Unsuk Chin conversa con Helge Grünewald (14 min)

The Korean Unsuk Chin is among the most significant composers of our time. A pupil of Ligeti, who has received many awards and has been living in Berlin since 1988, her work is appreciated by conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel and Kent Nagano; the latter conducted the successful premiere of her opera Alice in Wonderland at the Bavarian State Opera in 2007. On the occasion of the performance of Chin’s cello concerto in the summer of 2014, the composer converses here with Helge Grünewald, music journalist and musicologist. In so doing she provides information about the work’s origins and the specific challenges of composing a cello concerto. Furthermore, she tells of her collaboration with the cellist to whom the work is dedicated, Alban Gerhardt, who played the solo part at both the Berlin concert and the world premiere.