Kang, Sukhi
Kang, Sukhi
Kang, Sukhi, Korean composer; b. Seoul, Oct. 22, 1934. He studied at the Coll. of Music at the Seoul National Univ. (graduated, 1960), the Hannover Hochschule für Musik (1970), and with Blacher and Yun at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1971–75). He subsequently taught at the Seoul National Univ. (1975-80; from 1982), and was named chairman of its composition dept. in 1987, which position he held until 1991. Kang has actively promoted contemporary music in South Korea; he served as founding director of the annual Pan-Music-Festival in Seoul in 1969. In 1972 he became president of the Korean section of the ISCM, and from 1984 to 1990 he was vice-president of the ISCM of UNESCO in Paris. His compositions have won various awards. He received the composer’s prize of the Korean Ministry of Culture in 1978 and of the Korean president in 1979, and was named best musician of the year by the Assn. of Korean Musicians in 1989. Sukhi’s compositions are meticulously crafted, utilizing densely stratified materials to create complex musical structures, including electronic sonorities. Many of these were presented in Berlin, securing for him international attention. His The Feast of Id (1966) was the first Korean composition to use electronically manipulated sounds.
Works
dramatic:Penthesilea, music theater (1985; Berlin, March 2, 1986). orch.:Generation ’69 (Seoul, March 24, 1969); Reflexionen (Seoul, Sept. 9, 1975); Catena (Solingen, May 31, 1975); Dal-ha (Seoul, Sept. 14, 1978); Mega-Melos (Berlin, Sept. 14, 1980); Man-pa for Solo Flute and Flute Orch. (Berlin, March 31, 1982); Symphonic Requiem (Seoul, Nov. 7, 1983); Successions (Berlin, June 15, 1985); Ch’uit’ahyang for Traditional Korean Orch. (Seoul, June 23, 1987); Prometheus kommt (The Olympic Torch Music of the Seoul Olympiad; Seoul, Sept. 15, 1988). chamber:Nirmanakaya for Cello, Piano, and Percussion (Seoul, Sept. 5, 1969); Roundtone for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Viola, Cello, Vibraphone, and Percussion (1969); Parodie for Flute and Organ (1972); Nong for Flute and Piano (1973); Kleines Stück for Oboe, Cello, and Harp (1973); Strukturen for 4 Cellos (1973); Banya for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Tuba, Violin, Cello, Piano, and Percussion (Berlin, March 6, 1974); Metamorphosen for Flute and String Quartet (Tokyo, July 17, 1974); Dialog for Viola and Piano (1976); Myung for 4 Huns, Taekum, Kayagm, and Tam-tam (1976); Dala (Parodie Waltz) for Clarinet, Trombone, Cello, Piano, and Tape (Warsaw, Sept. 22, 1980); Bronzenzeit for Percussion and Tape (Cologne, Aug. 5, 1980); Manpa for Flute Ensemble (Berlin, March 31, 1982); Thai for Contrabass Flute (1983); String Quartet (1983; Saarbrücken, May 29, 1986); Antri IV for Harp (1987). vocal:Lyebul for Man’s Voice, Men’s Chorus, and 30 Percussionists (Seoul, Nov. 20, 1969); Büro for Woman’s Voice, Flute, Clarinet, Piano, and 2 Percussionists (Berlin, Oct. 7, 1976); Yong-Bi, cantata for 3 Soloists, 2 Choruses, and Orch. (Seoul, April 21, 1978); Vision for Woman’s Voice, Guitar, and Tape (1978); Aniri II for Woman’s Voice and Tape (1983) and III for Woman’s Voice (1984); The Rite of Sun, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (Seoul, Oct. 3, 1985). electronic:The Feast of Id (Seoul, Dec. 9, 1966); Mosaico (Berlin, April 7, 1981); Klanspuren (Berlin, April 7, 1981).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire