Isang Yun, or Yun I-sang (; 17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who made his later career in West Germany.

Early life and education

Yun was born in

Sancheong Sancheong County (''Sancheong-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. History After the unification of Silla, the Danseong region was known as Jipumcheon prefecture (知品川縣), an ...

(Sansei),

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

in 1917, the son of poet Yun Ki-hyon. His family moved to

Tongyeong Tongyeong (; ) is a coastal Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It has an area of and in 2010, a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (n ...

(Tōei) when he was three years old. He began to study violin at the age of 13 whereupon he composed his first melody. Despite his father's opposition to pursuing a career in music, Yun began formal music training two years later with a violinist in a military band in

Keijō , or Gyeongseong (), was an administrative district of Korea under Japanese rule that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. History When the Empire of Japan annexed the Korean Empire, it made Seoul the colonial capita ...

(present day

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

). Eventually his father relented once Yun agreed to enroll in a business school while continuing his musical studies. In 1935 Yun moved to Osaka where he studied cello, music theory, and composition briefly at the Osaka College of Music. He soon returned to Tongyeong where he composed a "Shepherd's Song" for voice and piano. In 1939 Yun traveled again to Japan, this time to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in order to study under Tomojiro Ikenouchi. When the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

began in December 1941, he moved back to Korea where he participated in the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

. He was arrested for these activities in 1943 and was imprisoned for two months. Yun was interned at

Keijō Imperial University Keijō Imperial University was an National Seven Universities, Imperial University in Keijō (Seoul), Korea, Empire of Japan that existed between 1924 and 1946. The university was seen as the preeminent educational institution in colonial Korea. ...

Hospital for complications resulting from tuberculosis when Korea was liberated from Japanese rule in August 1945. After the war he did welfare work, establishing an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

for war orphans, and teaching music in Tongyeong and

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. After the armistice ceasing hostilities in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

in 1953, he began teaching at the

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

. He received the Seoul City Culture Award in 1955, and traveled to Europe the following year to finish his musical studies. At the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

(1956–57) he studied composition under

Tony Aubin Tony Louis Alexandre Aubin (; 8 December 1907 – 21 September 1981) was a French composer. Life and Career Aubin was born in Paris on 8 December 1907. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the Paris Conservatory under Samuel Rousseau (music theory ...

and Pierre Revel, and

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

(1957–59), and at the Musikhochschule Berlin (today the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

) under

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

Josef Rufer Josef Rufer (1893–1985) was an Austrian-born musicologist. He is regarded as a significant figure mainly on account of his association with and writings on Arnold Schoenberg. Rufer was a pupil of Alexander von Zemlinsky and Schoenberg in Vi ...

, and Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling. In 1958 he attended the International Summer Courses of Contemporary Music in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

and began his career in Europe with premieres of his ''Music for Seven Instruments'' in Darmstadt and ''Five Pieces for Piano'' in Bilthoven. The premiere of his

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

''Om mani padme hum'' in Hanover 1965 and ''Réak'' in Donaueschingen (1966) gave him international renown. With "Réak" he introduced the sound idea of Korean ceremonial music () as well as imitations of the East Asian mouth organ saenghwang (Korean), sheng (Chinese) or shō (Japanese) into Western avant-garde music.

Kidnapping

From October 1959, Yun had been living in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

im Breisgau and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. With a grant from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, he and his family settled in

in 1964. However, due to alleged acts of espionage, he was kidnapped by the South Korean secret service from West Berlin on 17 June 1967. Via

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

he was taken to Seoul. In prison he was tortured, attempted suicide, forced to confess to espionage, threatened with the death sentence – and in the first instance sentenced to life imprisonment. A worldwide petition led by Guenter Freudenberg and Francis Travis was presented to the South Korean government, signed by approximately 200 artists, including

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (3 February 1904 – 19 February 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current Pazin, Croati ...

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer and academic teacher. Life and career Early life and education Mauricio Raúl Kagel was born on 24 December 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth (19 April 1908 – 20 July 1968) was a German conductor who specialised in opera. Career Keilberth began his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe, joining as a répétiteur in 1925 and conducting from 193 ...

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (; 14 May 18856 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later bet ...

