Biography
Please note that because of the Covid−19 pandemic, we are currently unable to provide reliable information about forthcoming live performances.
Sustained by her deep emotional hinterland, Bomsori’s passionate music-making is driven by a powerful urge to communicate. The South Korean violinist has already achieved superstar status in her homeland and is fast becoming one of today’s most sought-after soloists. Her breathtaking technical command serves as a vehicle for expressing every nuance, from grand dramatic outbursts to the subtlest of lyrical inflections. In short, she knows how to make her instrument sing.
Bomsori signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon in February 2021, sealing a relationship with the Yellow Label that began when she teamed up with now fellow DG artist Rafał Blechacz to record works by Fauré, Szymanowski, Debussy and Chopin. Released in January 2019, the album went on to garner widespread critical acclaim. Bomsori’s DG solo debut recording, Violin on Stage, is set for international release in June 2021. It showcases original works and arrangements of music written for or inspired by opera or ballet, reflecting her desire to revive the legacy of such legendary violinists as Heifetz, Milstein and Kogan – renowned for performing virtuosic transcriptions – as well as the close bond she feels with Poland, its music and musicians. Recorded in Wrocław with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic and Giancarlo Guerrero, the album includes Waxman’s Carmen Fantasie, Massenet’s “Méditation” and Wieniawski’s joyful Fantasia brilliante on themes from Gounod’s “Faust”.
In recent seasons Bomsori has performed with, among others, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and conductors of the calibre of Fabio Luisi, Jaap van Zweden, Marin Alsop, Hannu Lintu and Sakari Oramo. She earned praise from The New York Times for the “fierce dramatic commitment” of her performance when she made her debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2019 as soloist in the North American premiere of Tan Dun’s Violin Concerto Fire Ritual. Others too have been quick to hail her qualities as a performer, with Crescendo magazine providing the perfect summary – “This violinist is ready for anything: with virtuosity, presence, clarity and a warm, rich tone, Bomsori is adept at making each moment her own.”
Her plans for summer 2021 and beyond include a week-long recital tour of South Korea featuring repertoire from Violin on Stage; a return to the Rheingau Musik Festival for a nine-concert residency; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden in South Korea; and Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto at Suntory Hall with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. She will also give two concerts at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival as one of its 2021 Menuhin’s Heritage Artists.
Bomsori Kim, whose unusual first name means “sound of Spring”, was born in Daegu in 1989. Her music-loving parents encouraged their daughter’s innate musical talent. She took piano lessons at the age of four, began playing violin a year later and soon joined her parents and siblings in the family ensemble. While singing and ballet were among Bomsori’s childhood passions, she devoted her full attention to violin at the age of seven when she heard a performance by Kyung Wha-Chung. “After that, my dream was always to be a violinist,” she recalls.
After graduating from Seoul National University, where she studied with Young Uck Kim, Bomsori received a full scholarship to complete her postgraduate training with a master’s degree and artist diploma at New York’s Juilliard School. Her formidable combination of natural talent, hard work and compelling artistry also returned impressive results on the international competition circuit. She won prizes at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the International Sibelius Violin Competition, the ARD International Music Competition, the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover and the Sendai International Music Competition.
In 2016 Bomsori won Second Prize, Critic’s Prize, and nine additional special prizes at the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition. Rafał Blechacz was so impressed by the TV broadcast of her final-round performance that he invited her to work on his next chamber music project. “I realised very quickly that she was the perfect musical partner,” he observes. As well as making their album for DG, the duo have given recitals in Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada and the US.
With support from the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, Bomsori currently plays a 1774 violin by Joannes Baptista Guadagnini.
5/2021