VIOLONCELLO : EMIL ROVNER
Session 1 / Session 2
Session 1 / Session 2
Teaching Languages English / German / Spanish / Russian
"Emil Rovner is a kind of
polymath of music" (WDR3)
Born in Gorky, Russia, the cellist, singer and conductor Emil
Rovner has established himself as a compelling musician, commanding 'flawless
technical mastery' (FonoForum) and expressive depth, as well as being a sought-after teacher
and festival leader.
Emil Rovner´s most recent projects include
solo perfomances with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (Dvorak concerto),
the Corean Chamber Orchestra in Seoul, the Sinfonietta Cracovia, the
Presidential Symphony Orchestrea of Ankara, a Debut at the Shostakovitch
Festival in Gohrisch with a world premiere of a new piece by Sofia Gubaidulina,
a World Premiere of the "Kyrie in memory of Boris Nemtsov" by Evgeny
Shcherbakov as well as concert performances in Prades (Casals
Festival), Bonn (Beethoven Fest),
Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie), Luzern (KKL), Gstaad (Menuhin Festival),
Copenhagen (Tivoli Concert Hall) etc..
Emil Rovner was born in Gorky, Russia in a
family of musicians, where he began taking cello lessons with Anatoly
Lukianenko at the Glinka Conservatory. By the age of ten he had already given
his solo début with the Gorky City Symphony. He continued his studies with Ivan
Monighetti in Madrid and Basle and completed them with Boris Pergamenschikow at
the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin, where he took his performance
degree. He also received lessons from Mstislav Rostropovich who has had a
strong impact on his artistic development.
He studied Singing with U. Messthaler at
the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and took lessons in conducting from M.
Samorukova.
He has worked closely with such leading
contemporary composers as Sofia Gubaidulina, Valentin Silvestrov, Heinz
Holliger, Per Nørgård, Bernd Franke,Tigran Mansurian, Elena Firsova a.o.
Emil Rovner has won many prizes at
international cello competitions, including a First prize at the Johannes
Brahms Competition in Austria and a First prize at the Lausanne Competition
under the patronage of Lord Menuhin. In 1998 he won the First prize and two
special awards at the J. S. Bach Competition in Leipzig, marking the onset of
his international concert career.
At the recommendation of Vladimir
Ashkenazy, Emil Rovner gave his solo début with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra
under Gary Bertini. Since then he has frequently appeared as a soloist with
orchestras of the stature of the St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Berlin
Symphony, the Bern Camerata, the Moscow Symphony, the Basle Symphony, and the
renowned chamber orchestras of Stuttgart, Basle and Munich among others. He has
played in such renowned venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Leipzig
Gewandhaus, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Bonn Beethovenhaus, Queen Elisabeth
Hall (London), the St Petersburg Philharmonie and the Zurich Tonhalle and at
such festivals as the Berlin Festival, the Leipzig Bach Festival, the
Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Gidon Kremer’s Les muséiques and the Viva Cello
Festival in Basle. Emil Rovner played the German première of Boris
Tschaikowsky’s Cello Concerto in the Great Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie and
gave his début at Lucerne Festival. He is co-founder and artistic director of
the Resonanzen Festival in St Moritz and the Mieczyslaw Weinberg Festival in
Dresden.
A passionate chamber musician, Emil Rovner
performs with artist like Pavel Gililov, Itamar Golan, Martin Helmchen, Alla
Ivanzhina, Ana Chumachenko, Vaclav Hudecek, Patrick Gallois, Michel Lethiec and
Sol Gabetta. In October 2007 he became one of the youngest professors at the
Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden. He holds international
master-classes and is Jury member at international cello competitions
like Prague Spring competition and Janacek competition. Many of his students
have won prizes at international cello and chamber music competitions. His
CD release of the solo works by Mieczyslaw Weinberg in 2010 (a première
recording) was awarded five stars by the trade journal FonoForum and nominated
for the Echo Classic Prize.
Emil Rovner plays a cello built by the Franco-Israeli
violinmaker Yair Hod Fainas (Paris, 2012) and a cello made by Thorsten Theis
(Germany, 2014)
VIOLONCELLO : MINJI KIM
Session 1
Teaching Languages Korean / English / FrenchSession 1
Cellist Minji Kim made her U.S. Debut after winning the 2003 Astral Artists National Audition in U.S. She entered the School for the Gifted in Arts, Korea National University of Arts when she was 16, and after graduating in 2000, she graduated from the New England Conservatory after completing her Master of Music, G.D. and D.M.A, receiving full scholarship. She received the Frank Huntingtun Beede Fund for Musicians in 2005, and graduated from Toulouse Conservatory of Music in France with an Artist Diploma.