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

Arne Mellnäs Arne Otto Birger Mellnäs (30 August 1933 – 22 November 2002) was a Swedish composer.Erik Thyselius, Göran Lindblad Vem är det?: Svensk biografisk handbok 1999 - Volume 44 - Page 762 "Mellnäs, Arne O. B., tonsättare, Sthlm, f i Sthlm 3308 ...

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; 13 July 1932 – 28 May 2025) was a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style varied considerably throughout his career, his music often included repeatedly evolving melodies, in the vein of Jean Sibelius, and a per ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, and

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. Hi ...

. Yun was released on 23 February 1969, returning to West Berlin at the end of March. In 1971, he obtained German citizenship. He never returned to South Korea. From 1973 he began participating in the call for the

democratization of South Korea The June Democratic Struggle (), also known as the June Democracy Movement and the June Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to 29, 1987. The demonstrations forced the ru ...

and the

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

of the divided country.

Teaching

Yun taught composition at the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating to , it has reorganised and changed names as it developed over the years, ...

(1969–71) and at the

Hochschule der Künste The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

in West Berlin (1977–85). Among his students are Kazuhisa Akita, Jolyon Brettingham Smith, In-Chan Choe, Conrado del Rosario,

Raymond Deane Raymond Deane (born 27 January 1953) is an Irish composer. Biography Deane was born in Tuam, County Galway and brought up on Achill Island, County Mayo. From 1963 he lived in Dublin, where initially he studied the piano at the then College of ...

, Francisco F. Feliciano, Masanori Fujita, Keith Gifford, Holger Groschopp,

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

, Sukhi Kang, Chung-Gil Kim, Wolfgang Klingt, Erwin Koch-Raphael, Isao Matsushita, Masahiro Miwa, Hwang-Long Pan, Martin Christoph Redel, Byong-Dong Paik, Bernfried Pröve, Takehito Shimazu, Minako Tanahashi, Masaru Tanaka, Michail Travlos, Jürgen Voigt, and Michael Whticker. After 1979 Yun returned several times to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

to introduce new Western composition techniques as well as his own music. In 1982, the first Isang Yun Festival took place in Pyongyang. In 1984, the Isang Yun Music Institute opened in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

. An ensemble had been founded there under his name. Yun promoted the idea of a joint concert featuring musicians from both Koreas in

Panmunjom Panmunjom (also spelled Panmunjeom) was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North Korea and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. It was located in what is now Paju, Gy ...

, which failed in 1988, but South Korean artists could be invited to Pyongyang in 1990.

Later life and death

Two concerts with works of Isang Yun had been performed in Seoul (1982) by

, Ursula Holliger, and Francis Travis, later by Roswitha Staege and

Hans Zender Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...

. Yun was invited to attend a festival of his music in South Korea in 1994, but the trip was broken off after internal and external conflicts. Yun was told by South Korean officials that to return, he would have to submit a written confession of “repentance,” which he refused. On 3 November 1995, Yun died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The International Isang Yun Society was founded in Berlin in February 1996. Yun has often been criticized for his "pro-North Korean activities", i.e. musical activities in North Korea, and his close ties with the

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

regime. Oh Kil-nam has said that Yun persuaded him to relocate to North Korea with his family. When Oh's wife Shin Suk-ja and her little daughters were imprisoned in Yodok camp, Yun helped them and took photos and a tape from North Korea to Berlin.

Music

Yun's primary musical concern was the fusion of traditional

Korean music Korea has produced music () for thousands of years, into the modern day. After the division of Korea in 1945, both North and South Korea have produced their own styles of music. Traditional music () produced by Korea includes court music, folk ...

through Western avant garde musical techniques. After experimenting with 12-tone techniques Yun developed his own musical personality beginning in his post-serialistic "sound compositions" of the early 1960s. Yun's music employed techniques associated with traditional Korean music, such as glissandi, pizzicati, portamenti, vibrati, and above all a very rich vocabulary of ornaments. Essential is the presence of multiple-melodic lines, which Yun called "Haupttöne" ("central" or "main tones"). Yun's composition for symphonic forces started with "sound compositions", i.e. of works in which homogeneous sound planes are articulated and elaborated: ''Bara'' (1960) until ''Overture'' (1973; rev. 1974). A period of discursively structured instrumental concertos followed, beginning with the Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1975–76) and climaxing with the Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981). From 1982 until 1987 he wrote a cycle of five

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, which are interrelated, yet varied structurally. Striving for freedom and peace is above all Symphony V for high baritone and large orchestra (1987) with texts by

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German–Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazism, Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearn ...

