presence of multiple-melodic lines, which Yun called "Haupttöne" ("central" or "main tones"). Yun's composition for symphonic forces started with "sound compositions", i.e. of works in which homogeneous sound planes are articulated and elaborated: ''Bara'' (1960) until ''Overture'' (1973; rev. 1974). A period of discursively structured instrumental concertos followed, beginning with the Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1975–76) and climaxing with the Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981). From 1982 until 1987 he wrote a cycle of five

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

, which are interrelated, yet varied structurally. Striving for freedom and peace is above all Symphony V for high baritone and large orchestra (1987) with texts by

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...

. In 1984, he developed also a new, intimate "tone" in his chamber music. At that time peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula was his political goal. His lifelong concern with his native country and culture was expressed in several of his compositions, including the orchestral piece ''Exemplum in Memoriam Kwangju'' (1981) which he composed in memory of the

Gwangju massacre The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (Ma ...

, ''Naui Dang, Naui Minjokiyo!'' (My Land, My People) for soli, chorus and orchestra (South Korean poets, 1987), and ''Angel in Flames'' (Engel in Flammen) for orchestra, with ''Epilogue'' for soprano, women's choir and five instruments (1994). Otherwise Yun himself stated often that he was not a political composer but only following the voice of his conscience. In both Europe and the United States, Yun developed a strong reputation as a composer of avant-garde music, assigned those signature elements of traditional Korean musical technique. The technical as well a stylistic difficulties of performing his very elaborate and ornamental music are considered formidable.

Memberships and awards

* Culture Prize of the City of

(1956) * Member (1968) and Honorary Member (1992) of the

Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg The Freie Akademie der Künste in Hamburg e.V. is a Non-profit organization, not-for-profit association of artists, founded in 1950 by the organ-builder and writer Hans Henny Jahnn. It now includes architecture, visual arts, performing arts, lit ...

* Member (1973) of the

Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

, Berlin * (1969) * Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(1988) * Goethe Medal (1995)