She won the first prize in Dong-A Ilbo, Joong-Ang Ilbo, Korean News and Chosun Ilbo Competitions, the grand prize in Nanpa Competition and KBS New Musicians Competition.
She was also the first Korean to receive scholarship after being invited to Emanuel Feuermann International Cello Competition, where only 12 musicians all over the world were invited.
She won the second prize at the Premio Arturo Bonucci International Cello Competition, the third prize at the Adam International Cell Competition, and the first prizes in the Hudson Valley Strings Competitions, New England Conservatory Strings Competition and HAMS International Competition. She also won the first prize and special award for commissioned piece at the Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition.
She performed solo recitals and accompaniments at Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Trinity Center, Jordon Hall in Boston and Gardner Museum. Her live recitals were on air on the Dame Myra Hess Concerts Series in Chicago and WMFT Chicago Radio.
She was invited to perform, as a soloist, by the Haddonfield Symphony, Hudson Valley Symphony, Marine Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, and symphony orchestras in Korea such as KBS, Seoul, Suwon, Wonju, Incheon, Cheongju, Goonsan, Choongnam, Daegu, Gangnam.
She was also selected for the entire repertoire of Beethoven series hosted by the Seoul Arts Center, performing with Daejin Kim and Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra. And she successfully completed the Beethoven-Brahms Series with world-renown pianist Dong-il Hand and the Korea tour recital with Taehyung Kim who is one of the leading pianists of the next generation.
She also hosted a recital with Ilya Rashkovsky, a rising star in Russia, was also invited to the Philharmonic Festival to play with Cheingju Philharmonic which solidified her ground in Korea as a soloist.
Minji Kim was the first Asian to serve as the associate concertmaster of Reina Sofia Orchestra in Spain led by Lorin Mazel. She also served as the concertmaster at the Seoul Arts Center Festival Orchestra.
She is teaching as a Professor for cello at the Seoul National University in South Korea.
VIOLONCELLO : HEEYOUNG LIM
Session 2
Session 2
Teaching Languages Korean / English / French
Born in Seoul, Hee-Young Lim was accepted to the Pre-College division of Korea National University of Arts at age 11 and graduated from Yewon Arts School, where she was received the Excellence in Music as the Most Distinguished Alumni Award. She entered the Korea National University of Arts at age 15, as the youngest student.
She moved to the United States to further her education at the New England Conservatory. Upon graduation at NEC, she went on to study at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, studying with Philippe Muller, where she graduated with 'Highest Distinction (‘mention très bien à l’unanimité’). She is also a graduate of Hochschule fuer Musik 'Franz Liszt' Weimar, where she earned her Konzertexamen degree 'mit Auszeichnung' (summa sum laude).
Hee-Young was appointed as the Principal Solo Cellist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Yannick Nezet-Seguin, after an extended (four-year) search to fill this position. She was one of the first female Asian cellists ever lead a section in a major European orchestra.
In-demand as a soloist, she has in recent years performed with distinguished ensembles including the Deutsche Berlin Chamber Orchestra, the Budapest Radio Philharmonic, the Warsaw National Philharmonic, the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra, the Baden-Baden Philharmonie, the Beijing Symphony and many others.
As an enthusiast advocate of contemporary music, Hee-Young is privileged to champion he work of today's composers. 19/20 season, she will complete the Bach Suite Cycle in Beijing and Zhuhai, two cities in China, duo recital and duo recording with cellist Philippe Muller, publish two books about cello technique and Bach Cello Suites, recitals in Guangzhou, Seoul, Beijing, Taiwan, featured as soloist with Beijing Symphony, Wuhan Symphony, Camerata Gallega Chamber Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Daegu Symphony, Gwangju Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, Gangnam Symphony and Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra.
Her debut recording with the London Symphony Orchestra for the Sony Classical in November 2018, has received critical acclaim from Gramophone, Strad and BBC Music Magazine. Her second recording of Russian Cello Sonatas is expected to be released in January 2020.
Currently she serves as a Professor of Cello at the Beijing Central Conservatory, China.
