Etude No. 2 for alto flute solo

By Yun Isang

Isang Yun: Etude No. 2 for alto flute solo “Adagio” was written in 1974 as part of "5 Etudes for Flute(s) Solo". The etudes were commissioned by and dedicated to the Swiss flutist and composer Heinz Holliger, a prominent advocate for new music and extended instrumental techniques.

By 1974, Yun had fully developed his unique compositional style, which synthesizes Korean traditional music elements (such as the use of extended principal tones or Hauptton technique, where a central tone is ornamented with microtonal inflections) with Western avant-garde techniques (like twelve-tone and serial music).

Yun, a South Korean national living in Berlin, had been a victim of the 1967 "East Berlin Affair," where he was kidnapped by South Korean intelligence, imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged espionage for North Korea. International pressure led to his release in 1969, and he returned to Berlin a committed political activist for Korean democracy and reunification. This trauma profoundly influenced his work, which often contained political messages of peace and reconciliation.

Liam Mallett (alto flute), 2011, Internationale Isang Yun Gesellschaft e.V.

Etude No. 2, "Adagio"

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Yun Isang

Isang Yun (1917-1995) was a Korean composer who initially studied violin, cello and composition in Korea and Japan. During Japanese occupation in World War II Yun was imprisoned for being active member of Korean independence movement. After the war he taught music at various schools and universities in Korea. In 1956 he managed to come to Europe to study composition in Paris and Berlin. He permanently moved to West Berlin in 1964 but was abducted in 1967 by Korean Park regime which sent him to Seoul and imprisoned him for life. Nearly 200 artists from around the world petitioned for his release until Yun was released in 1969. The petition was initiated by Igor Stravinsky and Herbert von Karajan. Upon his return to Germany, he became a professor of composition at the State College of Arts in Berlin where he worked until 1985.
Isang Yun’s music is characterized as a fusion of traditional Korean music with modern techniques of Western music called “sound compositions”. Among his most notable compositions: 5 symphonies, Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1975), Flute Concerto (1977), and Violin Concerto No.1 (1981). Among his other compositions for flute: Etudes I-V for flute solo (1974), Salomo for alto flute solo (1977), and Sori for flute solo (1988).