Yezu Woo
Violinist
Available Now!
This album marks the first comprehensive recording of Isang Yun's complete works for solo violin and duo with piano, performed with profound insight by Yezu Woo. Yun's compositions are a unique synthesis of Eastern and Western musical traditions, filled with spiritual and cultural depth. The project was inspired by Woo's admiration for Yun's genius and her personal journey to explore her Korean heritage. In collaboration with Tomoki Park and with the support of the Isang Yun International Society, Woo delivers an impressive interpretation enriched by thoughtful study and her own cultural experiences.
-Kairos
Yezu Woo is a violinist whose work spans solo and chamber music, new-music premieres, and projects connecting her Korean heritage with audiences abroad. She is a violinist of The Overlook and a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Novus NY, and Delirium Musicum, and she also appears regularly with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, and the East Coast Chamber Orchestra.
Yezu's recordings with The Overlook include its debut album, Say It — a collection of pieces at the core of the quartet's repertoire — and Seven Limbs, recorded with jazz legend Joe Lovano. With the quartet she also appears on premiere recordings of Kenji Bunch's chamber works with clarinetist James Shields. Continuing the quartet's founding ethos — sharing music with people where they are — The Overlook builds lasting relationships with composers, champions new works, and curates vibrant, unexpected programs. Yezu's career began early: at sixteen, she made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall as the youngest performer to present all twenty-four Paganini Caprices. A large part of her work since has been contemporary music. She has given more than twenty premieres and has worked with composers including Rebecca Saunders, Unsuk Chin, and Sir George Benjamin.
Her Korean heritage has also been an important part of her work, including a sustained interest in cultural exchange on the Korean peninsula: she has performed in Pyongyang, North Korea, and at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. That interest also runs through her work on Isang Yun, the Korean composer whose music bridges East and West and whose life was marked by Korea's division. As a Fulbright Scholar in Germany in 2019–20, Yezu was a member of the Ensemble Modern Academy and conducted research at the Isang Yun Haus in Berlin. She made the first complete recording of his works for solo violin and for violin and piano. Her recordings have been released on EMI Classics, ECM Records, Warner Classics, KAIROS, Phenotypic Records, and Sunnyside Records.
Yezu is the founder of the SoriDari Young Artists Program, whose concerts are presented in partnership with the Korean Cultural Center New York. The program supports young Korean and Korean-American musicians through mentorship and performance alongside established artists. She is also artistic director of the New York in Chuncheon Music Festival, a chamber music festival in her hometown of Chuncheon, Korea. In recognition of this work, she was named Honorary Ambassador of the City of Chuncheon in 2016 and of Woljeongsa Temple in 2023. She also serves on the advisory board of the Berlin Academy of American Music.