林希映 出生于首尔，起初就读于韩国国立艺术大学预科与艺苑艺术学校，荣
在当红指挥雅尼克·涅杰-瑟贡担任鹿特丹爱乐乐团首席指挥时， 林希映被任命为乐团大提琴首席。演奏之外，教学工作也成为林希映
作为独奏家的林希映，近年与诸多乐团有过合作经历，其中包括德意
除此以外，她也是韩国广播电台、WETA、WFMT、KUHF、
2018年11月，林希映发行了自己的首张个人专辑，该专辑为林
《华盛顿邮报》曾这样评价大提琴家林希映，称赞她是“一位才华横
在当红指挥雅尼克·涅杰-瑟贡担任鹿特丹爱乐乐团首席指挥时， 林希映被任命为乐团大提琴首席。演奏之外，教学工作也成为林希映
作为独奏家的林希映，近年与诸多乐团有过合作经历，其中包括德意
除此以外，她也是韩国广播电台、WETA、WFMT、KUHF、
2018年11月，林希映发行了自己的首张个人专辑，该专辑为林
《华盛顿邮报》曾这样评价大提琴家林希映，称赞她是“一位才华横
VIOLONCELLO : YuJeong Lee
Session 1
Teaching Languages English / French / KoreanSession 1
"YuJeong Lee's interpretation of Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations Op. 33 showed technical flawlessness, rich sound and rational ways of phrasings, all which generated the performance into a success." - The Strad
"One of the most sought-out and capable cellists of her generation." - Lynn Harrell
Young, vibrant cellist YuJeong Lee's dynamic presence on the international concert stage has earned from plaudits from audiences, critics, competition juries alike. Having started playing the cello at the age of nine, YuJeong Lee has pursued her musical studies internationally at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris (entering at the age of 15), Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles,
and has graduated from The Juilliard School by completing Professional Studies where she was a recipient of Genevieve Hustead scholarship.
Ms. Lee gave her debut recital at the age of 13 in Sejong Hall in Seoul, Korea and has been performing extensively in Korea, Europe and the U.S. performing recitals in Belgium, Holland, Italy, France, and in New York in many prestigious halls such as the Kumho Art Hall (Korea), Kauffmann Hall (Belgium), Royal Academy of London (UK), American-Irish Society of NY (USA), Harvard Club of New York (USA), as well as invitations from the Swiss Embassy, American Embassy of Korea, Korean Music Society in Washington D.C, and her performances have been heard on TBS, KBS FM and WQXR.
Ms. Lee's engagements of past seasons have included solo appearances with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Kanezawa Orchestra Ensemble of Japan, Sendai Philharmonic, many of Korea's leading orchestras such as the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra, Changwon Philharmonic, Daegu Philharmonic, Prime Philharmonic, Kangnam Symphony Orchestra, Wonju Philharmonic, Mokpo Philharmonic, Changwon Symphonietta, Gwangju Philharmonic, as well as numerous reinvitations.
She has performed with internationally reknown conductors such as Mishiyoshi Inoue, Vahktang Jordania, Jose Ferreira Lobo, Shinik Hahm, Hyun-Suk Seo, Bong Kim, Yoon-Sung Chang, Florian Krumpoeck, and Perry So.
Her numerous competition awards include Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians (finalist, special prize winner at Sendai, Japan), Ewha, Dong-Ah, Joong-Ang, Korea Music Competition, Holland-America Music Society Competition, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Competition.
Ms. Lee made a highly acclaimed recording in Germany with the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock and Florian Krumpoeck, conductor, performing Prokofiev Symphonie Concertante, which was released by NAXOS/Solo Musica and distributed on Amazon and iTunes worldwide. Das Orchester, world-reknown German music journal praised Ms. Lee's performance as : "The young Korean cellist YuJeong Lee meets the challenges of Prokofiev's late oeuvre fearlessly and manages to completely convince listeners with her very own interpretation of the piece. This extraordinary cellist does not know any technical limitations."
In addition to her concerts as a soloist and chamber musician, Ms. Lee is a former faculty member of Seoul Arts Center Academy for Young Musicians, and is currently a faculty member at Yewon Arts School, Sunwha Arts School, and her own YuJeong Lee's Cello Academy teaching young talented cello pupils in Seoul, South Korea.
"YuJeong Lee's performance of Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations was excellent, showcasing her extraordinary technique and remarquable intonation." - Joong Ang Daily News
"Listening to YuJeong Lee's performance of Boccherini Concerto in Bb was a musical feast, and one could immediately recognize Ms. Lee's great maturity; at age 13, she seems to have already attained the musical insight of a master cellist." - Kyung Hyang Daily News
