"Korean Overture"
for Orchestra (2018), ca. 7 min.
for Orchestra (2018), ca. 7 min.
Commissioned and premiered by the Korean Symphony Orchestra
Chi-Yong Chung, conductor
2222 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp, cel - strings
Chi-Yong Chung, conductor
2222 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp, cel - strings
"걸쭉한 사운드를 뽑아내며 폴연리의 ‘Korean Overture’로 연주의 서막을 열었다. 지극히 한국적인 작품이었다. 아리랑 멜로디와 리듬에 화음으로 신비로움을 가미하며 오묘하게 색다른 분위기를 자아냈다. 전통음악 효과를 충분히 내며 현대적인 감각을 더해 마무리한 우리의 ‘서곡’이었다." - 문자영, 위드인뉴스 (Within News, South Korea) on April 13, 2019
(This concert video is courtesy of the Korean Symphony Orchestra)
"Synergy"
for Orchestra (2017), ca. 12 min.
for Orchestra (2017), ca. 12 min.
Commissioned and premiered by the Korean Symphony Orchestra
Hun-Joung Lim, conductor
2222 - 2200 - timp, 2 perc, hp - strings
Hun-Joung Lim, conductor
2222 - 2200 - timp, 2 perc, hp - strings
(This concert video is courtesy of the Korean Symphony Orchestra)
"Echo of a Dream"
for Orchestra (2010), ca. 15 min.
for Orchestra (2010), ca. 15 min.
Commissioned and premiered by American Composers Orchestra
George Manahan, conductor
3333 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp, pno(cel) - strings
George Manahan, conductor
3333 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp, pno(cel) - strings
"... put an emphasis on shimmering, shivering effects." - Jachary Woolfe, The New York Times on October 23, 2011
"Conductor George Manahan led them (composers) with an almost casual but ironclad confidence, beginning with Paul Yeon Lee’s showstopper Echo of a Dream. A towering, often ferocious work that arranged modern tonalities in familiar High Romantic architecture, it was a tour of a monstrous landscape with fear and apprehension at every turn. A bellicose March of the Orcs! A swooping, darting, terrified Flight of the Nazgul! And The Siege of Minas Something, which ended minus the orchestra as Lee deftly dropped almost everything out for a split-second of cliffhanger suspense. For all the sturm und drang, the orchestra delivered it so matter-of-factly that it couldn’t have been anything other than genuine. Such storms do in fact exist, and it was a blast to hear this one and know that Lee is keeping an old flame very, very much alive while fueling it with something that could only have been invented in this century."
- delarue, Lucid Culture, NY on October 24, 2011
"Paul Yeon Lee’s Echo of a Dream was definitely on the high-density team, but that made it a great choice for an opener, and since it was the opener, I only thought of it as a high-density piece in retrospect. The dream hinted at in the title seemed to be a nightmare, with driving, angular rhythms and dissonant chords set against tense, wandering chromatic lines. One particularly effective moment towards the end of the piece brought many disparate layers of sound together, suddenly and shockingly congealing into a throbbing, unison surge of rhythm." - Jeremy Howard Beck, I Care If You Listen, NY on October 26, 2011
"Conductor George Manahan led them (composers) with an almost casual but ironclad confidence, beginning with Paul Yeon Lee’s showstopper Echo of a Dream. A towering, often ferocious work that arranged modern tonalities in familiar High Romantic architecture, it was a tour of a monstrous landscape with fear and apprehension at every turn. A bellicose March of the Orcs! A swooping, darting, terrified Flight of the Nazgul! And The Siege of Minas Something, which ended minus the orchestra as Lee deftly dropped almost everything out for a split-second of cliffhanger suspense. For all the sturm und drang, the orchestra delivered it so matter-of-factly that it couldn’t have been anything other than genuine. Such storms do in fact exist, and it was a blast to hear this one and know that Lee is keeping an old flame very, very much alive while fueling it with something that could only have been invented in this century."
- delarue, Lucid Culture, NY on October 24, 2011
"Paul Yeon Lee’s Echo of a Dream was definitely on the high-density team, but that made it a great choice for an opener, and since it was the opener, I only thought of it as a high-density piece in retrospect. The dream hinted at in the title seemed to be a nightmare, with driving, angular rhythms and dissonant chords set against tense, wandering chromatic lines. One particularly effective moment towards the end of the piece brought many disparate layers of sound together, suddenly and shockingly congealing into a throbbing, unison surge of rhythm." - Jeremy Howard Beck, I Care If You Listen, NY on October 26, 2011
To listen to a complete "Echo of a Dream", please click here.
(This music excerpt is courtesy of American Composers Orchestra)
"Phoenix"
for Orchestra (2000), ca. 10 min.
for Orchestra (2000), ca. 10 min.
Commissioned and premiered by Redwood Symphony
Eric Kujawsky, conductor
3333 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp - strings
Eric Kujawsky, conductor
3333 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp - strings
"... tremendous talent. I think he's got a special gift that's immediately apparent. Amongst the panel it was a unanimous decision that Paul was a terrific composer and deserved the commission opportunity." - Michael Geller, former Executive Director of American Composers Orchestra
"... beautiful lyricism blended with dramatic, energetic and rhythmic driving sections."
- American Composers Orchestra's 2001 Whitaker New Music Reading Sessions
"Phoenix was a great hit with my performance with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra shone with brilliance and it was a crowd favorite for the kiddie concert!"
- Richard Haglund, Erato Chamber Orchestra, Music Director/Music Director of Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony/ Assistant Conductor of Illinois Symphony Orchestra
"... beautiful lyricism blended with dramatic, energetic and rhythmic driving sections."
- American Composers Orchestra's 2001 Whitaker New Music Reading Sessions
"Phoenix was a great hit with my performance with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra shone with brilliance and it was a crowd favorite for the kiddie concert!"
- Richard Haglund, Erato Chamber Orchestra, Music Director/Music Director of Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony/ Assistant Conductor of Illinois Symphony Orchestra
"Silhouette"
for Orchestra (1998), ca. 12 min.
for Orchestra (1998), ca. 12 min.
Premiered by Symphony in C
Daniel Hege, conductor
3333 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp, pno(cel) - strings
Daniel Hege, conductor
3333 - 4331 - timp, 3 perc, hp, pno(cel) - strings
Music rental is available at Theodore Presser Company. To request a rental, please click here.
"Lee's prize-winning score, Silhouette, got the evening off to a thunderous start. The 12-minute orchestral score starts with a staccato outburst and then unfolds in a series of short episodes filled with pounding rhythms, bold colors and dissonant effects. Daniel Hege (conductor) led a brash performance that caught the dark power of Lee's music." - Robert Baxter, Courier-Post on March 22, 1999