The fall of 2021 is remembered as a special time for violinist Edwin Kim. A new album released by Universal Music topped the Kyobo Classical chart for nearly two months. Among Korean classical performers and people in the classical music business, he has been known as an “undervalued artist” and an “artist who will someday be greatly known.” It is questionable whether it is an appropriate expression for the violinist with more than 2,000 performances worldwide. The new release under the title of “Das Leben(The Life)” drew such reviews from major media as “warm and colourful tone that reminds of 20th-century violin virtuosi (Dong-A Ilbo)”, “thrilled with blade-like sharpness (Hankook Ilbo)” and “moved to expect a new start at the end (Kookmin Ilbo)”
The album became a bestseller as those who listened to the album first posted passionate reviews on social media and communities. It is considered unusual for Korean classical superstars Seong Jin Cho, Sumi Jo, and Kun Woo Paik to rank first for such a long time even though their new albums were released at the time.
He was born in the summer of 1976 in Busan, the southern city of Korea. He first encountered the violin when he was nine years old. It was because his mother recommended him to play as a hobby. The dream of a professional performer came to him in his middle school time. His father, who fled alone from the North to the south due to the Korean War and suffered enormously, wanted him to get a “right” job. Much pressure had continued since he declared that he would go to Seoul Arts High School, the undisputed best music school in Korea. Thanks to this environment he decided to go to Austria immediately after graduating from high school. Parents’ economic support was very limited, and poor international student Edwin continued his career by earning living expenses from winning competitions. His class to grow into a musician was far from the elite course that his peers had taken since childhood with passionate support. Still, he graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz as the top student.
Winning various competitions(including first place in the Salieri-Zinetti Chamber Music Competition, Maria Canals Competition, and Tibor Varga International Violin Competition), Edwin’s achievements on the stage were gradually known to Korea.
Eventually, Edwin’s father appreciated his longtime wish as a professional artist and became a great fan of him. When Edwin’s father was seriously ill, Edwin, the only son, returned home to take care of him. Since then, he has continued to play between Korea and Europe, but he has not been widely noticed by the public. As someone said, it may be because he was not a “young and attractive woman” and was from a specific ethnicity. He was known to both sides because he spent half of his life in Germany, Austria, and the UK, but was not deeply accepted to either place. However, as the concert performances and albums became known, the number of broadcasts looking for him increased, and when the concerts were held, enthusiastic fans drove in distant cities and listened to his performances.
He admires David Oistrakh. It is his wish to emulate Oistrakh’s attitude towards music for the rest of his life. He hopes to breathe with the public in the world of violin music he loves. His tone has a distinct personality and he can easily pull off a repertoire that is technically very demanding. He plays the music of Ysaye, Paganini, Saint-Saens as if he is enjoying them, reveals Bach’s spirituality, and depicts Kreisler’s humour deliciously. For him who entered middle age, music is a lifelong job. As Oistrakh and Szeryng did, his music is in full bloom based on unwavering techniques, serious inquiry, and sweet and bitter life experiences.
Edwin E.S. KIM is currently a Professor of Violin at Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Edwin plays on the violin by Lorenzo Storioni in 1753.
Repertoire
Bach Violin Concerto in E Major BWV 1041
Bach Violin Concerto in A minor BWV 1042
Bach Double Concerto in d BWV 1043
Barber Violin Concerto
Bartók Violin Concerto no.2
Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major op. 61
Beethoven Triple Concerto in C Major op. 56
Berg Violin Concerto
Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major op. 77
Brahms Double Concerto in A minor op.102
Bruch Violin Concerto in G minor op.61
Bruch Scottish Fantasy in Eb Major op. 46
Dvořák Violin Concerto in a minor op. 53
Haydn Violin Concert in C Major Hob.VIIa:1
Hindemith Violin Concerto (1939)
Khachaturian: Violin Concerto
Korngold Violin concerto
Lalo Symphonic Espagnole op.21
Mendelssohn Violin Concert in d minor op.40
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor op.64
Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra in d minor
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 1 in Bb Major
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 3 in G Major K216
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 4 in D K218
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 5 in A K219
Mozart Sinfonia Concertante in Eb K364
Mozart Concertone for two violins and Orchestra in C Major K 190
Paganini Violin Concerto no. 2 in b minor op.7
Prokofiev Violin Concerto no.2 in G minor op.63
Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto no.1 op. 20
Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto no. 3 in B minor op. 61
Schönberg Violin Concerto
Shostakovich Violin Concerto no.1 op. 99
Schubert Rondo for Violin and String Orchestra in A Major D 438
Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor op. 47
Stravinsky Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky Concerto in D Major op. 35
Vieuxtemps Violin concerto no.5 in A minor op.32
Viotti: Violin Concerto no. 22 in a minor
Vivaldi Concerto for two violins in D Major
Vivaldi: Four seasons