Born in Seoul in 1961, she studied composition with Sukhi Kan at the city’s National University. In 1984, her work Gestalten (Figures) was selected for the iscm World Music Days in Canada and for the unesco International Composers’ Rostrum. In 1985 she moved to Europe. Thanks to a daad grant, she studied composition with György Ligeti in Hamburg until 1988. Since then, she has lived in Berlin, composing and working in the electronic studio of the city’s Technical University.
Unsuk Chin’s compositions have been performed at numerous festivals and concert series in Europe, the Far East and the United States. Her most widely performed work is Akrostichon-Wortspiel for soprano and ensemble, programmed in 15 countries to date by Ensemble Modern (cond. by George Benjamin), the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (cond. by Simon Rattle), the Nieuw Ensemble of Amsterdam, Asko Ensemble, Ictus Ensemble, and the new music groups of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra.
Unsuk Chin’s commissions have included those from such prestigious ensembles and institutions as Ensemble InterContemporain, the Kronos Quartet, bbc (for Hilliard Ensemble) and the London Philharmonic.
In 2001/02 Unsuk Chin was composer-in-residence with the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester, for which she composed her Violin Concerto. It was premiered in January 2002 (with Viviane Hagner as soloist and Kent Nagano as conductor) and subsequently performed in South Korea, Finland and the United Kingdom. The work won Unsuk Chin the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition (2004). Her other recent works include Double Concerto for piano, percussion and ensemble, commissioned by the Ensemble InterContemporain and Radio France (premiered in February 2003), and snagS & Snarls for soprano and orchestra commissioned by Los Angeles Opera and premiered under Kent Nagano in June 2004. Unsuk Chin’s latest commissions include a stage work based on Alice in Wonderland, and Cantatrix Sopranica for two sopranos, countertenor and ensemble (premiered in May 2005, co-commissioned by the London Sinfonietta, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, St Pölten Festival (Austria), Ensemble InterContemporain and Musikfabrik).

Selected works: Die Troerinnen for three female voices, female choir and orchestra (1986), Gradus ad Infinitum for tape (1989), Akrostichon-Wortspiel, seven scenes from a fairy-tale for soprano and ensemble (1991, rev. 1993), El Aliento de la Sombra for tape (1992), santika Ekatala for orchestra (1993, rev. 1996), Allegro ma non troppo for tape or percussion and tape (1994–98), Fantaisie mécanique for five instruments (1994, rev. 1997), Piano Etudes (since 1995), ParaMetaString for string quartet and tape (1996), Piano Concerto (1996–97), Xi for ensemble and electronics (1998), Miroirs des temps for alto, two tenors, bass and orchestra (1999, rev. 2001), Kalá for soprano, bass, mixed choir and orchestra (2000), Spectres.speculaire for violin and live electronics (2000), Violin Concerto (2001), Double Concerto for piano, percussion and ensemble (2002), snagS & Snarls for voice and orchestra (2003–04).

santika Ekatala
The work was premiered on 10 June 1993 in Tokyo, by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra under Michiyoshi Inoue. The 1996 version was performed in Seoul, by the Korean Radio Orchestra under Othmar Maga on 29 August 1996. The title of the piece is from Sanskrit and means literally: ‘harmony to ward off evil consequences’. Thus the piece can be interpreted as part of a ritual, since it is still current practice – for example in Asia in a buddhist-shamanistic tradition – to perform a ritual at the beginning of an important undertaking or a ceremony in order to ward off evil spirits and win over the good ones. For years I planned to write a piece for large orchestra alone, since I had completed a series of works for choir and orchestra, chamber ensemble and recorded material. So in early 1993 I had the opportunity to make a start on this project. I then got the piece down on paper in a phase of intensive work after planning it thoroughly in the previous years. The harmonic structure is made up of varying central keynotes: from the framework of their overtones a kind of tonality in triad results. I have also allowed myself many things which were ‘forbidden’ in the Modernist tradition of music, such as repetition of phrases and consonant intervals. Hence tension is built up and relaxed in a more classical way. The piece is made up of a number of small sections, but there is a musical progression which runs throughout. Concepts which have associations with the course of the work are ‘motion’ and ‘immobility’, ‘explosion’ and ‘implosion’.

Unsuk Chin