Echoes of Elegy: Elgar Sung-Won Yang, London Symphony Orchestra & Hans Graf

• Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85:
• 1 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85: I. Adagio – Moderato 07:40
• 2 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85: II. Lento – Allegro molto 04:58
• 3 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85: III. Adagio 04:20
• 4 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85: IV. Allegro 11:01
• Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84:
• 5 Elgar: Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84: I. Moderato – Allegro 15:28
• 6 Elgar: Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84: II. Adagio 12:01
• 7 Elgar: Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84: III. Andante – Allegro 11:07
• Total Runtime 01:06:35

Info for Echoes of Elegy: Elgar

Cellist Yang Sung-won, who has spent half a century with the cello, suddenly confessed, "I gave up a few times," while looking back at his thoughts. He became a world-renowned musician in 1975 when he was eight years old, winning the French government's Order of Culture and Arts Merit Schvalier (president) and others in 2017, but music was sometimes another word for "frustration."

"I actually closed the cello case twice. In the early 1980s, when I attended the Paris National High School of Music, there was a very competitive atmosphere. I always thought music was about sharing and listening deeply, but I didn't think it should soar above others. I was in my adolescence, and I was thinking of studying other things, such as medicine."

He remembered another life when he was in his 20s and 30s when he was playing on the world stage even after holding the cello again. "Even in the early 1990s, I hesitated to live a life of continuous flights and trains, moving from hall to hall, rehearsing and performing, or putting everything down and living close to nature. There was a lot of wandering."

Still, he quickly held the cello back in his arms because of the emotion he received from music and performance. Just as Stacker's cello performance, an icon and teacher, led his life, his theory is that "good performances and exhibitions seen in childhood are a lifelong gift." "I've been frustrated, but I've had time to think again, so I've got the courage to keep going. I'm sure that good performances will give other people another courage, just as they allowed me to reopen my cello case. I think I'm doing a really good job these days."

In commemoration of its 50th anniversary, Yang Seong-won released its new report "Echo of Elegy: Elga" on the classic label Deca on the 15th. British composer Elgar's late masterpiece Cello Concerto (Op.85) and piano quintet (Op.84). The concerto was performed with the London Symphony Orchestra (conductor Hans Graff), where Elgar premiered the work. It is a masterpiece written right after World War I and feels heartbreak and humanity.

Oh Jung-ju was joined by world-class junior performers such as pianist Park Jae-hong, violinist Song Ji-won and Lim Ji-young, and violinist Kim Sang-jin. Yang Sung-won said, "It's a much more spiritual and dream-like poetic song," adding, "It contains Elgar's reflection and inner feelings to the extent that it's a song that Elgar listened to while dying."

Sung-Won Yang, cello
Jae-hongm Park, piano
Ji-won Song, violin
Ji-young Lim, violin
Sang-jin Kim, violin
London Symphony Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor

Sung-Won Yang
has performed throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. He has given solo and chamber music concerts in prestigious venues as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, the Salle Pleyel and Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Opera City Hall in Tokyo, Symphony Hall in Osaka and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

His recitals have also led to other leading cities, such as London, Rome, Frankfurt, Madrid, Prague, Helsinki, Boston, Seattle, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Sydney and many others.

While exclusive artist for EMI-Korea, his album entirely devoted to Kodály, was "the editor’s choice of the month" Gramophone Magazine, and “critic’s choice of the year" Gramophone Magazine in the UK (December 2003), nominated for best solo album to Edison Awards in the Netherlands. His other recordings for EMI, are works by Rachmaninoff and Chopin, the complete J.S. Bach’s suites for cello solo, and the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations for Cello and Piano. These recordings have all received with great response and success from music lovers and critics alike.

He records for Universal Music/Decca since 2009, his recent recordings are Dvorák Cello Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra(Cond; Znedek Macal) and Trio Dumky (2010); an album combining jazz, Latin music and la variété française with the ensemble Les Bons Becs 'Musical get away' (2011); Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’ trio and Op. 70 No. 2, (2013) with trio Owon which he formed with Violinist Olivier Charlier and Pianist Emmanuel Strosser; and the complete works by Brahms and Schumann for cello and piano with Enrico Pace (2014), complete Beethoven trio (Trio Owon 2015) Sung-Won Yang’s 2nd recording of Bach Suites for Cello Solo for Universal Music/Decca (2017) Complete works for Cello and Piano by F. Lizst and Chopin Sonata with Pianist Enrico Pace.(2018) His Upcoming recordings are Elgar and Schumann Cello Concerti with London Symphony Orchestra with Maestro Hans Graf as well as complete Beethoven for Cello and Piano with Enrico Pace due to be released in 2022 and 2023.

Sung-Won Yang has collaborated with great musicians such as Christoph Eschenbach, MyungWhun Chung, Peter Eötvös, Johannes Kalitzke, Laurent Petitgirard, and Pascal Devoyon. His interpretations of the Cello Concerto by Saint-Saëns, the Brahms Double Concerto, and Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky with the Orchestre Symphonic Français were broadcast by French TV in France and throughout Europe on EurovisionIn addition, France Music, NHK (Japan), and KBS (Korea) among other radios have broadcast many of his live concerts. A regular performer of contemporary music, Sung-Won Yang premiered in Asia Peter Eötvös’ concerto grosso with Seoul Philharmonic, with the composer conducting, and in Austria with the RFO, Austrian Radio Symphoniker.

Born in Korea, Sung-Won Yang graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and was assistant to Janos Starker at Indiana University in the United States. He is regularly invited to be in the jury of the International Competitions such as International String Quartet competition in Banff, Canada, the International Cello Competition André Navarra in France, the International Cello Competition Cassado Japan and the Tongyeong International Competition in Korea. Recipient of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, he is currently a professor of cello at the School of Music Yonsei University in Seoul, visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and Artistic Director of the Festival Beethoven à Beaune, in France.

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