. In 1984, he developed also a new, intimate "tone" in his chamber music. At that time peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula was his political goal. His lifelong concern with his native country and culture was expressed in several of his compositions, including the orchestral piece ''Exemplum in Memoriam Kwangju'' (1981) which he composed in memory of the

Gwangju massacre The Gwangju Democratization Movement, also known in South Korea as May 18 Democratization Movement (), was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup of Chun Doo-hwan. The upr ...

, ''Naui Dang, Naui Minjokiyo!'' (My Land, My People) for soli, chorus and orchestra (South Korean poets, 1987), and ''Angel in Flames'' (Engel in Flammen) for orchestra, with ''Epilogue'' for soprano, women's choir and five instruments (1994). Otherwise Yun himself stated often that he was not a political composer but only following the voice of his conscience. In both Europe and the United States, Yun developed a strong reputation as a composer of avant-garde music, assigned those signature elements of traditional Korean musical technique. The technical as well a stylistic difficulties of performing his very elaborate and ornamental music are considered formidable.

Memberships and awards

* Culture Prize of the City of

(1956) * Member (1968) and Honorary Member (1992) of the Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg * Member (1973) of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

* (1969) * Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(1988) *

Goethe Medal The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". It is an offici ...

(1995)

Works

All compositions are published by Bote & Bock / Boosey & Hawkes, Berlin. Source: ;Operas * ''Der Traum des Liu-Tung'' (1965) * ''Die Witwe des Schmetterlings'' (''Butterfly Widow'') (1967/68) * ''Geisterliebe'' (1971) * ''Sim Tjong'' (1971/72), written for the Olympics in Munich, with William B. Murray ;Vocal / Choral * ''Om mani padme hum'' for soli, choir and orchestra (1964) * ''Ein Schmetterlingstraum'' for choir and percussion (1968) * ''Vom Tao'' for choir, organ and percussion (1972/88) * ''Memory'' for three voices and percussion (Du Mu, 1974) * ''An der Schwelle'' for barione, women choir, organ and ensemble (Albrecht Haushofer, 1975) * ''Der weise Mann'' for baritone, choir and small orchestra (1977) * ''Der Herr ist mein Hirte'' for trombone and choir (Psalm 23 / Nelly Sachs, 1981) * ''O Licht...'' for violin and choir (Buddhism / Nelly Sachs, 1981) * ''Naui Dang, Naui Minjokiyo!'' (My Land, My People) for soli, orchestra and choir (South Korean poets, 1987) * ''Engel in Flammen. Memento and Epilogue'' for orchestra, soprano, and women choir (1994) * ''Epilogue'' for soprano, women choir, and five instruments (1994) ;Orchestral * Symphonies ** Symphony No. 1 in four movements (1982/83) ** Symphony No. 2 in three movements (1984) ** Symphony No. 3 in one movement (1985) ** Symphony No. 4 ''Im Dunkeln singen'' in two movements (1986) ** Symphony No. 5 for high baritone and orchestra in five movements (Nelly Sachs, 1987) ** Chamber Symphony No. 1, for 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings (1987) ** Chamber Symphony No. 2 ''Den Opfern der Freiheit'' (1989) * ''Bara'' for orchestra (1960) * ''Symphonic Scene'' for large orchestra (1960) * ''Colloïdes sonores'' for strings (1961) * ''Fluktuationen'' for large orchestra (1964) * ''Réak'' for large orchestra (1966) * ''Dimensionen'' for orchestra and organ (1971) * ''Konzertante Figuren'' for small orchestra (1972) * ''Harmonia'' for 16 winds, harp & percussion (1974) * ''Muak'' for large orchestra (1978) * ''Exemplum in memoriam Kwangju'' for large orchestra (1981) * ''Impression'' for small orchestra (1986) * ''Mugung-Dong (Invocation)'' for winds, percussion and double bass (1986) * ''Tapis'' for string orchestra (1987) * ''Konturen'' for