BDBD 복닥복닥 for Piano Quintet

December 8th, 2025
Cohen-Davison Theatre
Sunwoo Kim’s Graduate Performance Diploma Recital
Violin Emma Hong
Viola Seoyeon Jun
Cello Jiye Hong
Double Bass Sunwoo Kim
Piano Minjin Kim

This music begins with the small disturbances and movements that drift through a village. Each instrument imitates or collides with others, forming relationships at its own pace and direction within a loose field of tension. Rather than presenting a unified community grounded in harmony, the music depicts the fractures of a small village and a state of coexistence that persists while differences are maintained. Seemingly scattered and trivial fragments accumulate into a single sound, within which the community appears not as a completed form, but as a process that is continually forming and expanding.

작은 마을에서 들려오는 사소한 소란과 움직임에서 출발한 음악이다. 각 악기는 서로를 흉내내거나 부딪히며, 느슨한 긴장 속에서 저마다의 속도와 방향으로 관계를 만들어나간다. 이 음악은 조화를 전제로 한 하나의 공동체라기보다, 차이를 유지한 채 이어지는 작은 마을의 균열과 그 사이에서 형성되는 공존의 상태를 그린다. 산만하고 사소해 보이는 조각들이 축적되어 하나의 소리를 이루고, 그 안에서 공동체는 완결된 형태가 아니라 끊임없이 형성되고 팽창하는 과정으로 드러난다.

Friday Noon30 Concert in Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University
October, 2020

Performer
Clarinet: Juho Chae
Piano: Jiin Kim

molto di molto for flute and piano

2020 January

for Two Pianos

Flapping Ländler for Violin, Cello and Piano

Flapping Ländler draws inspiration from the Ländler generic german dance, built upon a triple meter. Yet, this piece goes beyond the formal convention to explore themes of tension and unease, evoking the sensation of dancing precariously on the surface of water. The piece focues lies in its interplay between traditional structures and counterpoint, highlighting an inherent tension as it attempts to break free from these established norms. Through contrapuntal techniques and musical flow, the piece maintains a formal stability, but it intentionally incorporates rhythmic and harmonic variations, as well as unexpected melodies, to disrupt this sense of stability. This imbalance invites the listener to experience the unease that arises when traditional musical language wavers, and it illustrates an ongoing struggle to excape from conventional forms through moments of tension and contrast. Like a dancer teetering on the brink of losing balance, Flapping Ländler intricately intertwines tradition with evolution, providing a distinctive musical journey that encapsulates the fragile balance between security and uncertainty.

Château de Fontainebleau

July 21, 2023

Fontainebleau, France

Violin Yan Lee

Celio Elise Comte

Piano Ming-Hang Zhang

Road to Home for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano

Commissioned for the Korean Liberation Day event in New Jersey

August 15, 2021

Flute Juae Ji
Oboe Bora Moon
Clarinet Minjoo Kim
Horn Hyunwoo Cho
Bassoon Soonmin Jung
Piano Haena Jee

e molto brillante for String Quartet

9.12.2022 Griswold Hall Baltimore, MD, US Parker Quartet