Unsuk Chin - Gougalō; Double Concerto; Graffiti (Ensemble InterContemporain)

Information

Composer: Unsuk Chin

• Gougalōn, Scenes from a Street Theatre (Definitive Version 2011)
• Double Concerto for Piano, Percussion and Ensemble
• Graffiti for Chamber Orchestra

Ensemble InterContemporain

Pierre Bleuse, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Alpha Classics

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Ensemble Intercontemporain and its musical director Pierre Bleuse continue their acclaimed composer monographs with a portrait of Unsuk Chin. Following their celebrated Ligeti project, this release highlights Chin’s distinctive sound world, marked by sensual immediacy and constantly evolving instrumental textures. The programme includes Gougalon (2009/12), inspired by Korean travelling theatre and conceived as “imaginary folk music,” and Graffiti (2013), a vibrant exploration of contrasting sonorities. The album concludes with her dynamic Double Concerto for piano and percussion, showcasing her richly inventive and expressive musical language.

Unsuk Chin (born 1961 in Seoul) is an internationally acclaimed composer based in Berlin since 1988. A student of Sukhi Kang and György Ligeti, she has developed a distinctive musical language that combines modernist clarity with lyrical expressiveness. Her works are performed worldwide by leading orchestras and ensembles, and she has received numerous major awards, including the Grawemeyer Award and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (2024). Chin’s output spans orchestral, chamber, operatic, and electronic music, notably her opera Alice in Wonderland. She has held prominent artistic residencies and directorships across Europe and Asia.

Ensemble Intercontemporain was founded in 1976 by Pierre Boulez, with the support of Michel Guy and in collaboration with Nicholas Snowman. Dedicated to music from the 20th century to the present, the ensemble brings together 31 soloists under the direction of Pierre Bleuse. It commissions new works annually and collaborates closely with composers, while integrating multimedia and technological innovation, often in partnership with IRCAM. Resident at the Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris, the ensemble performs internationally and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2022.