Works

All compositions are published by Bote & Bock / Boosey & Hawkes, Berlin. Source: ;Operas * ''Der Traum des Liu-Tung'' (1965) * ''Die Witwe des Schmetterlings'' (''Butterfly Widow'') (1967/68) * ''Geisterliebe'' (1971) * ''Sim Tjong'' (1971/72), written for the Olympics in Munich, with William B. Murray ;Vocal / Choral * ''Om mani padme hum'' for soli, choir and orchestra (1964) * ''Ein Schmetterlingstraum'' for choir and percussion (1968) * ''Vom Tao'' for choir, organ and percussion (1972/88) * ''Memory'' for three voices and percussion (Du Mu, 1974) * ''An der Schwelle'' for barione, women choir, organ and ensemble (Albrecht Haushofer, 1975) * ''Der weise Mann'' for baritone, choir and small orchestra (1977) * ''Der Herr ist mein Hirte'' for trombone and choir (Psalm 23 / Nelly Sachs, 1981) * ''O Licht...'' for violin and choir (Buddhism / Nelly Sachs, 1981) * ''Naui Dang, Naui Minjokiyo!'' (My Land, My People) for soli, orchestra and choir (South Korean poets, 1987) * ''Engel in Flammen. Memento and Epilogue'' for orchestra, soprano, and women choir (1994) * ''Epilogue'' for soprano, women choir, and five instruments (1994) ;Orchestral * Symphonies ** Symphony No. 1 in four movements (1982/83) ** Symphony No. 2 in three movements (1984) ** Symphony No. 3 in one movement (1985) ** Symphony No. 4 ''Im Dunkeln singen'' in two movements (1986) ** Symphony No. 5 for high baritone and orchestra in five movements (Nelly Sachs, 1987) ** Chamber Symphony No. 1, for 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings (1987) ** Chamber Symphony No. 2 ''Den Opfern der Freiheit'' (1989) * ''Bara'' for orchestra (1960) * ''Symphonic Scene'' for large orchestra (1960) * ''Colloïdes sonores'' for strings (1961) * ''Fluktuationen'' for large orchestra (1964) * ''Réak'' for large orchestra (1966) * ''Dimensionen'' for orchestra and organ (1971) * ''Konzertante Figuren'' for small orchestra (1972) * ''Harmonia'' for 16 winds, harp & percussion (1974) * ''Muak'' for large orchestra (1978) * ''Exemplum in memoriam Kwangju'' for large orchestra (1981) * ''Impression'' for small orchestra (1986) * ''Mugung-Dong (Invocation)'' for winds, percussion and double bass (1986) * ''Tapis'' for string orchestra (1987) * ''Konturen'' for large orchestra (1989) * ''Silla'' for orchestra (1992) ;Concertos * Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981) * Violin Concerto No. 2 (1983–1986) * Violin Concerto No. 3 (1992) * Cello Concerto (1975/76) * Flute Concerto (1977) * Clarinet Concerto (1981) * Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and Chamber Orchestra (1977) * ''Fanfare and Memorial'' for orchestra with harp and flute (1979) * ''Gong-Hu'' for harp and strings (1984) * ''Duetto concertante'' for oboe, English horn, and strings (1987) * Concerto for Oboe (Oboe d'amore) and Orchestra (1990) ;Chamber (seven and more players) / Ensemble * ''Music for Seven Instruments'' (1959) * ''Loyang'' for ensemble (1962) * ''Pièce concertante'' for ensemble (1976) * ''Oktett'' for clarinet (bass clarinet), bassoon, horn & string quintet (1978) * ''Distanzen'' for ten players (woodwind & string quintets) (1988) * ''Kammerkonzert No. 1'' (1990) * ''Kammerkonzert No. 2'' (1990) * ''Wind Octet with double bass'' (1991) ;For one instrument * ''Five Pieces for Piano'' (1958) * ''Shao Yang Yin'' for cembalo or piano (1966) * ''Tuyaux sonores'' for organ solo (1967) * ''Glissées'' für violoncello solo (1970) * ''Piri'' for oboe solo (1971) * ''Etudes I-V'' for flute(s) solo (1974) * ''Fragment'' for organ (1975) * ''Koenigliches Thema'' for violin solo (1976) * ''Salomo'' for alto flute solo (1977/78) * ''Interludium A'' for piano (1982) * ''Monolog'' for bass clarinet (1983) * ''Monolog'' for bassoon solo (1983/84) * ''Li-Na im Garten''. Five Pieces for Violin solo (1984/85) * ''In Balance'' for harp solo (1987) * ''Kontraste''. Two Pieces for Violin solo (1987) * ''Sori'' for flute solo (1988) * ''Chinesische Bilder''. Four Pieces for Flute or Recorder solo (1993) * ''Seven Etudes'' for Violoncello solo (1993) ;For two instruments * ''Garak'' for flute and piano (1963) * ''Gasa'' for violin and piano (1963) * ''Nore'' for violoncello and piano (1964) * ''Riul'' for clarinet and piano (1968) * ''Duo'' for viola & piano (1976) * ''Espace I'' for violoncello & piano (1992) * ''Inventionen'' for 2 oboes (1983) * ''Inventionen'' for 2 flutes (1983; arr. 1984) * ''Sonatina'' for 2 violins (1983) * ''Duo'' for cello & harp (1984) * ''Intermezzo'' for cello & accordion (1988) * ''Contemplation'' for 2 violas (1988) * ''Rufe'' for oboe & harp (1989) * ''Together'' for violin & double bass (1989) * ''Sonata for violin & piano'' (1991) * ''Ost-West-Miniaturen I-II'' for oboe & violoncello (1994) ;For three instruments * ''Gagok'' for voice, guitar & percussion (1972) * ''Trio'' for flute, oboe & violin (1972/73) * ''Piano trio'' (1972/75) * ''Rondell'' for oboe, clarinet and fagott (1975) * ''Sonata'' for oboe (oboe d'amore), harp, and violoncello (or viola) (1979) * ''Rencontre'' for clarinet, cello & piano (or harp) (1986) * ''Pezzo fantasioso'' for two (melody) instruments and bass instrument ad libitum (1988) * ''Trio'' for clarinet, bassoon & horn (1992) * ''Espace II'' for oboe, cello & harp (1993) ;Four instruments * ''String Quartet No. 3'' in three movements (1959) * ''Images'' for flute, oboe, violin, and violoncello (1968) * ''Novellette'' for flute and harp with violin and violoncello (1980) * ''Quartet'' for flutes (1986) * ''Quartet'' for flute, violin, violoncello & piano (1988) * ''String Quartet No. 4'' in two movements (1988) * ''Quartet'' for horn, trumpet, trombone & piano (1992) * ''String Quartet No. 5'' in one movement (1990) * ''String Quartet No. 6'' in four movements (1992) * ''Quartet for oboe and string trio'' (1994) ;Five instruments * ''Concertino'' for accordion & string quartet (1983) * ''Clarinet Quintet No. 1'' for clarinet and string quartet (1984) * ''Flute Quintet'' for flute and string quartet (1986) * ''Tapis'' for string quintet (1987) * ''Festlicher Tanz'' for wind quintet (1988) * ''Woodwind Quintet I and II'' (1991) * ''Clarinet Quintet No. 2'' (1994)

Notes

Essential Bibliography

* Hinrich Bergmeier (ed.): ''Isang Yun. Festschrift zum 75. Geburtstag 1992.'' Bote & Bock, Berlin 1992. contains: Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer: ''Identität und Wandel. Zu den Streichquartetten III-VI.'' . * Ae-Kyung Choi: ''Einheit und Mannigfaltigkeit. Eine Studie zu den fünf Symphonien von Isang Yun.'' (= ''Berliner Musik Studien.'' Volume 25). Studio Verlag, Sinzig 2002. * Insook Han: ''Interkulturalität in der neuen Musik Koreas. Integration und Hybridität in der Musik von Isang Yun und Byungki Hwang.'' (''Studien zur Musikwissenschaft.'' Volume 23). Dissertation, Universität Graz 2009, Verlag Dr. Kovac, Hamburg 2011. * Hanns-Werner Heister, Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Der Komponist Isang Yun.'' edition text + kritik, München 1987. (contains more than 30 articles on Isang Yun, Isang Yun's Salzburg conference „Über meine Musik“, a chronology of Yun's works, bibliography, discography). – Korean Editoon: Hang’il, Seoul 1991. – Italian edition: ''Isang Yun. Musica nello spirito del Tao.'' Ricordi, Milan 2007. * Keith Howard: ''Music across the DMZ'', in John Morgan O’Connell, Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco (eds.): ''Music in Conflict.'' University of Illinois Press, Indiana 2010, S. 67–88. * Kunz, H.: "Yun, Isang" a
Grove Music Online
*

Jürgen Maehder Jürgen Maehder (born 1950) is a German musicologist and opera director. He discovered Franco Alfano's original version of the finale for the third act of Puccini's ''Turandot''. He has lectured and staged opera internationally. Career Born in Du ...

, ''Konvergenzen des musikalischen Strukturdenkens. Zur Geschichte und Klassifizierung der Klangfelder in den Partituren Isang Yuns'', in: ''Musiktheorie'', 7/1992, pp. 151–166. * ''MusikTexte.'' Nr. 62/63. Köln, Januar 1996 (contains 17 articles on Yun). * Luise Rinser, Isang Yun: ''Der verwundete Drache. Dialog über Leben und Werk des Komponisten Isang Yun.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt 1977. *

Gesine Schröder Gesine Catharina Magdalene Schröder (born 1957) is a German musicologist and music theorist. She taught music theory at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig from 1992 and has taught at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna sin ...

: ''… fremden Raum betreten. Zum Europäischen in Yuns Musik.'' Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“, Leipzig 2001/2011
(online)
* Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer: ''Isang Yun.'' In: Hanns-Werner Heister, Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''

Komponisten der Gegenwart The ''Komponisten der Gegenwart'' (KDG) is a music encyclopedia in German language about composers of the 20th and 21st century. It is a looseleaf service with information on currently about 900 composers. Editors Hanns-Werner Heister and Walter ...

.'' edition text + kritik, München 1992ff. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer/Hanns-Werner Heister(eds.): ''Der Komponist Isang Yun'', Edition text + kritik, 2. edition Munich 1992. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 1997 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' Berlin 1997. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 1998/99 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 1999. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 2000/01 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 2002. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 2002/03 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 2004. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 2004/09 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 2009. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer: ''„Im Dunkeln singen …“ Luise Rinser und Isang Yun'', in: José Sánchez de Murillo/Martin Thurner (eds.): ''Aufgang. Jahrbuch für Denken – Dichten – Musik'', vol 9, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2012, pp. 104–121. * Ilja Stephan: ''Isang Yun. Die fünf Symphonien'', edd. Heinz-Klaus Metzger/Rainer Riehn, Edition text + kritik, München 2000 (= ''Musik-Konzepte'', vol. 109/110). * Shin-Hyang Yun: ''Zwischen zwei Musikwelten. Studien zum musikalischen Denken Isang Yuns.'' Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2002.

External links

Internationale Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V., Berlin

July 1987

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Isang 1917 births 1995 deaths People from South Gyeongsang Province 20th-century classical composers Korean composers South Korean opera composers German people of Korean descent Kidnapped South Korean people South Korean emigrants to Germany Male classical composers String quartet composers 20th-century male musicians Berlin University of the Arts alumni Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the National Reunification Prize