large orchestra (1989) * ''Silla'' for orchestra (1992) ;Concertos * Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981) * Violin Concerto No. 2 (1983–1986) * Violin Concerto No. 3 (1992) * Cello Concerto (1975/76) * Flute Concerto (1977) * Clarinet Concerto (1981) * Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and Chamber Orchestra (1977) * ''Fanfare and Memorial'' for orchestra with harp and flute (1979) * ''Gong-Hu'' for harp and strings (1984) * ''Duetto concertante'' for oboe, English horn, and strings (1987) * Concerto for Oboe (Oboe d'amore) and Orchestra (1990) ;Chamber (seven and more players) / Ensemble * ''Music for Seven Instruments'' (1959) * ''Loyang'' for ensemble (1962) * ''Pièce concertante'' for ensemble (1976) * ''Oktett'' for clarinet (bass clarinet), bassoon, horn & string quintet (1978) * ''Distanzen'' for ten players (woodwind & string quintets) (1988) * ''Kammerkonzert No. 1'' (1990) * ''Kammerkonzert No. 2'' (1990) * ''Wind Octet with double bass'' (1991) ;For one instrument * ''Five Pieces for Piano'' (1958) * ''Shao Yang Yin'' for cembalo or piano (1966) * ''Tuyaux sonores'' for organ solo (1967) * ''Glissées'' für violoncello solo (1970) * ''Piri'' for oboe solo (1971) * ''Etudes I-V'' for flute(s) solo (1974) * ''Fragment'' for organ (1975) * ''Koenigliches Thema'' for violin solo (1976) * ''Salomo'' for alto flute solo (1977/78) * ''Interludium A'' for piano (1982) * ''Monolog'' for bass clarinet (1983) * ''Monolog'' for bassoon solo (1983/84) * ''Li-Na im Garten''. Five Pieces for Violin solo (1984/85) * ''In Balance'' for harp solo (1987) * ''Kontraste''. Two Pieces for Violin solo (1987) * ''Sori'' for flute solo (1988) * ''Chinesische Bilder''. Four Pieces for Flute or Recorder solo (1993) * ''Seven Etudes'' for Violoncello solo (1993) ;For two instruments * ''Garak'' for flute and piano (1963) * ''Gasa'' for violin and piano (1963) * ''Nore'' for violoncello and piano (1964) * ''Riul'' for clarinet and piano (1968) * ''Duo'' for viola & piano (1976) * ''Espace I'' for violoncello & piano (1992) * ''Inventionen'' for 2 oboes (1983) * ''Inventionen'' for 2 flutes (1983; arr. 1984) * ''Sonatina'' for 2 violins (1983) * ''Duo'' for cello & harp (1984) * ''Intermezzo'' for cello & accordion (1988) * ''Contemplation'' for 2 violas (1988) * ''Rufe'' for oboe & harp (1989) * ''Together'' for violin & double bass (1989) * ''Sonata for violin & piano'' (1991) * ''Ost-West-Miniaturen I-II'' for oboe & violoncello (1994) ;For three instruments * ''Gagok'' for voice, guitar & percussion (1972) * ''Trio'' for flute, oboe & violin (1972/73) * ''Piano trio'' (1972/75) * ''Rondell'' for oboe, clarinet and fagott (1975) * ''Sonata'' for oboe (oboe d'amore), harp, and violoncello (or viola) (1979) * ''Rencontre'' for clarinet, cello & piano (or harp) (1986) * ''Pezzo fantasioso'' for two (melody) instruments and bass instrument ad libitum (1988) * ''Trio'' for clarinet, bassoon & horn (1992) * ''Espace II'' for oboe, cello & harp (1993) ;Four instruments * ''String Quartet No. 3'' in three movements (1959) * ''Images'' for flute, oboe, violin, and violoncello (1968) * ''Novellette'' for flute and harp with violin and violoncello (1980) * ''Quartet'' for flutes (1986) * ''Quartet'' for flute, violin, violoncello & piano (1988) * ''String Quartet No. 4'' in two movements (1988) * ''Quartet'' for horn, trumpet, trombone & piano (1992) * ''String Quartet No. 5'' in one movement (1990) * ''String Quartet No. 6'' in four movements (1992) * ''Quartet for oboe and string trio'' (1994) ;Five instruments * ''Concertino'' for accordion & string quartet (1983) * ''Clarinet Quintet No. 1'' for clarinet and string quartet (1984) * ''Flute Quintet'' for flute and string quartet (1986) * ''Tapis'' for string quintet (1987) * ''Festlicher Tanz'' for wind quintet (1988) * ''Woodwind Quintet I and II'' (1991) * ''Clarinet Quintet No. 2'' (1994)

Notes

Essential Bibliography

* Hinrich Bergmeier (ed.): ''Isang Yun. Festschrift zum 75. Geburtstag 1992.'' Bote & Bock, Berlin 1992. contains: Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer: ''Identität und Wandel. Zu den Streichquartetten III-VI.'' . * Ae-Kyung Choi: ''Einheit und Mannigfaltigkeit. Eine Studie zu den fünf Symphonien von Isang Yun.'' (= ''Berliner Musik Studien.'' Volume 25). Studio Verlag, Sinzig 2002. * Insook Han: ''Interkulturalität in der neuen Musik Koreas. Integration und Hybridität in der Musik von Isang Yun und Byungki Hwang.'' (''Studien zur Musikwissenschaft.'' Volume 23). Dissertation, Universität Graz 2009, Verlag Dr. Kovac, Hamburg 2011. * Hanns-Werner Heister, Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Der Komponist Isang Yun.'' edition text + kritik, München 1987. (contains more than 30 articles on Isang Yun, Isang Yun's Salzburg conference „Über meine Musik“, a chronology of Yun's works, bibliography, discography). – Korean Edition: Hang’il, Seoul 1991. – Italian edition: ''Isang Yun. Musica nello spirito del Tao.'' Ricordi, Milan 2007. * Keith Howard: ''Music across the DMZ'', in John Morgan O’Connell, Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco (eds.): ''Music in Conflict.'' University of Illinois Press, Indiana 2010, S. 67–88. * Kunz, H.: "Yun, Isang" a
Grove Music Online
* Jürgen Maehder, ''Konvergenzen des musikalischen Strukturdenkens. Zur Geschichte und Klassifizierung der Klangfelder in den Partituren Isang Yuns'', in: ''Musiktheorie'', 7/1992, pp. 151–166. * ''MusikTexte.'' Nr. 62/63. Köln, Januar 1996 (contains 17 articles on Yun). * Luise Rinser, Isang Yun: ''Der verwundete Drache. Dialog über Leben und Werk des Komponisten Isang Yun.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt 1977. * Gesine Schröder: ''… fremden Raum betreten. Zum Europäischen in Yuns Musik.'' Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“, Leipzig 2001/2011
(online)
* Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer: ''Isang Yun.'' In: Hanns-Werner Heister, Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''

Komponisten der Gegenwart The ''Komponisten der Gegenwart'' (KDG) is a music encyclopedia in the German language about composers of the 20th and 21st century. It is a looseleaf service with information on currently about 900 composers. Editors Hanns-Werner Heister and Wa ...

.'' edition text + kritik, München 1992ff. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer/Hanns-Werner Heister(eds.): ''Der Komponist Isang Yun'', Edition text + kritik, 2. edition Munich 1992. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 1997 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' Berlin 1997. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 1998/99 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 1999. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 2000/01 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 2002. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 2002/03 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 2004. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer (eds.): ''Ssi-ol. Almanach 2004/09 der Internationalen Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V.'' edition text + kritik, München 2009. * Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer: ''„Im Dunkeln singen …“ Luise Rinser und Isang Yun'', in: José Sánchez de Murillo/Martin Thurner (eds.): ''Aufgang. Jahrbuch für Denken – Dichten – Musik'', vol 9, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2012, pp. 104–121. * Ilja Stephan: ''Isang Yun. Die fünf Symphonien'', edd. Heinz-Klaus Metzger/Rainer Riehn, Edition text + kritik, München 2000 (= ''Musik-Konzepte'', vol. 109/110). * Shin-Hyang Yun: ''Zwischen zwei Musikwelten. Studien zum musikalischen Denken Isang Yuns.'' Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2002.

External links

Internationale Isang Yun Gesellschaft e. V., Berlin

July 1987

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Isang 1917 births 1995 deaths People from South Gyeongsang Province 20th-century classical composers Korean composers South Korean opera composers German people of Korean descent Kidnapped South Korean people South Korean emigrants to Germany German male classical composers String quartet composers 20th-century male composers Berlin University of the Arts alumni Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the National Reunification Prize Osaka College of Music alumni